Does anyone else still miss their dog (any pet actually) years later?

[StandingOnaCornerInWinslowArizona]

I know some people may think this is strange but I still miss my beloved dog four years after he died.

It took at least a year before I could actually talk about him or look at his photo without sobbing but even now, if I look at his photo, my eyes will start to prickle and a deep melancholy will come over me.

Although not officially, he was my therapy dog. I got him in 2012 after my dc had started school. I had been a sahm and missed my kids being at home and I felt lost. I am ND and have a history of anxiety and depression and when this little doggy came into my life he completely lifted me. We would go out for long walks and would meet and chat to lots of people on our little travels. He loved people so much and they in return would make a complete fuss of him. He loved people so much that I registered him as a Pets as Therapy dog. I even reunited with my best friend from primary school because of him, she had seen a pic I uploaded on to my FB profile and got in contact as she had just got a puppy. Her dog and mine were firm little besties. Her dog is still going strong at 13, sadly mine was only 10, he got cancer and we had no choice but to have him pts. It devastated me that day especially as his little brown button eyes never left mine throughout the whole process, that image will never leave me.

We were inseparable and I still miss his presence so very much. I have had dogs and cats all of my life, since babyhood and have loved them all but he was truly a one off, a really special little dog, everyone loved him. I have missed him especially over the last few years, my mum now has advanced dementia (she adored him), I come home from my parents house exhausted and emotional and I know had he still been here he would have been more than happy to have lots of lovely cuddles to help ease my carers burnout.

We do have another dog now, he's a rescue and I love him with all my heart and spend every day with him but he is very hard work due to his previous abuse, I adore him but it's tough going with him as he is unpredictable and not the easy going dog my Archie was, sadly.

Have you ever had a pet that took a bit of your heart with them when they left this earth. Do you still miss them dearly?

I have actually had people say to me 'it's just a dog, get over it' but they were all non-animal lovers and none of them I'd call a friend (I just can't warm to people who don't like animals tbh).

I totally get this. I've had 12 cats in my lifetime and 4 since being in our current house. We lost all four of them to the road and two were brothers, they were both under a year old and died within 6 weeks of each other. It's devastating to find your beloved cat on the side of the road.

My cat.. Some animals are just more than a pet. I still have her in the freezer as can’t face burying her and this way I get to stroke her fur still. Weird I know.

When my first hen died, my FIL asked if we were going to eat her. Dick move.

Whilst I agree with you about wanting them all back have you never had an animal that you’ve felt was extra special / your soul or heart animal ? I’ve had many pets from horses to hamsters but this particular dog and one particular horse were special to me , and in the case of the dog to my husband and daughter as well .

Yes. Our beloved, best dog ever, died over 2 years ago. We talk about him daily and miss him so much. I shouldn’t admit this, but I actually found his death and huge absence far harder than when my parents died around the same time.

We’ve since got 2 dogs and we absolutely adore them. But we’ll always miss the one we lost.

Every single day, all of them and I still cry thinking about them as I miss them all so much. I was blessed they shared their lives with me.

Yep, I lost my darling black lab in January 2022 and I still struggle to speak about him or look at photos/videos without the tears starting again just as they are now writing this. I love my two dogs I have now dearly, but there will never be another lab for me - I got him as a puppy when I was 21 and he was my constant through some of the toughest times of my life.

There is a concept called a "heart dog" which states that once in your life you will have a deep soul connection with one dog. The dog I have in my life right now is my heart dog. I love her deeply and I know that she loves me. Every day I worry about how I will cope when she dies. I don't think I will cope because she means the world to me. Dogs are just the most amazing creatures - they're too good for this world. I pray that if there is a heaven, one day I'll be reunited with her.

Absolutely, our wonderful Golden retriever died 6 years ago this may, I absolutely miss him so much he was a wonderful boy my son adored him (all 4 sons did) but for my youngest he was therapy, he was calm and steady and my son would just sit with him and there was such a bond. I still get upset talking about him or looking at pics, he was an amazing dog. Sorry for your loss op, and everyone else. We currently have another dog, loved but he’s not quite the same temperament and 4 cats 2 outdoor and 2 indoor after losing 2 cats. It’s so hard, they are part of the family

Yes. All 4 dogs. I've found it helps not to avoid talking about them in everyday conversation, they are such a part of family life.

I feel the same way as you. My gorgeous black lab had to be pts suddenly at 10yrs and we stared into each other’s eyes as he left for rainbow bridge. My heart has never truly healed. He was my little mate and I absolutely loved him so much. Got a GSD now who is gorgeous and I love him but bloody hard work. I miss my lab every day and it’s been nearly 5 years x

I still miss my childhood dogs and cats. They were all mongrels from the local dogs' home/ farm kittens and you don't really see those sorts of pets now. Pets, like children, were so free-range when I was a child and we didn't always know where they were. Occasionally one would go out one morning and never come back, which was very upsetting.

I often look at photos of them and remember them fondly. I wonder what they thought when we disappeared to uni for months at a time, and then reappeared?

My dh cried more over our dog passing than when his mum died two years previously. He loved his mum very much but our dog was with us all the time and even slept on our bed. He was such a big part of our day to day life.

I am a big animal lover and adore them all but dogs are so very special.

Goldies are truly wonderful dogs, my friend has one, he’s a big softie who will sit on anyone’s feet and lean right into your legs and stay like that for hours, given half the chance.

Yes, my first dog.

he got me through being bullied at school. My mom being diagnosed with cancer and having chemotherapy. He watched me grow up, get married, move house. He died 4 days after I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I still can’t look at his photos without that awful grief heaviness in my chest.

Yes, lost my gorgeous boy 7years ago and I still think about him daily. I’m always dreaming of him and it still hurts. I’d do anything to have him back.

In bits right now thinking about my dog who I lost in September.

All six of them but one in particular. She had to be PTS after tumours were found on her lungs. She was 10, half British blue, this was 1990.

I still think of her often and it still upsets me that it was so sudden and she wasn't really that old.

She was a real sweetie too. 🐈 ❤️

I’ve sadly had to have a few pets pts and I’ve never been able to go in whilst it was done and left it to dh but I knew I couldn’t let my dog down, as much as it killed me to be in that room I had to be there with him even though I bawled and bawled, even the vet nurse was crying and I found out a few days later that it was her first day back from maternity leave. The poor woman having to deal with that first thing 😢

I’m so sorry ❤️

Yes. My dogs died in 2014, 2016 and 2017. I still miss them and I talk about them. Lots of photos of them up.

Yes. My story is very similar to yours, even the name.
It’s the reason I won’t have another. I couldn’t go through that again I wasn’t expecting the grief to be so profound.

Sending hugs to all of you who have been through it.

Yes, all of them. Every day. With time, I can laugh about the things they did and smile about the life they had but I’d give ANYTHING to have them back. But, that’s the life we choose. When we get a dog or any animal, all things being equal, we will outlive them. It’s a shit fact, but true and we know it when they arrive. But, when the time comes? It feels so bloody unfair!