Your Pet Loss Stories

'Riley'

I was only 8 when we got her. I still remember when my mom told my brother and I that we were planning on going to the pound to go get this dog, who she showed us a picture of - a black Lab/German Shepherd mix. Even though we had just gotten out of a 4 hour long drive, we both were ready to go pick up this dog.

We went to the shelter she was at. We learned later that she was on her last days before they planned to put her down to make room, but because they liked her so much they postponed her date to a further time, and that's when we showed up. We took her out and she got into our car like it was her new home. We named her Riley.

She was only about one year old when we got her, she was fairly small and very skinny, to the point where her ribs were showing. She had very big paws and a very clumsy run, which made people believe she was actually injured when in reality it was just oversized paws and general uncoordination. It was pretty amusing to watch, honestly.

Riley and I grew up together. My mom always described our bond as being something special, something she didn't share with anyone else inside or outside the family. Sure she was loving to them, but my mom would always describe how she would wait for me to come down in the morning and once she heard my footsteps she would get very excited. Often times she would get on the couch and lay on my feet. I felt really close to her too. She was like a sister to me almost. I've gotten attached to pets before, but nothing was like her.

7 years passed, and she started showing signs of deteriorating health. It got to the point where she had to go on such a high dosage of pain medicine that it would be harmful to her liver, and that she only had an estimated 6 months left. I was devastated to hear that, but little did I know that our time left with her was even less.

She did get better on the meds, and we saw hope of her making the last 6 months. It all seemed to be going well. Then, right at the end of my 9th grade year, she went downhill and fast. The vets did checks and found a lesion in her spine among other arthritis related problems. They were a little confused as to why there was such a rapid downfall, but it wasn't until they put her down a week later that they found out she had a bunch of little tumors on the underside of her tongue that had poked out right as she closed her eyes for the final time. I guess in that regard it was good to know that we weren't jumping the gun. Even if we could have done something about her spine and arthritis, the cancer was the final blow and probably what caused the fall.

I still remember the day she left us, June 12th, 2014. It was a hard day for me. I cried so much that I could barely breathe. I had never broken down so much in my entire life. It felt like such a huge chunk of my life was gone. I kept thinking that it wasn't fair. Maybe it wasn't, but something good came out of it.

In July, we got a new dog named Chester. He was an old dog, probably about 9 years old. He was also from a shelter that put dogs down and since he was so old and most people go for younger dogs, there was a very low chance someone would have gotten him had we not. I'm writing this on February 17th of 2015, the day he too had to be put to sleep, with the thought in mind that if we still had Riley, we would have never gotten him and made his last few months alive probably the greatest he's ever had. It's very sad to see him go as well, not even a year after Riley, but we were able to give a very nice and spoiled last few months to Chester and that's all I could ever ask for.

Pet death is hard, but sometimes good things can come out of it. Stay strong.

Pet Loss Support Companion

If reading this has brought up something you’re carrying, you don’t have to sit with it alone.

Pet Loss Support Group

A quiet safe place for pet parents grieving loss to connect, share and reflect. A place where you can feel understood, supported and connected to others who truly understand the grief of losing a pet.