OK, so I don't believe in "The Great Beyond"...

[BiggJawn]

Or the "Rainbow Bridge", but it sure as shit doesn't make it any easier when you have to say good-bye to one of the 4-footed members of the family.
:(

[Az]

1. Of course not

Good grief they are a member of the family. And that is not humoring you. I am sorry for your loss. I have lost loved one's of the 4 footed variety too. I still miss Duffy. I still tell stories about him.

[BiggJawn]

2. Hey, thanks.

They really get to you, don't they?
People who don't understand getting paw-prints all over your heart never had a furry friend...

We'll tell stories about Mallomar for a long time, too.

[progressoid]

3. Yep, it doesn't make it any easier.

We have a friend that is our vet (and agnostic). He's been there for a couple of our losses. He's a little rough around the edges but when it comes to pets, he's a big ole softy. Me too.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. No, no easier - I still remember our family dog after 25 years

and that's almost the most grief I've felt over any death - you live with them every day.

In fact, I consider some pets (cats and dogs, at least) to have a simple form of personality. Which makes the idea of a special 'soul' for humans, but not them, all the more difficult to accept.

[ozone_man]

5. They may not have as large a soul, but I think it's of higher quality.

"Sometimes he sits at your feet looking into your
face with an expression so gentle and caressing that
the depth of his gaze startles you. Who can believe
that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!"
Theophile Gautier

"Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit,
you would stay out and your dog would go in."
Mark Twain

"Time spent with cats is never wasted."
Sigmund Freud

I only had one dog in my life, who I grew up with. She died at 13, when I was 12. I would have another, but prefer the open spaces to let dogs run free. I have cats, that run free, and they have souls, or at least wonderful personalities. ;)

[Taxloss]

6. I'm sorry BiggJawn.

Animals certainly do have a personality, absolutely. I've never owned a dog or a cat but it is something Mrs T and I plan to do when we get a larger place. I would have loved a dog or a cat while growing up, but my parents both had a low tolerance to fur. (And the animals attached to it, for that matter.)

But we both still miss the company of my uncle's dog Ben, who died five years ago. He was a wonderful animal.

I was allowed to keep rodents, and kept gerbils for a long while. Gerbils are wonderful animals - clean, unsmelly, dry, intelligent (for rodents). They're engineers - they tunnel. This may sound absolutely mad, but I never had two gerbils that were the same. They did have their own personality of sorts. They don't have enough brain to smear on a Ritz cracker, but by golly their behaviour and demeanour varied in fascinating ways.

[Jokerman]

7. Some of my best friends have been dogs and cats.

To me they aren't "pets" but family and friends. We love them when they're here and miss them when they're gone.

I think one of the things that turned me against religion is the idea that humans have souls and animals don't. I see more "soul" in the eyes of my cats than many people I know.

My condolences BiggJawn for your loss.


John

[Book Lover]

8. I am so sorry to hear your sad news

I bet you have fun stories of all the neat stuff Mallomar had done. Maybe when you're feeling better, we can hear one or two? I love pet stories.

:hug:

[MindPilot]

9. My condolences, buddy

There isn't a day goes by that I don't miss the pets that have gone before. My dog Suzi, a big Irish wolfhound is getting on in years, and I know that day will come...

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[geniph]

10. Our pets are little pieces of our heart made flesh

and every time I lose one, a little piece of my heart dies with it. Oh, I'll have, and love, other pets, but every one leaves a little Tristan-shaped, or Jigger-shaped, or Fractal-shaped, piece of my heart empty.

I'm sorry for your loss, John. It never gets any easier, and I never seem to adjust myself to the idea that their lives are so damned short.

:hug:

[Kolesar]

11. My condolences

I lost my golden retriever six months ago. I must miss her--I keep thinking about her. Her picture is my pc wallpaper and I can see her looking around the corner of this window that is the internet browser.

[onager]

12. Everyone else has said it so well

I just wanted to express my condolences, too. And you started me thinking fondly of my previous pets.

I don't have any pets right now because it wouldn't be fair, with me traveling so much and no one else to care for them.

I still remember "boarding" my big ol' Samoyed-German Sheperd mix Buddy, back when I had a roommate and we both occasionally traveled.

It was always so pitiful when I would go to pick him up. He would start howling with joy, then jump all over me. Since he weighed about 80 pounds, that always got my attention.