Death of a Pet PoemWriting a death of a pet poem is one of the most difficult things I have had to think about doing recently. Admittedly I am a shameless petlover, and the timing is hard for me. Just yesterday we said goodbye to our beloved Tess. [Hopefully, if you are reading this, you share a passion for pets, and deep sorrow when they die. If not, you may judge this to be pretty sappy.]
A Gracious Fun Loving GirlWe enjoyed over nine years with our beautiful Tess. She loved life, her humans, her dog friends and everyone at her veterinary clinic adored her.Her favorite things were to ride in the car and go to the dog park. There she romped and played, even if she did it with less enthusiasm after her two knee surgeries. She made it her job to welcome everyone and would detour from her walk to greet a newcomer or an old friend. She chased the squirrels who carried nuts across the back fence right up to her last day. She had a special corner of the yard where she would go to relax under the rhodies, digging a depression in the hot weather to cool herself.  Tess had been having more and more trouble with unsteadiness, increased seizures and falling. Yesterday morning, she began head pressing, I found her in the bathroom wedged between the toilet and the cabinet in obvious distress. I called her vet to ask about this new behaviour, and she said it could be a brain tumor that had been slowly growing. We didn't know if she was in pain. Later in the day she repeated this behavior, and was frequently circling to her left, another sign the vet mentioned. After heart wrenching discussion, my husband and I decided it was time to say goodbye. My death of a pet poem will have to wait a little, but I am so glad we had time and she had energy, to take her out to her beloved dog park one more time. We will be lighting a candle in her memory every Monday and you can do the same for your special pet. Reading the Rainbow Bridge and visiting this website was comforting to me and I would encourage you to take advantage of it as well when your pet's time comes. This website also permits tributes to pets, you can write a death of a pet poem, or another tribute that honors your pet in the way you want him or her to be remembered. You can also light a virtual candle for your pet, or for anyone you have lost.
Pets Don’t Live ForeverI have been reading many a death of a pet poem as I focus on this sympathy website.Each one spoke to some part of what I was going through as I watched her get a little less active, or have a break through seizure. Then she would have another good day, and I would feel a reprise from dealing with the inevitable. The inevitable came. Up until the last couple of weeks, she was active and happy, and enjoyed nothing more than a trip to the dog park. We took her to the park yesterday morning for a last visit. She didn't walk very far and her familiar prance was gone, but she still had to greet everyone and sniff and be sniffed. Tigger of course was never far from her side. At home, we gave her things she loved like scraps of bacon from breakfast and a handful of fresh picked yellow pear tomatoes (her very favorite) and some fresh raspberries. She continued to have seizures most of the day, and we just sat with her head in our laps, Tigger close by, giving her medication to keep her calm, and water when her tongue was dry from panting. I loved to bury my face in her soft neck and that, perhaps, is what I will miss most. The very hardest part was leaving her at the vet's. Even though we know she was already frolicking in the lovely meadow near the Rainbow Bridge, it broke our hearts.
I am not ready to write a death of a pet poem for her yet. It will take careful thought to write something that honors her memory in just the right way.
Memories of CaesarIt is hard to keep back the tears, too,(and of course, I don’t!!) as I remember our first dog, a German Shepherd mix named Caesar, failing in much the same way, slowing down going around the block.He had to be helped to get the rest of the way home, my husband carrying him out to the backyard to hang out with him while he studied. The day came when he no longer wanted to go outside, when he couldn’t get up at all. When he needed pads to lay on because he was incontinent, and finally when we came to the realization that we needed to “put him to sleep” we knew the time had come. He seemed to know our grief and graciously left us before we could do so. It was his Mother’s Day gift to me. The next day our work schedules were changing so that neither of us could stay home with him. We were prepared to take him in that Sunday. Our son who was sitting with him, called us to say he was having a seizure, and shortly he passed away in our arms. A fitting death of a pet poem would have acknowledged the huge place he held in our lives for so long.
More Pets, More LossesBefore Caesar, we had acquired two kittens shortly after we were married, and they continued with us, one getting killed by a neighbor’s dog when we lived in the country, and the second outliving Caesar.We had our second dog, Nacho, a miniature apricot poodle, for 14 years. He kept vigil with our second cat as she died. He died after a brief illness, in his sleep. I wrote a death of a pet poem that I put on a tribute announcement card and gave to our family and his vet’s office. After that we decided that we would have no more pets. But eventually, we caved. That was March of 1991 when we rescued Tess from the shelter. And now, we have had to say another goodbye. But we will never regret adopting her and all the joy she brought to our lives in the 9 1/2 years we had her. One day Tigger will leave us too, hopefully that is a long way off. He will miss Tess, I know, but I think pets recover faster than we do. And we will enjoy each precious day we have him, just as we did with Tess and the others. We will then have to write yet another death of a pet poem, but all of you who have owned pets know that the wonderful joys they bring over a lifetime far outweigh the pain of loss. And for those of us who choose to believe in the Rainbow Bridge, there is hope of reunion.
Please add to our collection and share your death of a pet poem here.
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