Moving on? Loving hurts.

[Dog momma]

I lost my lifelong pal about 3 months ago. She was 12 and lived a good life with lots of love. A lot has happened since then. I still occasionally get hit with a wave of sadness. Sometimes I still bawl like a baby. I miss my best pal, She made every day better. Is this normal? Do i need help? Should I not be sad anymore like the rest of my family appears to be? I know sadness doesn’t make her life mean more or less. I just have it and don’t know what to do with it. Anyone who’s walked through this able to offer some help? 

[kayc]

Of course you are sad and miss her!  I miss my Arlie, whom I lost six months ago, and I will love and miss him the rest of my life!  He was my soulmate in a dog, my best friend, my companion.  Animals are in our everyday lives and when they're gone it affects every part of our being!  All of the things we did with/for them are now a reminder of their absence and cuts us to the quick.  I used to cook for my Arlie, he was big so that was a lot of cooking.  I even miss that.  I miss our daily walks, the places around the house he'd lay are now an empty reminder of his being gone.  I miss playing with him, I miss hugging him, giving him belly rubs.  It can take much time for us to process our grief and begin to adjust and it's not easy.  There is nothing wrong with you, don't let anyone tell you this is abnormal.  I am so sorry for your loss.  (You can read my threads in this section, tells of our journey with cancer, resulting in Arlie's death, losing Kitty, and two memorial threads of Memories of Arlie and also one of Kitty.)

Do you have a picture you want to share?

https://www.griefhealingblog.com/2012/10/a-bill-of-rights-for-grieving-animal.html

and this one (it's for cats too):
https://www.dogmomdays.com/what-is-a-heart-dog/