#cw / pet death

[triangle-dog]

TW pet death

(Not one of mine, don't worry. You won't miss anything if you skip this post.)

I will always and forever be a collar and tags person (or, look, if you are really concerned about strangulation then a harness & tags person or a breakaway collar or whatever). Microchips are great, all my beasts are microchiped, but if one of them gets out I want to be able to find them and bring them home no matter what has happened to them.

Two years ago, almost exactly I think, friends and I were three miles into a beautiful autumn hike with the dogs. The leaves were turning, the wildlife was active, and there was a crisp breeze. We rounded a corner and immediately saw a body floating out on the lake, a dog, its long black fur drifting back and forth in the small waves. After some deliberation on what to do, and if it was safe, I waded out to the dog while the others in the party held our dogs way back from the lake in case the water was bad. He wasn't that far out really, but it felt like it took forever to get there because I was fervently hoping he'd have tags. I could actually feel the relief wash over me when I got there and saw patches of blue collar peeking out between the drifting fur.

I towed him into the shallows by the collar. I'm the most familiar with bodies, which is why I was the one who went out to him, and I know that they age differently in the water but by my judgment he'd died farily recently - less than a day ago. When he's in close enough to shore that I don't think he'll drift away any time soon, I unclip his collar and return to the group. We sit down and strategize for a few minutes. How do you make a call like that without raising their hopes? (Answer: you can't - just the phone ringing will be enough).

"I'm very sorry," I say, "but I found a dog in the lake and I thought you would want to know." She tells me she was half expecting a call like this, that the gate didn't latch correctly and both dogs got out but only one came home. She tells me that they were so worried he wouldn't be able to find his way home in the storm last night. She tells me he was very old, that his mind had been going for awhile now. She tells me that most of his life, until the last few years as his body became less able to manage the walk, they would come down to a beach near here and that he loved to swim. She tells me she hopes he at least got to relive those memories for a bit before he went.

I give her the coordinates, it's not too far from a road if you bushwhack - certainly less than the 3mi we did, and tell her we'll bring him to shore. I pick him up out of the shallows, he feels frail, yet he's so so heavy from the weight of the water in his fur. He's much smaller than Nova, yet lifting Nova has never felt like that. I lay him gently on the rocky beach in what I hope is a natural looking, less-traumatizing-to-the-kids position. I clip his collar back on, with the fur no longer drifting around in the water obscuring it, you can now see the little tag saying "Poochie" on the front. We head back the way we came. That was walk enough for all of us, it would feel wrong to seek a different ending, and it was an out and back trail anyway.

Ever since then, every dead cat or dog I see reminds me of those lakeside discussions. We are all overly dedicated animal people, we're fully aware of microchips and all of our own pets are microchiped, but carrying a waterlogged body 3mi to the car to drive it to the vet's office was just not feasible - I don't think it would occur to most people that that was even an option. Even if they did think of it, most people would be opposed to putting a dead animal in their vehicle. I'm just gonna make it easy on people and put my phone number on my animals.

(Sorry, that post was so much longer than it needed to be, but my brain must have recorded that experience in a different kind of memory than usual because it is so so clear and comes all as a set like that so that's what you got too)

TLDR: OP found a dead dog once and has big feelings about it. Put collars/etc. on your pets

[knitmeapony]

One Mr Franklin J Kittycat, protector of homes and hunter of mice, best friend and brave and true companion, passed on in my arms this morning surrounded by love and care. He had a fierce and mighty battle with a growth in his abdomen and in the end I let him go before he could be in any real pain.

He was with me for the lions share of my life, and every apartment and home I lived in in Chicago. He listened to me and loved me and I loved him so very very much. My best perfect little princess baby man. My heart hurts so much.

Please no Rainbow Bridge stuff, but otherwise knowing he was loved by others will help. I cannot thank all of you enough who helped me keep him at home for the last month of his life, we got to have lots and lots of last moments together.

[hellenhighwater]

May I ask you a potentially sensitive question (and please feel free not to answer if you'd rather not) but how did you come around to adopting Malice and Vice after your cat before them passed away. I lost my own cat, my baby boy, two years ago, and it seems an opportunity to have a new cat in my life has come up, and while I would love a new fluff in my life, I still have these feelings of ... wrongness? of sadness at the idea at the same time. I guess I'm asking, when you got your kittens, did you feel something like that? Is it something you wait to go away before welcoming a new pet into your life, or does it ever go away?

That's a really good, really hard question. I don't know that I can say anything objective about it. I can only tell you what it was like for me personally.

I love cats. I will probably have cats for the rest of my life, and I will adore each and every one, but none of them are ever going to be able to hold a candle to the Terror. She was just the best cat, and losing her was devastating. She was old, though, and I knew it was coming a while before it happened, so I had some time to start making peace before Nimitz actually passed.

There is nothing anyone could do or say that would have made that easier, and no new cat would have ever been able to replace her. I didn't want them to. I knew that losing Nim would gut me, and I decided that I would rather put that grief to work by taking in and caring for a cat that needed it. I had planned, actually, on an adult cat; Mal and Vice as kittens sort of fell into place accidentally. I didn't expect to feel less grief by having a new cat; I just wanted something to do with that feeling. I often find that I can't work through that kind of feeling until I've made something of it; I knew I wanted to make a home for another cat.

I still miss her. I think I will never not miss her; she was a phenomenal cat. I'm tearing up now, like I do every time I think about her for more than a few minutes. Taking in the kittens was almost...a tribute to her memory, I guess? The Terror was left on the street before she decided she lived with us; I think she would maybe appreciate the same being offered to other cats, now that she no longer has need of my home.

Malice is really nothing like Nimitz--there is a reason I mostly call her Meatball, but I think that for the rest of my life I will always have a black longhair, to keep just a shadow of the Terror of the Underbrush near.

[bluishtones]

jon with kitties <3

trigger warning for mentions of pet death below the cut

one of my kitties, smokey, passed away today. so i wanted to draw a quick something to cope. miss you forever, little guy, hope you rest well. :(

[kunehokki]

So I heard about the news after I woke up and I've been thinking a lot about it. For the @hotguycomiczine, I had the opportunity to draw a few countdown images with the upcoming deadline so of course - I chose to draw Jellie. This was before anything came out about it.

During the process I really wanted to draw her in a recognizable style while also portraying her properly. I quickly came to appreciate how beautiful (and a little difficult to draw /affectionate) she is - and what a lovely cat she really is and will always be.

Losing someone is heartbreaking and I'm absolutely no authority on it, not at all in any sense really, but I have gone through it especially in these last couple years. I don't and will never really be over losing the people that I've lost, and it's never going to get "easier" at any point in the grieving process, but it's not ever, ever something you should be ashamed about. It's human. Please remember that, and stay safe.

Thank you Jellie, for staying with Scar for so many years and comforting him and all of us through so many hardships and rough times. I couldn't have asked for a better companion and I'm sure Scar agrees all the same.

Have a safe journey!

[catbatart]

Phoebus passed peacefully in our arms at home yesterday evening. The hole in our hearts he's left behind is so painful, but the grief is the price we pay for loving, and oh how we loved him.

He has always been a photogenic camera hog and a little celebrity, so I'm gonna share some of his greatest hits.

[dragonflavoredcake]

TFC: Oh, hi there little miss Jellie! What brings you here? Jellie: Mrow! TFC: Are you ready for some dinner? What would you like? Some jelly? Jellie: Mrrow! TFC: We'll get you some jelly! What else? Jellie: Meowww! TFC, picking her up: Some chicken? All the chicken? Does that sound so yummy to you? Jellie: Mew . . . TFC: Are you starving? Jellie: Mew! TFC: You are? Would you like some chicken to eat? Jellie: Mrrr . . . TFC: Okay, we'll get you some jelly and some chicken and some milk, okay? Just like Scar used to give you! Jellie: Mrow! TFC: You're welcome :)

[smuggonifico-lmao]

Dont forget that even if now its pain, and now it hurts.

The memory always lives on. Create art, create stories, make her live on and on and on because as long as we remember no one is truly gone.

Please know that its ok to cry and be sad and be upset. Reach out to a loved one and know that your feelings are valid. Know that this pain is valid too. Let yourself feel things.

And of course, fly high our beloved Queen Jelly, you will be missed. I might not have been here long but I do love you and what you have done for the community.

[stiffyck]

am i the only one incredibly uncomfortable by people bringing up jellie on scars streams. like if scar wants to talk about her he can, but people saying "im so sorry about jellie" when scar is just hanging out with people and having a good time is just. no.

maybe its an overreaction from me but it feels incredibly rude and weird to bring this up randomly when it has nothing to do with whats currently happening.

[agarthanguide]

Good night, Mago. You were the finest cat, and I will love you Forever.

[lailoken]

In the early hours of August 14, my deeply beloved animal companion—my precious Beauregard—passed away gently while sleeping next to me.

I want so badly to say something beautiful and meaningful about all this. I really wish to do him justice when speaking about him. But the truth is, my pain runs deep, and there is nothing I could ever say that would adequately explain how special he was or how completely I love him. Though, I will try my best.

He was my friend, my teacher, my healer, my guardian, and my lighthouse in a world sometimes wreathed with mist. He was, quite genuinely, my soulmate, and having the chance to share these embodied lives together is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been granted by the universe. If I could spend another century with him, I would, and it would still never be enough. But the almost thriteen years I did get will be treasured for the rest of my days—especially when the last two of those were so miraculously unlikely that his whole ventrinary clinic grew to regard him with awe. I frequently felt awe for him, myself, and I firmly believe that his bravery, kindness, and generosity helped me to become a better person.

Above are a set of final Mourning Portraits, which my family takes to aid with the grieving process by reframing death as a beautiful rite of passage. I hope that, by sharing this experience and these pictures, I am able to remind others that we can choose to treat death and dying as sacred.

Just as we did for his brother almost exactly a year ago, we washed his body, anointed it with holy oils, and surrounded it with an arrangement of flora harvested from our land. When the time came, I lowered him into the ground of our consecrated Bone Yard, shrouded him in petals and greenery, and sang sweetly to him, before laying him to rest beneath a blanket of earth.

I ache to hold you in the way I once did, my dear one, but I know that our relationship does not end here. Though the nature of our bond has changed, it is far from gone, and it will only continue to evolve and grow, even after my own flesh has returned to the Earth. Thank you for everything, Beau. I will remember you as long as I live, and I will love you forever.

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #338: Just around the corner - Website links: Here!

I worked on this comic on and off for a week, stopping constantly because it hurt too much to express the depths of my feelings. Yet I am glad to have it out. It's disturbing how empty the house feels without Rio...

[wrixie]

After a long, well-lived life, Booger's time has come </3

[vexxxycub]

Dear Mr GoodTimesWithScar, though you likely will never see this.

I am so, so sorry for your loss. I think I speak for the entire community when I say that this is some of the most devastating news we have ever received. I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling at this time, but please know you have the full support of your community and your fans. Jellie was a very lucky, loved cat. You did that for her. She was a staple of your channel and an icon of the Hermitcraft community. We will all sorely miss her presence.

Take however much time you need. Don't rush yourself to put out content. Take this time between seasons to grieve, and don't feel obligated to join Season 10 if you're not feeling up to it. I know things won't be the same without Jellie. We are behind you every step of the way.

Rest in Peace, beautiful Queen Jellie. Your memory will live on, in the minds of the Hermits, the Hermitcraft fans, and in the very game itself.

Signed,

A devastated fan. We love you.

[biffybobs]

There I was, thinking about a few fun ways to wrap up the legacy but the second I loaded into their lot this happened. RIP Ralph 😭

[vaspider]

Now your bowl is empty And your feet are cold And your body cannot stop rocking I know it hurts to let go

Since the day we found you You have been our friend And your voice still echoes in the hallways of this house But now it's the end We will be with you When you're leaving We will be with you When you go We will be with you And hold you 'til you're quiet It hurts to let you go

We will be with you We will be with you We will be with you You will stay with us