Do you ever wonder if pets are worth it?

[pretty_green_quaker]

I have the hardest time when one of my pets dies, and sometimes I think it would be better to just never have any.

My quaker (bird) is only 4 and should live about 30 to 40 years, and my dog is only 1 1/2 years old and I'm already dreading the day that they go. Not to mention all my older animals.

I think about it sometimes and I just get so upset. The question is...is it really better to lose a loved one than to never have loved at all?

I know this is a weird thing to say but I think about it all the time.

[redbird]

loss

Have you suffered a major loss?
Pet or person?

If so, you could still be grieving, and perhaps it has not processed yet.
Grief has many stages and it can take a long time for each one.
It also reminds us of our own mortality, and our own conflicts in defining what we belive for ourselves.

I lost the dog of my life two and a half years ago.
It took me six months to get another dog, and that seemed to help
open the door to more. I think you just have to get to the place where you are tired of being without a wagging tail.
I recently lost my cat of 11 years, and though I miss him terribly I know he is in a better place. I think your thoughts on the afterlife are important too.
Petloss dot com is a great place to help with grief after pet loss, and the
people there are great, I still visit it from time to time. You might like that.

I can only say, I feel that love is better, more beautiful, and much stronger than sorrow. Sorrow does not last forever, love does.
It never is divided, only multiplies. There are so many tails out there waiting for someone to wag for.

[diamienono]

It is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. Just think of all the joy they bring you for years

[furrybestjob]

Oh, believe me, I totally understand where you're coming from as far as the pain of losing a pet. After a year and a half after losing my 1 year old poodle in out fire and my 12 year old golden mix a week later , I still am brought to tears every time I think of them. Heck, even when a long time customer calls to tell me of the loss of their pet I am deeply saddened and feel a great loss.

As far as if they're worth it? There is no doubt in my mind that the answer is "yes, yes, yes". What their companionship adds is beyond compare and to miss out on that would be terrible sad. I know for me, my life would be empty without my pets. The thing is, it seems like when there is a loss, somehow another one makes his way into your heart and it does ease the pain a little. Of course the lost ones can never be replaced, but the mutual love between you and your pet helps give life a little more meaning, IMO.

[Minou]

I've lost pets and it has broken my heart also. I would think it's something we have all gone thru at one point in our live. My pets bring me so much happiness every day, I couldn't see myself living without any.

Think about it, we will all cross the rainbow bridge, its not just our pets.

Now, forget that thought and go give a great BIG smooch to your precious babies and tell them how much you LOVE them!!!! we can never tell them enough how precious they are.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

I often think about the future death of my dog---will it be due to old age, an illness, a dog attack, hit by a car or will he get lost or stolen and never found?

Of all of the above, by far the hardest for me would be permanently lost or stolen. The fear of the unknown---is he being loved and fed and taken care of? Dogs live in the moment so they don't sit there and think, "Gosh I miss my mom," they live for the very moment they are in (we should be so smart). But I really hope that he just lives to be a little old man, having known nothing but love and comfort his whole life. Of course there are discomforts like having his nails done, lol, but MOSTLY comfort his whole life.

You're not out of the ordinary, I think that way too. And though It'll break my heart when he goes, if he dies of old age, I think it would be better than one of the other options.

Tammy in Utah

[Plexi]

I thought the same after my two Dachshunds died 6 months of each other, the heartache was over whelming and it was so hard to get over it, I swore NO MORE dogs in my life!!!
My heart ached EVERY day, my soul in inside me sighed a thousand times a day. I thought with all the dog contact I had with my dogs at work would fill the emptyness I felt, it didn't.
Well, that lasted 4 months,Then we seen "HER" the cutest little blk/tan Dachshund, jumping and barking..my heart leaped and my soul was happy....so we got her.That was 6yrs ago.
Yes, death is such a sad thing to go through, but all that unconditional love is worth it. It is better to love and lose than never to have loved.

[eli]

Such an individual thing,

but for me it is very worth it. I have suffered many times but I have always wanted another love when I thought the time was right.

I have heard many times about people who have had the "right one" find them after loss. They'll say "I wasn't ever going to get another dog then Princess (or Prince) just happen to come along." I like to think that's the Guy upstairs helping us out.

I just spoke to woman Sat night at a gathering of friends who said she would never have another dog because it hurts too much when they go.

I just told her briefly how I felt, & if she should ever changed her mind I'd go out of my way to help her find a new love.

Later, before I left I hugged her & said I meant what I said.

PGQ focus on the time you have with them, not the so long. Cause it's not goodbye forever. I believe.

Erica

[Valerie74]

When my children were young we lived in a complex that did not allow dogs. I had stopped grooming for several years and even though I had my children to fill the time, I missed the companionship of a dog.

I liken it to a schoolteacher who is surrounded by children all day long, but still longs to come home to her own at the end of the day. Face it, we groom animals all day but it's those snuggles from our own pets that we look forward to when we open the door.

I have lost pets in my lifetime, but cannot imagine life without them. What I find strange are my clients who lose a dog. It is really split 50/50, some want another and others call and say the dog passed away and they will not be getting another. There is a couple on the corner of our street who are both in their 80''s. They just lost their little lhasa who was 21 years old. They went right out and bought another. They hold hands and walk their dog every evening (he pulls them - lol). I know the dog will probably outlive them, but it warms my heart to see them each evening.

[Pixie]

I don't know where I would be if I didn't have my dogs. They are a part of my life. It is heartbreaking when one of them pass away, but the memories that I have of them are well worth the heartache I feel at that time. The memories last forever, the heartache just for a while.

Yes, it is better to have loved then not loved at all.

[razzle1127]

they are definitly worth it. when something happens to my horse look out, i dont know what im going to do. shes 17 now and i have had her for 14 years. she is starting to get cataracts and has some other problems. but im hoping she out lives it all. she has been my princess threw thick and thin. i do self care and go down every day. as far as my other animals - another horse, cat, 2 dogs and my lil betta fish. i hope they live forever. they are all pretty young tho.

[Fur Elite]

I have never understood this line of thinking though I know many people who feel this exact way. Is it a fear of being hurt and feeling pain? I am very sensitive in regard to pets. I cried and was very sad when a hamster my daughter had died after 3 days. Death is so very sad. I have had soooo many pets over the years, and each death is awful and horrible. Maybe it is because when I was young I had so many different pets and someone was always dying, being drug off by a coon or something that it became a sad fact of life. But each demise opens the door to a new love, a new joy. I personally believe in rapid pet replacement. I often plan what pets I will acquire in the future when one of mine does die. That sounds bad, but I am not hoping for their death in any way or looking forward to that day. There are so many experiences waiting for all of us out there. I can't imagain wallowing in lonliness for a pet when I know that somewhere there is another heart waiting to be loved and to give love.

Also, my husband has the pet headcount thing....and if I don't act quickly to replace a lost pet he will "forget" that the headcount used to be 4 and then assume it is 3 and give me trouble for "adding" an extra pet. So really, there is a business side to it as well for me.

[strayhairs]

Just ask yourself, are you ever sorry for the time you had with your pet, for all the good they brought into your life, even if your time together was too short. If you can look back and say they were a part of your life you wouldn't have changed, you have your answer. I don't see how you couldn't want that again. It just may take some time before you feel the time is right to have another pet.

[dakwin]

Timmy, my dog

I just had my am bulldog/pit x die 2 days ago, and I am so glad that I knew him. Although I ddn't have him very long, he was still a joy to be around. He was such a clown. If you got on him about something, he would always try to make you smile at him. I think he thought it would get him out of trouble. He was food aggressive, and I was working on it with him. When I took it away from him, he would start doing roll overs. It was hilarious. I really miss him though because now it is too quiet. I also have 2 other dogs and a cat at the house and 2 horses being boarded somewhere else. I wouldn't change them for anything. And my husband too would be upset if I went out and got another one.

[mustluvdogs1]

Yes, worth it

I have had 12 dogs in my life.13 w/ Cocker I don't remember cuz I was in high chair. Penny a boxer my dad gave to a customer w/ a ranch. Cookie was given away, vague memory. Then Sheba my first mini schnauzer and schnauzers ever since. These dogs have all been very special to me and a great loss to loose. But I have a new book called Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Thick and not cheap. I believe in the Bible so this book is based on that book. I believe we will one day have a new heaven and a new earth and animals will be a part of that. I have not gotten to chapter on our pets, but think they will be with us, or ones equal we will love. Nothing and no one should take the place of the creator in our hearts, no idols, but there is room to love our loved ones and dogs etc. I think I will be with them again someday. I can't be in my house without my dogs....tooo empty. When I put them in the kennel to go see the Grand Canyon, I had to stay overnite at my friends ( also a groomer w/dogs) I can't be alone in the house, it feels too lonely now that my mom is in heaven. It takes faith to believe, but I have hope for that day.