The loss of a pet

So, this week marks two years since my dog, Poppy, was put to rest.

I am currently sat here feeling bored and hungover and attempting to avoid doing my dissertation and after seeing another friend post a blog, I’ve decided I’d shamelessly rip off his idea for the day and copy him.

Since my life isn’t very interesting at all I’ve decided to write one about my old friend and why it is important people realise pets are in fact family.

I first got Poppy when I was just seven-years-old, I was 18-years-old when she passed, meaning I spent my entire teenage life with her by my side.

You can smirk at this if you like but she was my friend, dogs have a wonderful gift of being able to put a smile on your face very easily no matter what mood you are in.

As well as this they don’t speak or judge you, that means you can just ramble to them and they will just sit there and happily listen as long as you give them a stroke.

It is that simplicity of a dog’s life that is one of their biggest traits, unlike people, you are their life. They are always going to be around as they aren’t busy with work, relationships, personal issues etc.    

If I felt down or stressed then she would always be happy to play tug-of-war, have a play fight, go for a walk, something to help take your mind off things.

An example of how much she integrated herself into our lives was that when we first got her I don’t even think my dad was overly keen on the idea of having a dog. The day we lost her though he was just as sad as all of us.  

Pops was by no means an angel, due to repeated dog attacks on her she wasn’t the friendliest to her fellow kind, which could lead to some very tricky dog walks at times in our local park.

She also hated loud noises and busy places meaning the pub was an absolute nightmare as any attempt to stroke her from a stranger would usually result in a slight growl.

Despite the picture I have painted above she was a loving dog, she used to howl for minutes on end whenever somebody left the house. She would smile (I kid you not) when I would get home from school, that is if I had to let myself in.

If somebody opened the door before I got to the house, she would sprint the length of the street just to say hello to you. I have never seen anyone happier to see me to this day.

When she was younger whenever guests came around, they would have to greet her in the garden as she would uncontrollably wee. My brother-in-law’s shoes once fell victim to this as he had to bin them after she gleefully welcomed him at the door.

Memories such as these are what make the resulting loss of a pet so painful, especially when you lose them the way that we lost Poppy.

What a lot of people don’t know is that the lead up to pops death was pretty traumatic. It wasn’t a case of her getting sick and then being put down, it was an agonisingly long process in which she suffered greatly and there was nothing we could really do.

Due to her illness she lost control of her back legs which meant she was in extreme discomfort whenever she walked. For her to go the toilet it involved us carrying her into the garden and then spending long amounts of time propping her up and then watching her hobble to a suitable spot.

At night you could hear her whine as she wanted to go to her favourite sleeping spot (top of the stairs) but couldn’t due to not being able to get up the obstacle of the stairs that awaited her.

All she would do of a day is lie down in the same spot all day, this was continuous for weeks. You could see the life slowing draining from her face as she was usually a very active dog.

After numerous tests the vets still didn’t properly know what was wrong with her and in the end, she was given steroids.

This actually gave a glimmer of hope as she began to walk again and although she was far from perfect you could argue she was on the mend.

It was only until further tests showed that she in fact had cancer which had spread from her legs and to the rest of her body that we knew her fight was over.

I’m going to brutally honest as I write about her final day because I think it is important.

There was a splutter-like sound as she breathed because of the bleed on her lungs, there was also dry blood around her nose and she was in extreme pain.

I write that for those who don’t see pets as family and laugh at people who mourn the deaths of them. She had quite literally grown up with me as I went from childhood to early adulthood and had been a massive part of my life and that was the final image I got to see of her.

This is the hardest part of it all because an extremely loyal dog, who always did her best to put a smile on your face, was in pain and the only thing that we could do to make her feel better was take her life from her.

Naturally as with anyone we lose in life you come to a period of acceptance and now, although it does still make me sad, I can look back at my time with Pops and smile.

To wrap this all up.

If you got as far as this then firstly, what is wrong with you, go and get out the house and do something productive with your day instead of reading this.

Secondly, and most importantly, don’t feel embarrassed for mourning the death of a pet. They make up a massive part of your life and are very much one of the family.