If you’ve ever owned a pet, you would know what amazing and loyal companions they are. They’re the friendly faces, and I swear some of them smile like humans, the wagging tail, and the burst of excitement when you walk in the door from a long day at school or work. Even if you’ve only been gone for 20 minutes on a short errand, they will make you feel like the most important person in the entire world when you come back home. But what happens when they don’t come back home? For all pet parents, we dread the day that we will call their last. We take them to the vet, discover an illness, and immediately our lives are completely flipped upside down. Losing a pet can happen in a variety of ways, expected or not, and no matter what it hurts just the same. The thought that you’ll never hear that bark you always found much too loud, never see the muddy paw prints they used to track through the house that always drove you nuts, or clean the shiny hair that always made its way into all of the corners of your house that you swear you hated absolutely tears you apart inside.
You’ll come home the next few days with tears in your eyes as your beloved animal isn’t there to greet you. You’ll lay in bed, stretching out your legs much further than you were ever able to before due to your big, furry friend taking up half of the bed. You’ll find their toys and pieces of their food strewn throughout the house and you’ll break down remembering all of the times you played fetch in the yard with that very same ball or how excited they used to get as they heard the cling of their food hitting their metal bowl.
It really hits you, though, when you least expect it. Months can go by and you’ll still find yourself calling their name to go for a walk but they won’t come when you call. You’ll randomly find yourself in the grocery store picking out a new toy for them until you realize they won’t be at home to play with it. You’ll find yourself laying in bed crying, reaching for their head to pet because it’s always been the only thing to make you feel better on the nights you felt alone, but it won’t be there.
When people say, “Oh, come on, it was just a pet!” I can’t help but feel sorry for them. Although I feel rage at their ignorant comment, I also feel remorse because they’ve obviously never had the joy of loving a pet as much as I have. All animal lovers and pet parents know how much of an impact their pet makes on their lives every single day.
So, hug your pets a little tighter today and give them that extra treat because you never know when your time with them will be cut short. I heard this quote once that goes a little something like this: “People are born so they can learn how to live a good life. Dogs already know how to do that so they don’t have to stay as long.” These beautiful words of wisdom came out of the mouth of a 6 year-old boy. I think he’s right.
In loving memory of my own little bundle of joy, Gabby. It’s been one year since you’ve been gone and I miss you every single day.
{03/23/2006-12/03/2014}
*If any of you pet lovers ever need a good book to read, I strongly recommend The Art of Racing in the Rain written by Garth Stein. It’ll change your life.
