Losing a beloved pet is among the most painful human experiences. Sharing the pain can help. When I lost my dear Lucky, and wrote about it on msnbc.com, I was overwhelmed by the response. So many people shared stories with me I had to find a home for them. This is it. This is a place to celebrate life, the way only dogs can, and humans can only aspire to. If you care to, leave a picture here and tell us one thing about your pet that made you feel Lucky. It’ll be easier if you start your sentence with “I was so lucky that…”
BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.
Thank you for sharing your feelings about losing your dog lucky. You are right in that you lose part of your identity and your sanity. Long walks with my dog Kenny gave us both hours of endless relaxation. I often solved problems I did not know I was even thinking about during our walks. Ken kept me in shape with our walks. In the later years, his arthritis kept him from walking very far. Walking by myself served no real purpose, as I missed my dog too much, and I would feel like a weirdo walking in the woods by my self. Kenny is taking the dreaded “oneway trip to the Vets” today. It seems like just yesterday we (I mean myself, my wife wanted a smaller,less crazy dog) picked him up at the humane society. I am sure we will get another dog in a couple of months or so, but the grieving period will be easier knowing that there are people like your self that feel the same way when they lose their pet. I don’t feel like I am nuts for feeling this way. Dogs are awesome pets, and the grief I feel now is a small price for the years of excellent companionship I got with my dog Ken.
Peter, I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s very, very hard. You have such good spirit about you, seeing the great bargain it is to have the love, in exchange for losing it one day. All the best as you start to feel better. I hope you keep going on walks.
Thank you for sharing your feelings about losing your dog lucky. You are right in that you lose part of your identity and your sanity. Long walks with my dog Kenny gave us both hours of endless relaxation. I often solved problems I did not know I was even thinking about during our walks. Ken kept me in shape with our walks. In the later years, his arthritis kept him from walking very far. Walking by myself served no real purpose, as I missed my dog too much, and I would feel like a weirdo walking in the woods by my self. Kenny is taking the dreaded “oneway trip to the Vets” today. It seems like just yesterday we (I mean myself, my wife wanted a smaller,less crazy dog) picked him up at the humane society. I am sure we will get another dog in a couple of months or so, but the grieving period will be easier knowing that there are people like your self that feel the same way when they lose their pet. I don’t feel like I am nuts for feeling this way. Dogs are awesome pets, and the grief I feel now is a small price for the years of excellent companionship I got with my dog Ken.
Thanks again for your article!
Peter, I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s very, very hard. You have such good spirit about you, seeing the great bargain it is to have the love, in exchange for losing it one day. All the best as you start to feel better. I hope you keep going on walks.