Do you ever just dread opening certain topics?

[Logan]

I am an admitted wimp. Sometimes, whether it be in the Dog House, Dog General, Cat General, Health, etc, there are just some topics I don't want to open because I know they are going to contain something depressing. They show up everywhere, not just at Pet Talk, on many other groups too. Sometimes, just dealing with other's pain over the loss of their pet, or a sickness, is just about as much as I can handle.

For the record, if I don't always respond, it isn't because I don't care, just that I couldn't take anymore.

[Tonya]

Me too. Sometimes on the sadder subjects, I don't respond because I don't know what to say.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Make that "me three." It makes my heart ache but sometimes it is just too hard for me.... So that makes me a wimp too.

Shall we form WWW .... Wimps World Wide?

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

me four!

If i can tell by the topic that it is going to be sad... or mayby graphic / voilent towards an animal.. i can't open it.

signed..
wimp#4

[catlover4ever]

Count me in on that one....sometimes I just can not handle reading about abused animals...it is just so upsetting and depressing. It's not that I don't want to respond...it's just that sometimes I can not put into words my thoughts and feelings...does that make sense??

[gini]

Logan, you are so right! In the morning I usually go online and check out the latest news. Many times there is a lead-in to a story and I can just tell by that headline - I cannot go there!

If it is on Pet Talk, I usually will go to the thread, because if it is one of our own - they probably need to hear some kind words.

I know when I lost my beloved Patches and Magic the posts really helped me - because I knew people here really understood my loss and my pain and they cared.

[Randi]

I'll join the wimp gang - at least on certain days.

One subject I can't read is "animal abuse" that is just too depressing!! I saw some pictures recently, I wish I hadn't - they were in files back from the beginning of the nineties.

On the subject of loosing your pet, I often have problems finding the right words to try to comfort - and not repeating what everyone has already said. I do if that's what I mean to say. And some days, the english language flows better for me than other days.

When I don't reply to such a post, it's because of this.

[Freckles]

If I don't like the thread title and I don't recognize the starter, I usually don't open it.

I think it's important to have an honest title. A title might be:
"I need to get rid of my dog (or) cat (or) bird!" and the first post starts with "just kidding!" I very seldom open another thread by that person.

[Cataholic]

Those that know me, in person, would never classify me as a wimp. But, on PT, and in real life conversations dealing with animals, I often turn away from hurtful topics. With one exception. I do go to the Cat Memorial section. I know no matter how awful I might feel, the person posting in the cat memorial section feels worse than me.

I do notice one or two people on PT ALWAYS posting depressing/tragic threads. I avoid them. I don't need to see it to know it exists, and some people seem to get a perverse pleasure out of posting this stuff.

[Logan]

I do notice one or two people on PT ALWAYS posting depressing/tragic threads. I avoid them. I don't need to see it to know it exists, and some people seem to get a perverse pleasure out of posting this stuff.

I guess that's sort of the same feeling I am having, Johanna. It's not just pet related, but politics, etc. I just can't handle more than the losses of our Pet Talk friends, which I always try to be sympathetic and respond to. I hope I do ok in that regard.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Seems to be a lot of depressing things going on lately. I almost regret going into Dog General anymore *Lots of puppies going to the RB* but I know people need support in times of trouble. I always check for updates on posts where peoples pets are ill *Its impulsive, after a while you feel like you know them so you always want to know how they are doing and such*. I don't notice people who ALWAYS post depressing threads...I guess this is a recient development. *I admittedly don't check a lot of forums often, Im usually stuck in cat general and the dog house*

[Logan]

I will admit to going to many different subject topics, after all, I have pets who fit in all the catagories! I probably don't look at breeds and behavior issues, only because I am just pressed for time. But the others, I check as often as possible. I want to be supportive of health issues and certainly memorials, which I usually am. It's just those headlines that let me know I'm in for an ugly story......some news story that will break my heart, or a shameful story about how some shelter or animal control facility has gone wrong, or one of those heinous crimes where someone has hurt an animal, or God forbid a political atrosity, where I know there will be controversy........I do look sometime, but we have so much grief, just within our group, with animals who have no hope and have to cross the bridge, that sometimes I just wish for the rest to go away.

That's why I call myself a wimp, a loving wimp, for sure, but still a wimp.

[My Peanuts]

I almost never open the ones with poems about the RB or anything like that. Angie has been gone over a year, but I'm still not ready to read those

[DJFyrewolf36]

Originally posted by Logan


That's why I call myself a wimp, a loving wimp, for sure, but still a wimp.

I agree with you there, Logan

[Denyce]

I can't read the Rainbow Bridge poem. I can't even think about it too hard or I start to tear up.

I don't read all the animal abuse ones...or lets say I open them but if I have to go to another page to read it I won't. But I do try to read them and learn. Not because I want to make myself miserable. But someone has to bear witness. Someone needs to know what these innocent beings have gone through and give a prayer for them. It also opens my eyes to what to look for in my own area so that perhaps someday I can help an animal from suffering any more. It is my feeling that if we stick our heads in the sand and try not to see the ugliness then how can we fully appreciate the beauty and how can we not be part of the problem?

It is just my own philosophy. Everyone has to deal with what they can in life to stay sane. In some strange ways this helps me sometimes. Because I know I sound nuts by saying this but I feel like if I listen closely I can hear the pained souls screaming. Ok I should shut up now.

Denyce