Posted on 10/21/2020 5:40:45 AM PDT by LouAvul
If you can spend time with her and hug her, do so. If not, phone, email, etc.
Encourage her to do something to help others, within her abilities. I see others have suggested volunteer animal care, but there are other options in the animal-welfare area, such as making blankets or organizing pet-food collections, as well as many needs unrelated to animals.
Getting another pet is the best way if circumstances permit. Cats are tons of company without having to exercise them and they have their own personalities like dogs.
I am sorry for her loss. All the posts on this thread are excellent. The Rainbow Bridge is comforting and a reminder that there is another side. A small loving church can be a help when one is grieving.
Also, many animal shelters welcome volunteers to sit with, walk, love and socialize the animals. There are also enough animal sitting opportunities that she can pick and choose the age, temperament and size of an animal to sit.
Her veterinarian might be able to help her make foster animal connections. Fostering is a win-win for the person and the animal.
Spend time and love her if she seems to want that.
So hard to actually be useful in easing another’s grief because it is so deeply personal that, experienced as one may be, another cannot put themselves in the exact same place and know how to be helpful.
Prayers up for your Mom and those who love her.
I hope your mom’s grief eases soon. It is hard to lose a love pet.
My deceased dad’s dog died four years ago. It was awful for me as I tool care of her for 9+ years. Took me at least a year before I felt somewhat OK. Got a puppy to raise, which I had never done before, and my health went south quickly. If I could do it again, I might wait longer than 7 weeks to get a puppy. However, the puppy is bow a sweet adult and can’t imagine the house without her.
Lost a few dogs, horrible loss that never goes away but eases with time. Having another companion if possible is what I choose after a period of time.
Prayer. Frequent visits to local humane. society to interact with the animals there
You're absolutely right. Thank you for that beautiful reminder.
I don’t want to assume. “Lost,” as in, it died?
I know it’s hard. Maybe she can take some consolation in the fact that she gave her dog a good home and for so many years they both made each other’s lives better. She fulfilled her purpose for the dog. The dog fulfilled its purpose for her.
She can foster an animal until it finds a forever home!!
Perhaps there is something she has been wanting to do but couldn’t because of the pet.
Trip, vacation, new apartment?
When I had to say goodbye to my 13 year old German Shepherd, my sister in law gave me a simple necklace with a small charm that has a paw-print on one side & my dogs name etched on the other. Very sweet & I wore it while grieving to keep his memory close to my heart.
My cousin sent me a German Shepherd figurine (kept near his favorite spot in the living room), and a framed photo of me & that dog at the ocean in Santa Cruz that has his name and “My Best Friend” and paw prints etched into the wood frame. That photo was when my dog was young & healthy, a great day at the beach that made me smile & remember the good times. It brought me a lot of comfort, especially after that final year when he was declining.
I lost my canine companion of 10 years during the COVID lockdown. He was in the vet’s office and I couldn’t even see him before he was put down.
It was horrible and I grieved as I would for a family member. He was my comfort during my husband’s cancer treatments when it looked like there was no hope.
I got two replacement dogs immediately, a shelter rescue that had been abused and a new puppy - both kept me busy and I can’t recommend that enough for therapy - but in this case, it doesn’t sound feasible. The new dogs drag me out of the house every day and that is incredibly therapeutic.
Sorry. Talking about my lost pup helped a lot, I also made an album of photos of him in remembrance and that helped too.
In some cities, there are programs for elderly pet owners put on by various rescues. They place older pets with them, or they subsidize the cost of their care, and take the pet back if the owner passes away. Do a search for seniors and pets programs. I hope your mother's loss is eased by a new wagging tail. I have found that to be the ONLY thing that's helped me get over a loss of a pet.
And, there are many more throughout the country.
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Get her another pet. Doesn’t matter if she doesn’t want one. Just do it. She will scoff in the beginning, after a month with it she will come to love it.
A lion or tiger or bear would do.
You know something different.
Liger
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0d/69/75/0d69755d5394ce46257734d9227853a5.jpg
Get her another one, just like the lost one.
I agree. I am 81 and my little female Maltese died in 2013. I have had 3 female Maltese in 30 years. All of them died at age 13 from kidney failure. My last one, Chaos (all of them were named Chaos), was the reason to do anything, including keeping myself well and fed which I have had a remarkable lack of desire to do. She was so well behaved we were welcome everywhere even when the signs explicitly said “No DOGS”. AND all of them were really easy to train to a “puppy pad”. No problem at all!
When she dies I was heart broken. No reason to get up anymore, you know. Then I thought I’ll just buy another one...that certainly didn’t work as a single female spayed Maltese is $500 to $1000. So here it is 7 years later...
And I do not have a Maltese. I do have a few cats...but they are in no way a substitute for another Chaos though very pleasant in a vaguely interactive way.
For heaven’s sake, get a Maltese puppy replacement and don’t make her pay for it. If she dies sooner than I, I would be only too happy to adopt it!
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