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Death is a sure thing in life - but so very hard to accept.
I had no pets until I was an adult. My very first love was a miniature black poodle named Dutchess. She was my heart dog and just showered me with her love. She was only a year old when I lost her.
My next pet was my heart cat, Sugar and had him for 18 1/2 years.
My next fur babies were Patches and Magic. Oh, the stories from those two............life was never dull around them.
So I have sent four loves to the Rainbow Bridge.
Not including my childhood family pets(at least a dozen of those that I can recall off the top of my head).....
8, all lost in the last five years...Hoodoo, a four year old Siberian who had a massive stroke for no apparent reason; Dominique, a five year old indoor kitty who escaped and was killed by the dogs; Twicket, an elderly kitty, kidney failure; Kasha, another old kitty, acute liver failure; Beau, yet another elderly cat, everything failure;(all the old cats were at least 13 when I got them) Preacher, 13 year old Alaskan husky, stolen by cancer; Pirate, 15(?) year old husky mix who's body just failed her; Paxil, 15 year old husky, my soulmate, died from a stroke a month ago.
Facing the loss of at least two more dogs in the not so distant future and probably one cat too......I get many comments on how "cool" it would be to own as many animals as I do; no one ever considers how often you get your heart broken though.....
There are seven buried in the back yard, and all the ones that went before them. Probably another 6 or 7. That would make 12 - 13. But I have been on this earth a long time.
Each of the backyard bunch were cremated. I put the ashes in a tupperware container with a laminated picture of them and a copy of The Rainbow Bridge poem. Each spot is marked with an engraved brick stating their name and year of birth and death.
Too many in my 45 adult years. Most were with me for quite a long time, others not so long. Starting way, way back:
Dutchess - shepherd mix
Snuffy - tiger stripe cat
Muffin - heinz 57 mutt
Cinnamon - terrier mix
Peanut - orangie
Spook - gray cat
B.R. - dwarf bunny
Inky & Smokey - rabbits
Rocky - cockatiel
Ming, Sam & Suki - Meezers
Tai, Bear & Scooter - Lhasas
Mortimer - tuxie
O.C. - orangie
I always had several at one time - never just a one pet household! Some were meek and mild - others feisty - but they were all loved dearly. :love:
Childhood - teenage years(all Irish Setters-4):
Copper, Sr. - Champion show dog, PTS, cancer & arthritis.
Josie - Copper's daughter, real character, heck of a jumper; put in a kennel while she was in season, they were told to put her in a roofed run & didn't, she jumped to the next run. Their decision was to tether her & she snapped her neck jumping (she had never been tethered, our dogs had runs). She was only 3 and had one litter.
Copper, Jr. & Rio - Josie's son's, PTS - I can't talk about them, my parents shouldn't have had dogs without their children living at home.
Adult (all cats-2):
CK - age unknown, adopted stray Tomcat, pure white, hit by a car in 1983.
Jamara - 1984-2002, adopted abandoned kitty, solid grey, PTS, took a HUGE piece of my husband's and my hearts with her.
I FORGOT!
Lizzy the lizard :( - we don't know what she died of - she just kind of quit one day.
:love::love: all loved and missed terribly :love::love:
I had a number of uncountable fish as a kid, and two frogs. Then came Sassy and a few years later Sunny and Star.
Sunny- budgie of 10 years old. I got him when he was 6 and had him for 4 years, he died of unknown causes.
Sassy- severe arthritis took a toll on her. We tried many meds and even acupuncture, but by the 6th month of all that it was just too much. We put her to sleep on June 13th 2008. Surely, the worst death of my life.
Star- Died of unknown causes on Febuary 22, 2009.
They are all missed. No one said having pets doesn't come with a terrible price in the end, but it is sure worth it for all the years of love and companionship. :love:
I've lost two dogs since I've been married. Sammie on New Year's Eve in 2001/2002 and then Nicki last July 4th.
I asked for July 4th off this year to remember Miss Nicki. I miss her so much.
I have two RB kitties.
My Aysche, a persian girl, who only lived for 21 months. She died from FIP. She went to the Bridge in 1986.
And my Katz, my beloved tux girl. She lived with me for 14 years; she had hypertrophic cardiomyopathia and in the end, she was so miserable that my vet helped her to cross the Bridge. That was in May 2000.
Kirsten
I've had several animals in my lifetime. But they were "family pets". A couple cats were conisdered mine. Jasper, a black cat, that I believe was hit by a car and had internal injuries. He went to my brothers house and died. And then I had Jinx, a orange and white kitty. Wow, I can't even remember how or why he died. :(
So, Taz is my first cat as an adult. And Zoee is the first dog. Luckily I still have them with me. Although, I know the time will come when I must say goodbye and that is going to hurt so much!!
And there was Bruce's Cocker Spaniel, DJ, that we had to let go in March of 2005. I only knew him for a couple years.
Not to mention all the pets had as a child. Of my own pets, I've lost 5. With one to come, hopefully not too soon.
Sami, my first own dog. Lived to be 12 years old, died a week after her 12th birthday, her body quit on her.
Rascal, the second of our ferrets and the first to die of cancer, he was only 2 years old.
Trouble, our first ferret, died at 4 years of age of Adrenal Gland Disease and its associated complications.
Miko, our third ferret, actually adopted with his brother Sebastian after Rascal died to keep a lonely Trouble company. Miko had awful cancer on his blood vessels that made blood leach into his body cavity. Had surgery to remove 3 cups of blood, found the cancer, got the diagnosis, he died 10 days after surgery.
Sebastian, adopted with Miko. Diagnosed with Adrenal Gland Disease 2 weeks after Trouble died. Changed vets, he got the surgery and lived to be 6 years old before he joined his brother Miko at the Bridge, 12 days before Christmas, 12 months after Miko left.
I miss them all TERRIBLY. But I know they are well and happy.
Sasha is almost 15 and holding her own for now, but I know in my heart that her time grows short.
Smokey the Elder went to the Bridge on Dec. 19, 1999. She had cancer.
Pixel was PTS Dec. 26, 2004 (lousy Christmas present.) She was a feral who got really sick before I could catch it.
I had a rough stretch: Ebony PTS Dec. 17, 2006; Diva passed in January 2007, and Luna in March 2007. Ebony and Luna were old (over 15.) Diva, my first CH cat, was 10 1/2.
And on D-Day (June 6) I lost Moby, my nearly 16 year old diabetic. I miss them all so much, but it is good to have a thread like this to remember them all.
Counting only pets in my adult (aka married) years there were
cats...
BrightEyes, Amanda, Thumper, Bear, Y.Lee, Lucas and Rutherford
Ev'ret the ferret
And 17 or so fancy mice.
Also some very special foster cats and kittens,
Braveheart and Tuvok being the two who stand out the most.
I've lost 5....
The first was my fish who was called Polly... I had her when I was about 5.
Then I lost Nut who was my guinea pig due to what I think was old age, and about 6 months later, her sister Egg died.
Then I had Whisk, my hamster who died less than a year ago. He had to be put down due to a tumor...
Lastly, I lost my Chino (another hamster) a few weeks ago because of old age.
Miss all my babies a lot :love::(
Oh heavens, they're too numerous to count! I remember every single one of them, though, from my first kitty kat to my little bunny to my dogs and more cats. I miss every single one of them. :love:
I also have had too many to count. Since I lived on a farm when I was a child I had cows, horses, geese, chicken, duck, rabbits, pigs, dogs, and tons of barn cats. As an adult I have had more rabbits, cats, hamsters, dogs.
My pony Joker comes to mind he is certainly gone many years now.
As do the three horses, my pet cow King I was very fond of. My pet pig.
Maybe 30 or 40 cats have come and gone. Our dogs, Cindy, Princess, Heidi, Gypsy, Buffy, Rex, Hobo so many. Each one life was of great value, bringing joy and love, happiness and laughter, tenderness and loyalty.
Bunnie, Bugsey, Buckwheat, Buster, Bunny, Snowy my rabbits.
Cassie, Olivia, Annabell, our recent cat loses in 10 years.
And then all the rats, hamsters, gerbils, birds, mice my daughter and boyfriend have had.
I am going to be so busy seeing them all when I die. Heaven is full of all our pets, it will be wonderful.
Childhood:
Rusty - Irish Setter
Teenage years:
Sable - our first family cat
Nike - cat
College years:
Scooter - cat
Chance - cat
Adult (my own pets):
Syth - crested gecko
Hermit Crab
Frisk: My "sunshine". My heart-dog. Left this world in 2008 to keep my dad company.
Norri: My first bird, a budgie. Gosh, the doors he opened up!
David & Margaret: Lovebirds. Actually my sister's, but I took great joy in caring for them as well.
Otto & Ventriloquist: My first rats, and hairless at that. :-)
Sid: My very special rat with neurological problems.
Ophelia & Garber: Two of the most friendliest rats I had ever had the privilege to share my life with.
Durbin: A stunted rat with a personality to make up for size.
Greggory: An Oscar fish that came to me with damages done by the fish store. Great personality!
Marley & Galileo: Dwarf hamsters
Along with that are some fish, mice, and other odds and ends. Despite not listing them they still meant the world to me. There are also a few that died within a week of adding them to the family due to unknown existing illnesses.
Although its a bit hard, I have learned to smile when looking at this list. One fine day I hope to see them all again.... :)
Two cats:
Butterscotch and Thumper
I am new to the wonderful world of pets. In the past 6 years have added 10
cats, 1 dog, and 5 weeks ago, 5 new kittens. Have yet to have to deal with
losing any of them. I know that it will happen at some point in time and can't even imagine what it will be like. I am so glad that I have found a site like this where people will understand and help in those times.
I look forward to spending many hrs on Pet Talk.
I have two RB kitties. Marina Mar went to the Rainbow Bridge in 2000 from Pemphigus Arelous. The other RB kittie was my soulmate. Casey "Bubba Dude" went to the RB in 2002 from cancer.
I hope I never have to send any of my kitties there again. I miss them so very much.
Only 2, not counting fish. My cats Cineli and La Vie Claire.
In total: four
Sammy - my first kitty love, orange and long haired with copper eyes (a heart stopper) I knew Sam from the day he was born until the day he died; PTS with dignity at 22 years of age; cause - old
Toba - Old English Sheepdog and my heart dog; died in surgery at 9 years of age; cause - cancer
Roxy - my beautiful maine coon kitty girl; died at 11 years of age; cause - renal failure
August - my soul cat; a black marble tabby with emerald eyes; died at 18 years of age; cause - renal failure
I miss my baby kids and hope to see them all again - one fine day:love:
Tigger, my Schneider's skink I had for about 13 years
Oslo, my netherland dwarf bunny I lost this January after only having him since spring 2005.
In my adult life...
4 dogs
Casey, Terrier x
Ginger, Shepherd/Collie
Corey, Shepherd/ Collie
Mandy, Golden/Lab
3 guinea pigs...
Little Pig
Buster
Molly
many fishies
From My Childhood -
Lassie, rough coat collie (8 years)
Princess, dingo / shepherd / collie mix (16 years)
Samantha, shepherd collie mix (16 years, my grandfather's dog)
numerous unnamed fish, mostly goldfish, a few black mollys
From my Adult life -
Amber, orange cat, my heart boy, my first cat ever (8 years, CRF)
Dazzle, black and white cat (18 months, coyote got him)
Billy, grey cat (had him 5 months or so but he was about 6 and died of a broken heart, missed his owner who had died)
Ruffles, black and white long haired cat ( 14, had her 3 years)
Ozzy, bichon (16, had him 15 months)
Ben, bichon (8, had him one week, had cancer of the spine)
Silver Streak, Bala shark (had him 6 years, he would take food from my hand; he outgrew my tank, sold him to a fish store, who sold him to someone else, but he would be 12 years, so I am sure he is at RB now)
numerous unnamed fish, mostly tetras, but also some apple snails, plecos, bala sharks, black snails, and a few other sorts.
From My Childhood:
Smokey(cat)
Puff(cat)
Lucky(dog)
Many fish, mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs.
As An Adult:
Pepper(cat)
In my adult life:
Peaches - toy poodle
Pumpkin - toy poodle
Ashley - miniature poodle
Whitney - standard poodle
Trevor - orange kitty and the only one that PTers ever "knew"
In my childhood:
Fluffy - American Eskimo dog
Laddie - Heinz 57 variety dog
From my childhood:
Shorty: Longhaired Chi/pomeranian mix
My aunt had him and his mom, and I kept begging her to let me have him. I loved him so much. We bonded immediately. She let me have him. He and I did everything together. In fact, if my mom wanted to spank me she had to physically restrain Shorty to do so. He loved me so much. I miss him tremendously, even 23 years after his death. He had liver failure.
Tommie T: Tuxedo kitty
Tom-tom was a stray we started feeding my junior year of high school. We took him in and got him fixed and released him back out. He stayed around though. One morning momma started the car to take me to school and we heard him screaming. He was in the engine compartment. He slinked off and mom made me go to school anyway. She went home, found him and rushed to the vet. He lived, blind in one eye. After that he became an inside/garage kitty. He was so funny. If he didn't think he got enough attention, he'd walk up and bite momma on the butt (if she was sitting) so she'd pet him. Mom loved him so much. He was going on 18 when he passed away.
Little T: black/white kitty
She was another stray. She never grew up. She stayed the size of about a year old kitten her whole 5 years on earth. She ate a poisonous plant one year, and died in momma's arms. Mom was devastated.
From my adult life:
Twinkie Boo. You can read his memorial in the memorial section. He was so special. He was mine and my ex's first "together" kitty.
Harvey Bear: flame point himalayan (mix)
He was beautiful... he was Tater Tot's kitty. LOL They were best buddies. He was not a touchy feely kitty at all though... didn't want anyone to pet him unless he went to them. He was only about 9 when he died. Not sure how he died, he lived with my brother after I moved to Phoenix... my brother found him gone one morning.
Tater Tot: chihuahua
Tater Tot was the sweetest dog... I wrote a story about him once in dog general. He stayed with my mom when I moved to Phoenix... and was her best friend and was with her at the end. He gave her so much comfort that nobody else could. He was just happy-go-lucky all the time. Nobody ever frowned with him around.
There are more, but those are the main ones. We had a lot of animals when I was a child... mom instilled a love of animals in her kids (me mostly) and she brought home all the strays that needed love. I guess that's why I do it. :)
Monko - first dog
Mickey - second dog
Snickelfritz - cat
Calhoon - hammy
Joey - pet mouse
Mousie - cat
Bowser - dog
Fluffy - cat
Lucky - cat
Pokie - cat
Tippy - cat
Moochie - cat
Tyke - dog
Dallas - cat
Dilly - Dog
Smoky - dog
Lizzy - cat
Lucy - cat
Leroy - cat
Luke - cat
Leonardo - cat
and a wide assortment of strays I took care of over the years
Childhood:
Fifi-poodle
Adult:
Dusty-mutt
Afra-poodle
Dutchess-poodle
Keisha-chow
Angus-rottweiler
Four pets:
Benny, a yellow labrador retriever/beagle mix - 17 years, my childhood dog I grew up with. I think of him almost every day. He was my best friend.
Otto, a tri-colored long haired guniea pig - 4 years - also my childhood pet, my first pet I owned besides Benny. :) Only had for a short time, but he was a cuddly little guy. He was a good pet.
Anna, a Siberian Husky - 12-13 years, body failed her of old age. She was a great dog, the most laid back, easy going husky I've ever seen and owned.
Rosie, a tri-colored Beagle - 7 years, chronic back pain, dislocated disc cost her life, which, with one slip, she lost the use of her back legs, had to be put to sleep. She was my brother's dog, mostly.
Well now I have to add another cat.:( Starr went to the Bridge yesterday.:( I'm sure that my RB Pepper greeted him and is showing him around.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taz_Zoee
Well, the time came much sooner than I expected/hoped for Taz. I let him go tonight. I couldn't even imagine how it would feel at the time I posted the above quote. Its much worse than I anticipated. :(
So, so, many.
Childhood:
Ringo: Boston terrier; distemper PTS
Taffy: Cockapoo Old age
Adult:
Molly: Doberman: cancer
Maverick: My Tennesee Walking horse, the best I ever rode! old age 30 years old.
Harry: Chinese crested; went away to die, never found him
Kitty: Long haired tabby: mauled by neighbor's dog (Miss you still:()
Tomas: A Most Excellent Tan and White Cat, Old age, PTS
I still think of, and miss, them all!
Monzaya~ She was my collie. I got her when I was 7 years old and had her for 10 years, so I was 17 when she died. I had never had a dog that I was so close to like I was Monzaya and I don't think I ever will. We just bonded so much cause we grew up together and I always had her w/ me. A big tumor came up on her stomach and one night it ruptured and that's how she died. I miss her so much
Montiego~ She was my brother's alaskan malamute and she lived to be 13. She had a stroke and we had to get her pts.
Monique~ She was our black chow and she lived to be 12. We don't know why she died. One morning she couldn't walk and later that afternoon she died.
Mufassa~ He was our big ol' great pyrenees. He lived to be 9. He also had a tumor and that's what took him from us. He was such an awesome dog. He protected us and watched over the whole yard all the time.
Maggie~ she was our little maltese/shih tzu mix. She was about 14 when she died. She was always such a happy little spirit. I think old age is what took little Mag from us.
Meca~ she was our ferret and she drowned in our bathtub. Someone had left water in the tub and she was out running around the house one day and jumped in and couldn't get out.
Little Meca 2~ she was our squirrel. She was so cute and so curious about everything.
Gizmo~ he was our hedgehog. We had him for a very long time.
Gretta~ she was our white rabbit. We had her for ever it seems. She use to play w/ Maggie all the time. She got in the back yard w/ our alaskan malamute and she killed her.
Jake, Topaz, Troy, Apple, Archilles, Reese, Chance~ They were our ducks and were loved so much. We lost them all at different times. Jake died from a broken heart. Our bloodhound killed Topaz. A raccoon killed Troy. Apple got sick and died. Archilles was born at our home and something was wrong w/ him when he hatched. He only lived about 2 days. Reese was a baby we got from this man. He was sick when we got him and didn't live long. Chance was Topaz's baby and we think he got cold or something one day--we really aren't sure. He was only a few days old.
Godzilla~ he was my brother's collared lizard. We had him for a year and we just found him dead one day.
Munchkin~ he was our precious little hamster. He lived for 3 years and as he got older he started losing patches of hair and got all wrinkly. It was so hard when he died--we had him so long.
Snowball~ he was our big white cat. Some dogs killed him.
I know that there is probably more that I'm not naming right now, but that's all I can think of right now.
We have a lot more animals still with us right now and we love them so much.
Toshie - my beloved water spaniel who died of cancer when I was about 11 years old.
Teeko and Uchie - my two budgies I had as a child.
I also had a little turtle as a child. We came home one day to find that he had escaped his bowl and he was found dead behind the stereo.
Many fishies that I had in my twenties.
OJ & Casper - my sweet kitties whom I feel like I abandoned in 1987. My ex and I split and he promised to look after them. Little did I know that he gave them away. I'm sure they are at the RB by now.
Speckles - passed in December, 2005 at the ripe old age of 18 1/2. Max is my heart kitty but so was Speckles. We had a special bond that differs from the bond that Max and I have.
With Max's failing health, I hope I don't have to come back to this thread anytime soon.