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 do often wonder why on earth I’ve put myself through it again!

i had a cat i rescued, Molly. She had been beaten and her voice box crushed so she never meowed, just sort of squeaked. I was living abroad and brought her home to the UK with me and she spent 6 months in quarantine.

She died September 2010 after being hit by a car. Ds1 was 3 months old.

I've actually never really gotten over it. I have had pets all my life and always been devastated when they died, but Molly was my heart and soul.

DH still grieves for his cat Shay who died in 1998. He also has had many pets, and loves them all, but some are just in your heart.

My two ‘heart animals’ were my big boy dog, and my horse I had as a teenager. She’s been gone since 1996 and I’m still not over it. Not had a bond like it with another horse since.
We lost three dogs in three years, and will soon lose another, and it’s not something you ever get over. They are so special.

My wonderful boy , my soulmate , has been gone for over 20 years and i miss him still so much.
Despite having quite a few others since him who have all been loved none have had the same effect on me that he had .
I can't imagine loving another dog as much as i loved him.

My beautiful girl passed in September. Like others here I am struggling. She was 13 but it was unexpected. I will see if I can find a quote which sort of helps but i am broken without her

Yes. We lost our dog in 2020 and speak about him often. Also our three lovely cats. I do still get emotional when I think about them.

I think it’s true what they say you know, grief is love with nowhere to go so maybe that’s why we do it all over again. ❤️

Just like people, I think dogs have a different personality and we will bond with different dogs differently, even if we love them all the same

When I think back of the dogs through our lives, even as far back as childhood, some of their losses cut deeper.

We had one boy who was killed in an accident. I think it affected me very badly, still does. I can’t ever remember him with fondness, all I think of is how he died. I had to delete every trace of him from my phone as I couldn’t bear to look at photos, but I know dd has them if I do ever want to.

I still remember our girl being PTS when I was early teens or so, and she too held my eyes. I think they know they are leaving us, and in that moment they trust us and feel our love

I miss all the animals I have shared my life with, each unique in their personalities and the mark they left. At the same time I feel incredibly lucky and honoured to have had them in my life. Each of them taught me something and I felt privileged to build trust with them. I am a different person because of them so I carry them with me. 🥰

20+ years for me and we still talk about the crazy antics of our doggo.

Yep. Still miss my dog that died 50 years ago and think of him every now and then, as I do other dogs and cats that have died over the years.

Yes, every day.

I had my boy from a puppy and he was the best boy, a half lab, mixed with who knew what. He was huge, a gentle giant and the most loving, loyal, well behaved dog I ever knew (and I’m not being biased). I was very lucky to have him.
I had to rehome him with my brother at a time when I wasn’t coping very well and wasn’t able to give him everything he needed. He had 2 good years with my brother having long country walks and living his best life before he started suffering badly with arthritis and had to be pts aged 11. I only saw him a couple of times after he moved homes and I wasn’t able to see him before he crossed the rainbow bridge. It broke my heart, still does. I love him so much

Yes all of them, especially a childhood dog. He died over 20 years ago and I think about him nearly every day.

100% and coming up to three years since he passed.

A lot of people couldn't (still don't) understand my grief/loss. I literally could not speak a word for 3 weeks and my body was so tensed up whilst physically shaking, I had to use both hand to holds a cup, even use a straw because my neck was so stiff I couldn't move it.

He was and will always be my soulmate. He got me through a divorce, made me laugh and loved me unconditionally.

We watched TV together (especially animal programs), we went on the the most magical walks together, we slept side by side.

We had him PTS at home (I paid privately for this and his cremation). We gave give him all his favourite food the night before, steak, salmon, and chicken. We fed him by hand as he lay on the sofa.

I kept the fur from around his injection site. I used to sniff/smell it until his 'scent' dissipated and still hold it from time to time.

I have a necklace with a pendant with a little bit of his fur in, a bracelet with a photo of him in (one of those where you have to bring it up right up to your eye to see it), two tattoos one of a paw and one of his face replicated from two photos. We have a bronze urn of his breed type with his ashes in, on our hearth, and it faces the lounge window as he was a proper curtain twitcher. 😊

We still have his bed, his collar, his winter 'jumper', his toys and honestly don't feel the need to part with them, they aren't in the way of anything. They aren't a delay tactic at all.

He was well known on the estate where we live as he'd just sit and watch people who were having a conversation outside or unloading shopping from their cars!

I cannot and will not ever get another dog even though I get asked now and again when I'm going to get another one. There isn't another one, there is only my boy. I've never experienced such a sense of loss, even with losing grandparents etc. and I never ever want to feel like that again.

Yes, rarely a day goes by when DH and I don't mention our little chap, though he died many years ago, and we often think 'he would have loved this place' when we go somewhere new. We have established a tradition of writing his name in the sand whenever we go to a beach, because like most dogs, he enjoyed the seaside. When we are on a long car journey, I still look at the empty space he used to occupy on the back seat.

Another dog isn't an option for us now for various reasons, but in any case we think of him very much as being a 'one off'.

We are also in the never getting another dog camp , I don’t want another dog I only want him .

This totally mirrors my life with my Archie, literally everything you've written, I really do feel your pain ♥️

I have Archie's ashes on my Welsh dresser in my kitchen with photos of him and a full album of pics. I have his fur and whiskers in a little glass bottle and some of his ashes in a beautiful pendant necklace. DD will turn 18 in May, she and Archie had been inseparable since she was 4 and she was equally devastated when he died. I'm going to give her a ring with his ashes for her 18th.

I lost my adored boy a year last Christmas. He was nearly 12 and we had to have him PTS. I don’t think either me or DH have recovered from it, we still get incredibly tearful talking about him.
We got a new boy in September . He’s fab but it’s not the same and I feel terribly guilty even writing that. It’s like I can’t bear to love him as much, as losing Max nearly broke me x

@StandingOnaCornerInWinslowArizona Thank you 😘

That will be a lovely gift for your daughter.

When my boy was still with us, I was part of an FB group of his particular breed. A lady once posted a picture that her husband had got for her after their Ddog passed. It was made up of pixels from hundreds of photo's they had into an actual picture of their DDog. It was stunning. These are white dogs btw, and obviously the pixels would have had loads of different colours as the background, and the way they were able to re-create an actual picture of their Ddog was incredible!!!! I was never able to find the post again or the name of the company that was used. I would sell a kidney to have something like that, though I'd probably want a ridiculously large 10ft x 6ft size. 😊

I've got around 1,600 photos of my boy on my phone (and backed up to iCloud) and could also quite happily get every single one printed and fill the house with them.

I was 11 when we got our two family dogs and I was in my late 20s when they both died. I’m now 50 and I still miss them. I also miss the pet rat I had when I was in my early 20s - I know it sounds weird to say about a rat but he was honestly a proper little soulmate and we had such a close bond. He was very special.

Yes our beagle Ben I was always first home from work so apart from him house empty so I would always make a cuppa and weather permitting we would both sit on back door step me with my tea him with a biscuit
We never got another dog various reasons and I always find myself comparing all other dogs to him.

I miss my first cat, he died 20 years ago. He was the best natured ginger boy - fabulous company with a funny personality. I’ve had cats and now have a very loved dog but I miss my ginger boy still.

I’d love a rat but I don’t think I could cope with their little short lives. It was bad enough with my Guinea pigs.

Yes absolutely and (don't tell anyone) I sometimes like to imagine that he's still with me in spirit although I can't see him and looking out for me and my new dog.

Yes, all of my beautiful dogs. I think of them all and miss them every day.