I tend to agree with Jen and Twisterdog on this one. I have and do spend great sums of money to ensure my animals are healthy and happy. I've gone so far as sending a cat to a different part of the country to get the treatment he needed. But would I die for them? Probably not. I'd do as much as I could to save them--financially or otherwise.

Statements about not being able to go on or live without them concern me. Realistically, most pet owners will outlive their pets. I look around my yard and know that I will mourn 29 deaths at some point. I expect 2005 to be a rough year around here--I have several elderly animals right now. Will it break my heart to loose them? Absolutely! But I will survive it and believe that someday I will see them again.

Loosing Hoodoo sucked! Parts of my heart are still broken and parts will always belong to him. I wear his ashes in a pendant every day, I still talk to him, still forget he's gone sometimes and call him to come get supper.

But I still love the others and still had room to love the new ones who have followed in Hoodoo's pawprints. I know that when these ones move on, that other little feline and canine lives will move in here..not to replace them, but to make their own place. There will always be another little soul who needs a safe place. I dont' think that diminishes my love for my current pets. Love is not diminished or divided when it is shared.

To avoid the pain of loss, I'd have to avoid the joy of knowing them now. That's not worth it.