Doglover, I am so sorry you lost your little piggie.

Losing a pet is very hard. Sometimes I think I will never get over it. I still weep over kitties that have been gone many years. It is just as hard as losing a human loved one, only different. I still weep over the loss of my sister and that was over twenty years ago. The hurt gets better, but never goes away. It is the same with all our beloved pets at the rainbow bridge. One big difference is, when my sister passed, there was a funeral, notices in the papers, cards, flowers, phone calls, visitors, lots of hugs, love and support. The significance of the trauma was validated in our friend's and society's response. This in turn validated my sister's worth. When our pets pass, it's "oh". It's almost like we are made to think we are crazy because we think the loss of a pet is so traumatic, and that our pets were worthless.

Almost two years ago, I lost all three of my cats in a very tragic, very preventable (by me) accident. The devastation I felt was almost overwhelming. It was made even more unbearable by the fact that no one was interested in letting me cry on their shoulder. At best I was offered a short "oh, how sad" before the subject was quickly changed. At worst I was made to feel like it wasn't even a subject worth mentioning. Only one close friend, who was a dog lover who had lost her favorite dog in a similar accident, showed any sympathy.

I guess it's part of the same attitudes that allow so many pets to be abused, abandoned, and unneutered.

Thank goodness for this wonderful site, where we know we can turn when we need someone to understand the depth of our loss.