#Tw Animal death

[wolfsteax]

Grief is such a weird feeling.

It's been 3 days since we had to put Smokey down and I still can't put a finger on what I'm feeling.

At times, the broken routine and absence are so loud. I'll go to put food in his dish or call him onto the couch and then flinch when I remember he's not there. I see him everywhere, and nowhere at all. He exists in empty spaces where I can't touch him and I start to cry. Suddenly, I feel the day we adopted him feel like yesterday. How could 5 years ever be enough? He was meant to die elderly on his favorite spot, body healthy and simply old. I crave what I didn't get to see. I mourn memories I didn't have. Not only are his places here empty, but all his places in the future are as well. The absence is screaming.

Sometimes, I feel it's already been years since he passed. It was this week it happened, but i feel like it was ages ago. I feel so far ahead with the pain becoming a dull ache. I almost feel I start to forget him, like feeling so far away has put me in a fog. I feel I've drifted so far away I'm able to fake cheerfulness riddled with guilt. It's like a mania, a twisted joy fueled by a constant hurt.

Then, I feel a bittersweet comfort. Smokey is all around me. I believe in his little spirit still being here, relaxing in the sun. I swear I see him at his food bowl out of the corner of my eye or sitting on the back of the couch. I have dreams of him laying on me, purring deeply and warming me. They're so vivid and tangible. We saw a cat-shaped cloud in the sky the day we said goodbye. It was there when he got home from the vet. It looked so happy on that cloud, a sign of peace. I feel a sad relief knowing we prevented a miserable death from his end-stage cancer. I feel his thanks and freedom all around the home, radiating off the places he would sleep.

Grief feels like the epitome of "will happen, happening, happened". I cry, laugh, hurt, and yearn. No matter what, my heart aches. I know it always will. I'm glad it always will. It's the mark of intense love. The deep scar of surrendering your heart to another soul.

I don't regret listening to Smokey's needs. I don't regret letting him fall asleep surrounded by us, before cardiac arrest took him. I would do it all over again, all 5 years, in every life. He was worth it. He will always be worth it.

I know I'll slowly accept what happened. It's just really hard and confusing right now.

So, I'll continue to walk the road. And, everyday, I'll put a bit of food in an empty dish. The one where a fat, grey cat sits purring. Unseen, but not absent.

[beaudesoleil]

oh hollyleaf you really did it this time didn't you

[bat-soup]

rascal in crayons

I forgot to say it on here, but we laid to rest rascal a few weeks ago, on sept 3rd. He was our best friend for 11 short years and passed peacefully next to Dad. I havent been able to get him out of my head ;w;

[runningracingdancingchasing]

Goodbye, sweet Sasha. I love you and I'll miss you so much. You were a constant in my life for almost 18 years. You were still so bright-eyed and curious up until the end. You were still you. And I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful that you're not suffering anymore. I was so blessed to be your mommy.

[booasaur]

God, Palestinians can't have anything

I've often seen this person's posts pop up, he's known for the number of cats he feeds, even before this, hence the username. The other day, I remember seeing that pic of him and that tiny little puppy on the beach and being cheered up by it. It's just so sad... they literally can't have anything.

If anyone wants to help this man, he has links for both an evacuation gofundme and PayPal to help feed the cats:

[violetsandshrikes]

sometimes the way humans use words actually makes me tear up a little

[dunmeshistash]

One of the things I really appreciate about Dungeon Meshi is how the text is so clearly full of love for animals. Like the true kind of love Laios feels for the monster where he wants to know everything about them, but most of all he respects them and loves them as animals.

One of the chapters I can't stop thinking about is the one about Anne the Kelpie. It's kind of impressive how well it illustrates the different kind of love people have for animals. And how someone that loves an animal isn't necessarily an animal lover. If that makes sense.

When Senshi calls out Anne what he says is "Don't worry Anne's Harmless" but she isn't, she's a wild animal.

Marcille immediately reacts positively about it thinking it's cute she accepts the treat Senshi has for her. And hers and Chilchuck's reaction to Senshi wanting to cross the river on her back is more surprise while Laios immediately realizes how bad of an idea it is.

But Laios is the animal monster lover so how come when he finally is faced with a "docile" monster he doesn't react positively like the others? Marcille even calls him a monster. That's because Laios loves monsters, and Senshi loves Anne.

I've seen this attitude around me several times, where people love a specific animal but what they love is their idea of that animal, they don't really know them because they don't love the animal part of them.

It becomes a "this one is special because I love them" that can quickly become an issue for the animal as much as it is for the person. It's something unfortunate I see time and time again irl.

Anne wasn't wicked, Anne wasn't mean, Anne didn't trick him. Anne was a wild animal and Senshi loved her as Anne but not as a kelpie.

She acted on instinct, maybe she did love Senshi in the way kelpies can love, but animals are still animals and must be respected and treated as such. Climbing on top of Anne's back was the equivalent of putting your arm inside a alligator's mouth, the mouth is gonna close because that's what they're designed to do.

The real life equivalent I see the most of "I love this animal but I don't love the animal part of them" is with dogs. If you insist on loving an animal without acknowledging they ARE an animal they might hurt you, you might hurt them, it will only end in grief.

The best way you can love an animal is by understanding they're an animal.

That is all to say I don't mean that the love Senshi felt for Anne wasn't real or that it's all his fault. He couldn't have known with the information he had and unfortunately it came down to the worst outcome.

I just love dungeon meshi dearly.

[floweroflaurelin]

Rest in peace, Jellie. I’m glad she’ll live on in every minecraft world ❤️

2006-2024

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

The Bronx Zoo has just released Flaco's necropsy results.

He was not thriving, as the people championing the ideal of "freedom" claimed.

He was poisoned.

He was sick.

He was suffering.

"Freedom" would have eventually killed him. A building just happened to do it first.

"Postmortem testing has been completed for Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl that was found down in the courtyard of a Manhattan building a little over a year after his enclosure at the Central Park Zoo was vandalized on February 2, 2023. Onlookers reported that Flaco had flown into a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on February 23, 2024, and acute trauma was found at necropsy. Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists determined that in addition to the traumatic injuries, Flaco had two significant underlying conditions. He had a severe pigeon herpesvirus from eating feral pigeons that had become part of his diet, and exposure to four different anticoagulant rodenticides that are commonly used for rat control in New York City. These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building. The identified herpesvirus can be carried by healthy pigeons but may cause fatal disease in birds of prey including owls infected by eating pigeons. This virus has been previously found in New York City pigeons and owls. In Flaco’s case, the viral infection caused severe tissue damage and inflammation in many organs, including the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, and brain.   No other contributing factors were identified through the extensive testing that was performed. Flaco’s severe illness and death are ultimately attributed to a combination of factors—infectious disease, toxin exposures, and traumatic injuries—that underscore the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting."

The naturalistic fallacy kills animals in horrible ways. The romanticism of what humans want to think of as a "free, wild, pure life" cannot be allowed supplant the reality of injury, sickness, and death. Releasing captive animals (or keeping them from being recaptured) because it's "better" for them to suffer untethered than live a healthy, safe, captive life is inhumane and horrific.

Flaco's life didn't have to end in pain, sickness, and suffering.

Flaco's death didn't have to be tragic.

But once the idea of "freedom" entered the chat, Flaco's fate was unavoidable.

[tortol]

parasitism

poem by @growrotten

[beidak-art]

Felt like drawing some perruque head bucks yesterday.

As a child I saw a roe buck like this in a local museum and they never quite left my head. There is something uncomfortable and sad (because such distortion almost always leads to their long-drawn out death) yet sophisticated and rebel about them.

[jenny-jinya]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN :) WEBTOON - INSTAGRAM

[nezhanetwork]

it's only a matter of time... ♥

[rainbow-gend3r]

Sputnik 2, launched on November 3, 1957, carried the dog Laika, the first living creature to be shot into space and orbit Earth. Laika was a stray dog found on the streets of Moscow. There were no plans to return her to Earth, and she lived only a few hours in orbit. …

taken from @gallivantsofgillis on tiktok

[oblique-lane]

Cemetery of Doves

[pangur-and-grim]

yeaaaah, I saw that too.

it can be hard for people to understand that every species of animal has a unique set of physical and mental needs, and that (FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT) they should not be treated like human beings.

here's an example: when a horse breaks its leg, often the kindest thing you can do is euthanize it. that is because horses have lightweight bones that tend to shatter, rather than simply snap, and all those sharp pieces can sever blood vessels and nerves, which leads to tissue death. your average horse weighs 1,000 pounds. that amount of weight redistributed to 3 legs leads to pressure necrosis on the remaining hooves.

the reason the horse would require euthanasia isn't because it's life isn't the same as an able-bodied horse. it is because its leg would rot off and then its hooves would rot off and then it would die.

I currently have a broken leg, and will not be euthanized because I am a human being. if I had both legs amputated, I could still have a wonderful life, because I am a human being.

similarly, if my cat broke a leg, or had to have a limb amputation, that would be fine (well, not fine, but you get the idea) because she weighs 9lbs and could scurry about just fine as a tripod.

if you understand what an animal needs, you'll be better equipped to know when it has a fighting chance. you'll also know that sometimes, the kindest thing you can do is put it to rest.