Minnie

[twotall911]

I dont ever ask for help but here it goes..Im a vietnam combat vet single live alone and have no friends or family.I use to take in abused dogs but stopped because of age and health.but kept six two oldest are 13.Minnie who was with me passed last wednesday  evening.my second best friend my mother was the first and it took almost two years to stop crying.Minnie and i were the closet of closet and she knew like a book and I to her.She was perfect in everyway she would even poop around the side so she wouldnt mess up the front.we shared everything as one, only thing that happened to her was she had a new knee cap.Last year she became diabetic shots twice a day and i dont like to give them,she was on meds for seizures but living a normal life.about a week before, she was losing able to stand and all four legs would slide.They day before she passed everything was normal that evening she started to labor breathing called vet put her on cayro syrup she had trouble all night..next morning rushed her to vet refused to eat her favorite couldnt stand or bathroom real hard breathing he checked her out and said her body was getting tired asked if in pain and said lot of discomfort and he didnt like to put dogs down and asked if he could fight to save her and i said yes so later he called and said shes responding to IV two hours later he called back and she had passed and she didnt appear she was in pain,either her heart stopped or he brain shut down.Nobody on here knew minnie she was one of a kind..Now i cant stop crying its been days now have lost everything no purpose to go on but i cant stop crying if i do its from pure exhaustion.I need some help in trying to stop this my heart is so sad

[CJ Anderson]

I am so sorry for your loss. I also have concern because you have more going on with the experiences from the military.  In my group Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry, we do lots of work with Veterans and their pets and service animals. In fact our VP and Department director of Veteran Services, is a two tour Vietnam Veteran who just last night was sharing with me how much helping other Veterans with their pets has made for him. He lost his White German shepard  recently, and this work helped him to bridge until he felt ready to take on another dog ,to keep helping him.  We dont have animals but there are many meaning ways you could make a difference to other Veterans!

If you are in Arizona you would be welcome inside Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry working with Veterans or others, to help you through this time. Soldiers Best Friend in Peoria is a great agency as well working with rescue dogs and Vets who have PTSD,  maybe another such group where ever you are!  What I can say to you unconditionally is to not isolate your self but determine to find some meaning and purpose with those who understand what yu have been through and wont judge you!

There are s many of us who want to stand by you for all you did for us! Please reach out to a group! 

Hugs

CJ Anderson

 

[twotall911]

i appreciate the input but i live in arkansas,i was trying to seek help with my own loss and dont have any interest in helping other vets

[kayc]

I am so sorry you lost your dog, Minnie.  She does look so sweet and I understand your heart is broken.  You go on for your other dogs, they need you.  I know it doesn't feel like it today or even tomorrow, but the pain won't stay in this intensity forever, we couldn't bear it if it did.  Have you seen a grief counselor?  When we have intense grief to someone really close it helps to see someone who is professionally trained to guide us through it.

I want to thank you for your service.  My son and his dad and his dad, and mine and all the way back, each generation, has served in the military.  I appreciate your doing that for all of us.

In time the memories will bring you a smile instead of this horrible pain, in the meantime, I know it's hard.  Try not to think about tomorrow  but just get through today, one day at a time helped me, remember to breathe and take good care of yourself.  It's your best chance at being able to cope.

[MartyT]

My friend, you've asked for help in trying to stop the tears ~ but those tears are a healthy way to express the pain of loss, and I hope you will give yourself permission to cry. There is no shame in shedding tears when we've lost someone we've loved. It is said that tears are the words the heart can't express ~ "the silent language of grief."

I encourage you to learn what is normal in grief ~ especially the grief that accompanies the loss of a cherished animal companion, such as your precious Minnie. This is a different sort of grief, and the more you know about it, the better prepared you will be to understand your own reactions and find healthy ways to deal with it.

You might begin by reading one or more of these articles:

Pet Loss: Is It A Different Kind of Grief?

Finding Support for Pet Loss

You might also consider reaching out for some of the specialized services now available for loss of a pet. See, for example: 

Helplines, Message Boards, Chats  

Pet Loss Counseling

[enna]

The emptiness and loneliness of losing a cherished pet are like no other loss. You were the one your pet depended on. You were the one your pet looked at with eyes begging for that one piece of cheese or that one bite of an apple. I like the picture of your Minnie. I am so very sorry for your loss. 

I hope you have looked at the Pet Loss thread here on this forum. Tears are healing. We cry because we have loved. Allow the tears. They will become less. 

Anne

[twotall911]

thank you this has just torn my heart out she always gave me more than i gave her

[kayc]

I think that's why I love dogs so much!

[Clematis]

I am so sorry about your losing your dog Minnie. She looks very sweet. Animals are so important, and I think even more so for people who live alone with their pet. It makes a huge difference between coming home to a pet who is delighted to see you, and cowing home to an empty house. I have lost several pets over the years and it is agonizing. I hope you are getting along ok...

[Marj37]

HI----- I also encourage you to cry.   We were created with tears and that is their usefulness.   Do whatever you feel like - even pounding on a mattress in the frustration of having to deal with grief.   Grief walk is hard.   And it is painful.  And all of us here will attest to that.   And eventually things become softer but it is too soon for that now so keep posting to us your feelings - whateve they may be.

And I am so sorry you lost your companion of many years.  That makes emptiness and can even feel like a bottomless pit in the first throes of loss.  But we are here.