I just recently lost my dog, Shadow. He was 17 years old and we decided to put him down. He had cataracts and he fell down the stairs quite a bit. I almost broke my ankle tripping over him once. This was very hard on my dad, but I've learned how others and myself cope with pet loss.
And you might be wondering, why pet loss? Isn't the same to human loss? I think that pet loss can be much worse. You have to realize that there was nothing you could have done to stop it, unlike people.
Here's a few things I did with Shadow and my family before he passed that you can try:
1. Cry! It helps a lot and its good to cry together. Don't run away to your room and cry alone.
2. Give them lots of love before they go. I held Shadow snug in a blanket until I had to go to bed and pet him all night long.
3. Don't overthink. You might think that you had something to do with it, or that you could have chnaged what was going on, but you can't. You have to realize that.
4. Finally, come to your senses. Your pet is gone... I know you loved them so much but there isn't anything you can do about it now.
With the passing of Shadow, I was inspired to write a book about him. I will keep you updated.