@polarberry, I loved the Secret World of Pets! Haven't had a chance to see the second one yet.
@laynara, Sissy and Kiwi are precious! Thank you for sharing those pics with us. Our furry companions bring so much joy into our lives.
My husband and I watched both of those movies - the secret life of Pets (1 & 2) and I agree Sissy and Kiwi are just so precious. If I could I would want one now but hubby won't let me :( I do love little dogs so much!
Another great movie: Pick of the litter! Documentary about how seeing eye dogs are raised and chosen.
My deepest sympathy at the loss of your precious Charcoal. You did the right thing Ana, as hard as it was. I look at it like this - I myself, if I were older and dying and also suffering I would want to be treated with the same love and respect you gave to Charcoal. Charcoal is no longer suffering but will always be with you in spirit. ?
@ana don't give up on "hearing" from him. I have heard from all my fur babies that have passed. It might be months or even years but they will let you know. I understand how you feel about poor Charcoal. I have had to let five cats go in my adult life and I feel guilty about eeryone of them! But deep down I know that it was the right thing to do.
I think I heard fromSandy as soon as I did because we couldn't be there with him and I know he was so sick and probably scared. He came back to let me know it was OK, he knows I loved him.
@ana As a cat devotee and cat parent, I feel your anguish. My cat Kealani dropped dead in front of me from a blood clot and for a long time, I suffered tremendous guilt - I feared I had killed her with the food I had fed her that morning. I was inconsolable. While I subsequently did see patches of her calico color around the apartment, the sightings did nothing to lessen the guilt. Something did help and I am very thankful for it. I worked with an animal communicator who conveyed messages from her across the Rainbow Bridge. To the animal, all they do is shed their fur suit and open a door to another realm.
Charcoal is just in the next room, free of the weight of age and pain. If I can share what the animal communicator conveyed - sometimes when the passage is brought on by illness, the cat needs to sleep for a while before moving on. By my time, it was just a few days.
I also derived great consolation from reading this book Crossing the Rainbow Bridge: Animal Journeys to Heaven.
deetoo,
Not many sequels are as good as the original, but I though SLP 2 was pretty funny. There is a scene with a cow that slays me. It's definitely worth a watch. I also still love Finding Nemo. Did you like 2, Tricia?
Our dog's bed is still laying outside where we crossed him over. Can't bring myself to move it yet. He loved to be outside. He'd go out in the morning and lay on the deck or in the grass all day.
Yes I liked both of them. I find the little tough bunny hysterical! My husband and I are like two kids - we loved them both.
We actually called one of the 90 yrs old gals in my dad's retirement place "Dori" all the time because she had short term memory loss. She was funny and adorable and she would eat dinner with my dad and us on occasion (my dad died two yrs ago this 5/25). The very next time we ate with them - perhaps a couple days later, she "met" us all over again. We'd talk about the same conversation and how she grew up in the same town I lived in etc. My dad would laugh and admit he thought she was "Dori" too.
Welcome, sorry about your loss, at least you were there for them. Since 1992, I have had a total of 8 pets, 5 of which we've had to euthanize in the last 10 years, the most recent just in February (^^scroll up for pic^^). In my experience, the only euthanasia regret I have is not doing it sooner for a couple of them.
So don't feel bad - you did the right thing. One of our cats also got a "saddle clot", rushed to the ER, euthanized. There's no treatment for it. At least that cat only had a couple of hours of pain and suffering. And the one in February - we knew he had cancer and I promised him that I wouldn't let him suffer for more than 1 day. That morning he was clearly unwell and was suffering, so we made him comfortable (gave him lots of pain meds), and I made the call for the vet to come to the house.
We were given the option of getting his ashes back in a biodegradable box with wildflower seeds mixed in, so we did that. I just buried him in our garden last week. I still miss him so much. Heck, I miss all of them...
We're holding off getting another cat right now because the remaining cat has pretty severe autoimmune disease (pemphigus), and it's a lot of work to keep her well. Once she passes, probably in the next year or 2, we'll get another kitty.
My hubby and I have to watch SLP 2. We also loved Finding Nemo. @triciact, i'd really like to see that documentary about the service dogs. Thanks for suggesting it.
@polarberry, You talked about holding onto your dog's bed -- after Gracie passed, we kept her ratty comforter for about 6 months. She loved that comforter; it's where she found refuge and slept. (She had a very nice dog bed but wouldn't use it -- that figures! LOL!) The evening that we let Gracie go, I could feel her energy so strongly in certain areas of the house that it actually made me dizzy. She would even follow me around from room to room, which made me laugh. As you can guess, I always felt her spirit by that comforter. Gracie's spirit stayed around us for about 5 days, then moved on. Anyway, I think that's why I held onto that comforter for so long.
@ana, I am so sorry for your loss. My vet once told me that our pets live for us; I believe that's true. We've made a sacred commitment to be their caretakers, offering as much love as their noble hearts can hold. But it's also up to us to ensure their quality of life, and to know when to let go. Please don't second guess yourself; you did the right and loving thing. Charcoal knows how much you love him.
@jeanne-mayell Thank you so much for the welcome. Over the months I have been reading the forum,I have developed a great respect for you.