Terrible depression after dog died

[Soulsearcher1]

Hello, I don't know where to turn. My beautiful little dog died suddenly at the start of the year. She was 16 and had a heart murmur and the vet said she probably died of heart failure. She seemed fine all day then in the afrernoon I came downstairs to find her dying in her bed. I'm absolutely broken. I loved her like she was my child and the pain of being without her is unbearable. She was my best friend, my companion and my soul mate. I don't have any real friends and none of my family give a toss about me yet I had so much love from my little dog, that it made everything OK. Since she died, noone in my life has bothered to ask whether I'm OK. I've never felt more alone and unhappy in my entire life. I don't want to go on living without my dog. I have to though as I have a 9 year old daughter and I have to stick around for her. The grief is just so overwhelming though. I cry all the time and cry out for my dog which i know is pointless but i just miss her so desperately. I just can't bear the thought of living the next 30 odd years without her. I don't know how to live with this pain.

Dogs are family. The love that I have for mine is comparable to how I feel about my actual child! They really are that special and bring a huge amount of love and joy into our lives and losing them can be unbearable.

I can only say from experience that the pain lessens over time. It never fully goes away, but you learn to cope with it.

Perhaps in time when you're ready you may consider getting another dog. This can be very healing as when you lose an only dog, the house seems horribly empty and such a huge void is left in our lives.

Thinking of you OP

You have my heartfelt sympathy. It’s just agonising. What a lovely life your beloved dog had! You’ve had lots of great advice, including the Blue Cross pet loss people - who really get it.

When our old boy died suddenly at 14, it broke our hearts. I just missed him at every turn. We just had this dog-sized hole in our home and lives.

After 6 months or so, though, I was ready to open my heart to another rescue, and this time I took on an ‘oldie’. They’re often overlooked in shelters, and I was used to living with an older dog anyway. He in no way replaces our other dog; he is very much his own character! But we love him, and it feels good to have a dog as part of the family again.

I wish you all the best. It truly does get easier, as the spiky edges of grief wear down, and you can carry their beloved memory more gently. xx

I had depression when our cat had to be pts unexpectedly during COVID the day after we returned from a holiday and had to isolate so we weren't allowed to be with him.