rebbyreb99

I also subscribe to this site: dogsnaturallymagazine.com Right now they are asking people to petition about the dangers of rabies vaccinations to animals and not requiring that a vaccination be at least 3 years. They would like to see this pushed out at least every 5 years if not every 7 years. I hope that you will go to this site, read the article and sign the petition. This is a small way to help educate people.

Kacy, I definitely do not want you to think that I thought you were being critical on rescue shelters. My comment on the rescue shelters was a personal observation with the rescue shelters that I have contact with. One particular individual who has a rescue shelter works a 40 hour plus job and then goes to one of the major pet stores every Saturday for adoptions. I have personally seen people come to the site and tell her that they found this dog and can she take them? She does not even think twice about it and says yes. Other rescue shelters have a process in taking abandoned animals. She has to address the situation as far as any medical issues that animal has and relies on that vet to do what they can. She does not have the money or resources that can back her to take one issue at time. I know she would love to take the time for each individual animal to get personal care but with the way that people throw away their animals when they are an inconvenience, there are too many of them. Maylissa, I know what you are saying about animals not holding on to the past. I guess my point was to Kacy is that in my opinion, they do not harbor anger like humans do. Lucy felt love and she did not think that Kacy was hurting her. I hope that you and Kacy will be able to find a holistic vet for Kacy's babies. I can not tell you how wonderful it is to find someone who has the same belief system.

Kacy, You have to quit beating yourself up. We can not change what has happened but we can learn about what to do next time. That is not doing it at Lucy's expense. That is just becoming more knowledgeable. I also read a lot of Dr. Becker's articles. I think there is a site on her's that helps you find a holistic vet in your area. I am not sure but I think that is where I found my current vet. This vet is not close at all to my home but at this point I am willing to travel to find a good one. You are right about all the procedures they did while Lucy's immunity was compromised. We are in dire need of these rescue shelters because of the idiots who own pets that shouldn't. Unfortunately they have limited resources and manpower and time in order to deal with some animals who come in such as Lucy with so many things going on. Their goal is to find a good home for the unwanted. I can just tell that Lucy was very, very lucky to have had you in her life. I know that dog felt love and they don't harbor anger, grief from the past like we humans do. She was in the moment and that moment was a loving human taking care of her. Just keep that in your mind ok?

Dear CharLiesMaMa, I am so sorry for your loss. I feel so bad for your pain because everyone of us on this site knows exactly what you are going through. You will get through this and the first step is doing exactly what you did and that is come to a site such as this and tell your story. We have all done so and it does help to know that there are those of us who know your pain and care. I am sorry that you feel this guilt that you contributed to the loss of your best friend. I believe it is a natural reaction that we feel this way because we felt we did not do everything possible. In time you will stop beating yourself up. I finally decided after awhile that I did what I felt was right and not because I didn't try everything humanely possible. You will too in time. I can tell you what helped me. I went through the heart wrenching stories on here and I bawled like a baby but I also knew I was not alone. It has been 3 years today that I lost my very best friend and I still miss her dearly. I still see her laying in her special spot, on my robe. I still will not go by the veterinarian clinic, I will avoid that area like the plague. I don't think I will ever, ever go by there again but I am now done beating myself up.

Kacy, You and I have a lot of things in common. I did find a vet clinic who believes in traditional as well as homeopathic medicines. There are no more vaccinations for my animals and as far as rabies go? I am still pushing the time table on what they say we should get them for our animals. Not a chance that they will go under 7 years though. The clinic that I found feels the same way as I do on when vaccinations are to be given. I am not sure if the traditional vets are pushing the vaccines for money or because they still believe they are needed. With the previous veterinarian, i was getting emails, regular mail and phone calls to remind me that they need their vaccinations every year. This is when I decided no more and I got on the internet and educate myself. I now make a point to tell my friends who have animals that are vaccinating every year that they really need to educate themselves as to what they are doing. They do it out of love for their animals because that is what we are taught right? The professionals are steering us right, right? I do not even vaccinate myself with the flu shot, shingles shot, etc., so why would I do this to my animals? As you can tell by this reply, I have become quite passionate about what we do with our pets. I guess my point Kacy is that the anger and guilt will go away and knowledge can replace it. It took so much out of me to think I helped kill my little girl. I hope you find what you need to give you peace. There is not one single day that goes by that I do not think of my Katie. I block out any thing now that takes away my peace. If any guilt or anger starts filtrating my mind, I shut it down right then. rebbyreb

Kacy, First of all, I am so sorry for your loss. There is nothing that anybody can say or do for you to make this better right now. I hope that I can at least give you some peace. I lost my little girl 3 years ago tomorrow, 3/3/11 to what supposedly was liver disease. I too felt that at the time, I contributed to my little girl's death because I believed what the vet said was gold. How after reading about all the drugs that little girl was getting, there is no way she would survive. It was enough drugs to kill a horse and here she was a 10 lb jack russell. It took me quite a long time to get over guilt and anger that I was feeling towards the vet and then myself. I now have forgiven myself since there is no way that I could have known for sure what was too much and when to say stop. We are only human and therefore we make mistakes. Some mistakes are so much harder to swallow but mistakes never the less. 3 years later even though I miss her a whole bunch, I am now at peace with what happened.. I now help rescue shelters with time and money in my attempt to honor her short lived life. I now make sure that I read everything that goes into my dogs' diets or what health preventions are used on them. On the death of her anniversary, I go to this site to see if there are others that I can help console or at least give some peace. it has been a few weeks for you since your baby died so maybe you are at a place that you are not angry anymore or at least not as much. If not, I hope that with this site, you may mend sooner with the help of those who have gone through this as you are now. God bless rebbyreb

Blake, First of all I am so sorry about your best friend. It has been 2 years since I like you had to make the worst decision of my life. You did what was best and that often ends up being extremely painful. You found the right place to help you through this. It still hurts but I know that one day I will see her again. I struggled for some time with that fear that I would never see her again. I now believe God will let those of us who treasure our friends be with them. I am counting on it. It is going to take some time but it will get a little easier as time goes by. Come to this site often when you are feeling sad as I felt it helped me get through some tough times.

Mark, I love how you said "earn my wings!" I couldn't have put it better. I try very hard not to be discouraged by those who do not believe our pets will be in Heaven. I have faith that God knowing the hearts of those who love their pets, will indeed reunite us with our furry friends. I hope that you will continue to write about Bicky.

Mark, It was very therapeutic to read your letter tonight. I usually do end up signing on to this site late at night when I am alone with my thoughts on how much I miss my best friend. I am betting your letter reflects a majority of people who come to this site for comfort. It never does get easier no matter what anyone says. You are right in that it probably will never go away but then how could it when your best friend leaves you. It is coming up on the 2nd anniversary of my loss and not a day goes by that I do not think of her. I recently had a dream of her laying on my husband's lap and I was petting her and how peaceful I felt. I woke up feeling so good because it was like she was was there again. Anyway, thank you for your letters because they really do help.

Dear RockysMom....What a beautiful boy. He does look like he's got some collie in him doesn't he?! I am not sure where you are in your faith but for me it is very comforting to know that I will see my four legged friends someday. It has definitely gotten me thru some very difficult days/nights. It has been a over a year for me and it does get easier but I still miss her like crazy. I think it was a wonderful idea to donate his things to a shelter. I could not think of a better way. In memory of my Katie I donated a dog kennel to a new shelter that was being built. It some how eases the pain to know that I can help others since at this time I can not adopt any dogs. You will find that this site helps so much. Bless you and know that your Rocky will be there to greet you one day!

Dear Benjiboy, Today I decided to go on to this site for theraputic reasons and I saw your letter. I am so sorry that you lost your best friend. You are right, no one tells you how much pain you will be in when you lose the best friend you could ever have. I find comfort in believing that because of my love of my animals, I will see them in Heaven. It has been a year since I lost my Jack Russell, Katie. I like you thought after she had surgery for kidney disease, she had beat it. She had surgery on February 3 and March 3 I was saying goodbye to her. I only had her a short 8 years and felt totally robbed of not having her longer. The firsts are the worst. I was crying daily and now maybe every other day but it is getting better. I have decided since I am not able to get another dog, I sponsor dogs at a humane society so that the adoption fees are waived for anyone who wants to adopt a dog. I know that I can not possibly volunteer at a rescue shelter because the last time I was in there I had to run out because I was crying uncontrollably. I found that donating money as in sponsorships, will be in memory of Katie. You will smile again it just is going to take some time. Maybe there is something you are able to do in memory of Benji that can possibly help the pain. I now can look at pictures of her and say her name without falling apart. It was something I could do to help me thru a very rough time. I can guarantee you that in a year you will be so much better so cry when you want to now because you are allowed. I promis you it will be better. I wish you the best. Maybe

Hi Susan, I am sorry to hear about William and what you have been going thru with second guessing yourself. I too lost my little jack russell a year ago. She went thru a whole month of biopsies, drugs, surgeries because I could not imagine my life without her. I had her for 8 years and I felt it was not fair to not get her for another 8 so I put her thru a lot and did not listen to my gut. Finally the last day when the vet said that the only way to possibly save her is for exploratory surgery. Every 4 hours of giving her drugs for possibly the rest of her life, I decided she deserved better than this. It has been my faith that has pulled me thru this plus reading wonderful letters from people on this site that helped me get over "the firsts." I still miss her dearly and there is not a day that does not go by that I do not see her face or worry that there is a possibility that I will not see her again some day. I decided that since I can not get another animal quite yet, I now sponsor dogs in memory of Katie at a humane society. It really helps to ease the pain to see others able to bring home a pet and rescue a pet at the same time. I am so glad to hear that you saved another life by rescuing another dog. Even though you miss William, it probably feels wonderful to safe a life. I wish you the best!

Kat, He is beautiful isn't he? I am very sorry that you are going thru this. I went thru this all exactly a year ago and it is still painful. My little girl went thru liver failure after a month of high hopes of her recovery. I think of her still everyday. Your pain is very evident. You will get thru this that I promise you. You will never forget Bear but everyday it seems to get a little easier to deal with. I have my bad days still but I have my other 2 dogs that help me. I am not sure if you are a believer but I am very hopeful that God will have my little girl waiting for me when I enter His Kingdom. It provides some very needed solace. When you pick up your baby's ashes you are going to have a rough time. I just planned on allowing myself a day of being sad...you are allowed. Take care!

I am so sorry that you are going thru this. I lost my cat the same way that you lost Chu. It took me a long time to go out in the backyard but I do thank the good Lord that we do heal. I wanted to tell you that I appreciate you and everyone like you that become foster parents for dogs. I can just tell that you gave your 3 dogs the greatest love. When I have lost my animals, it comforts me to know that they were loved. Find comfort in that. You are the greatest. Thank you for doing what you are doing. God bless

Marley's mom, Everything you have written could have been written by me. I am so sorry about your loss and how you lost him. 9 months later for me and it is just as sad as it was when she died. I just do not cry as much as I used to. I hope you are doing better. I have found when I am having an especially rough day I come to this forum and it helps. God bless

I am so sorry to find out this is what you meant about her tragic death when you replied to me. I know about the nightmare you had, I know everything you are going thru right now. That part will eventually go away as those have passed away for me. I wish there was something I could say that would make this easier but there isn't. All I can say is that you need to sign on to this site whenever those painful memories come up and then you will be among friends. This has been therapy for me and I hope that it will be for you.

I am so sorry about Baby. I definitely feel better with the replies about pets in Heaven. I decided to put the Christmas sweater that Katie wore on the toy she used to love to grab and run off. This toy is sitting on my nightstand. My husband thought I was nuts for wanting to do this. He thought this would hurt more. Actually looking at this stuffed toy with her sweater on has made me more peaceful. Merry Christmas and God bless

thank you KayC for the wonderful encouragement. I have read many books since she died about Heaven and our pets. You are right when you say why would God let the wonderful furry animals go to waste and start over with new ones. EXACTLY! Like I said, God knows my heart and He knows what I need and extremely important my pets are to me. I need to have faith that they will be there to greet me. Shortly after Katie died, I saw a vision of my collie, my silky terrier and my horse with katie waiting for me. I got to believe that God placed that on my heart to make me feel better. Thank you so much for your words

Rhapsedy, Billy Graham wrote in some of his books that he believes our pets will be in Heaven when we get there. If Billy Graham believes it then that is good enough for me. I am holding on to this.

Marley's mom, I am so sorry for your loss. It ripped my heart out when I read this. You are not alone so whenever you feel that gut wrenching pain, you come to this forum. I can not tell you how many times I came on here, read each painful story, cried and then felt better. I can't explain it but all the crying I do when I read stories such as yours,I don't feel alone. I have to tell you what I have done for therapy since Katie died. I found an organization in Joplin MS and have paid for sponsorships for unwanted animals so that people can adopt the animals and their adoption fee has already paid by me. It has helped me tremendously knowing an unwanted pet can find a new home. Take care Marley's mom

I have not visited this site in quite a few months. Even though I think about Katie every day and shed a few tears about 1 or 2 times a week, I was doing ok. Today I felt like I needed to visit this site and write. It will be about 9 months since I lost her. I have to deal with the death of my dogs, cats, horse, and birds but losing Katie has been extremely difficult. I put up my Christmas tree and in the Christmas boxes I found a stuffed toy that she used to go nuts trying to get ahold of it. There on this stuffed toy's sweater were "Katie hairs" all over it. I lost it big time. I almost 51 years old and nothing to this point has made such an impact on me. I do not let anyone know that I still cry over this. There is so much pain in this world and so I feel some pangs of guilt for crying over this. I have done so much reading since she died about pets going to Heaven. My pastor does not believe that they do but whether is is because of the necessity to believe that they do that I will continue to disagree with him. I am a Christian who believes that God knows my heart and he knows how much I need to believe that she as well as all of my other pets will be there when I get there. Sorry to ramble, sorry to sound crazy but this is a woman who just went thru 10 minutes of bawling in my bathroom and felt the need to go to a site that can relate. Merry Christmas to all!

No worries about just getting back to me. I think that means that you are healing...slowly but surely. When you are ready, I would love to see a picture of Benji. I am glad you got thru bringing Benji home. It is a horrible thing to have to do isn't it? My husband brought her home and he cried when the vet asst started crying when she brought Katie's ashes to him. You know what I think it was that both you and I decided to take pictures of our dogs? I believe with all my heart that God knew I would need them and since I hate and I mean HATE taking pictures that just tells me it was from Him. You also. You see....I believe that God knows my heart and He knows how much my animals mean to me so I was going to need some pictures taken of Kati and He placed that on my heart. I am not sure how you are with that explanation but to me it makes me feel good that someday I will be with them. I am going to get a dog but I am not going to rush into this because it would be a knee jerk reaction to just plunge into getting another dog thinking it would make the hurt go away. There is no way that hurt of Katie or Benji for you will go away by getting another dog. I am waiting for the right time and I am believing I will know when it is right to get another dog. I am glad that you and I can give eachother encouragement. You most certainly are doing that for me. Are your nights better I hope? Becky

Holly, I just read your story. I can not even begin to tell you how very sorry I am for you. You di not let her down...please, please quit blaming yourself. This is not your fault. Rebby

Hi Becka, I love what you said about what is yet to come. Big sloppy kisses also!!!! Rebby

He is beautiful! I believe the same thing, I will know it when it is time. Adoption now is the only way to go.