Ever Lost a Pet? How Many?

[Cavouku]

Kind of in a sad state right now, the little gerbil just passed away. He was a really old gerbil, so it was expected. I think Kipper was, what, three, four? Older? He decided to just stay out of the way, went into the corner, and went to sleep. He's not gonna wake up any time soon.

It wouldn't be so bad, but we had another old rodent pass away in this house not a few months ago, our degu (you can just google that, basically a rather large, broad gerbil) Spike. I wasn't around when he went, but it was sad to see him motionless in his box.

What about you guys? Always worth wallowing in each other's sorrow, isn't it? This certainly isn't the first time I've lost a pet, as you can probably tell, we've had a few rodents in our home, and they don't tend to live long lives. I believe I used to own a snake or two that escaped somewhere, and probably more than a couple cats. Though the death's in the family were typically hamsters.

Yourselves? Thought I'd do something, it's a bit late in the night to be making mini-funeral arrangements, and I like hearing others' experiences.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

I lost count around twenty. I've had a lot of pets in my life so far, and I expect many more, but the downside is I've had quite a big exposure to mortality and death (although not in as grizzly a manner as that sounds). Cats, dogs, birds, rats, guinea pigs, ducks, turtles, and probably more I got to keep and take care of just to have die down the line.

A few years ago, our family dog dog. She was 3 years older than me. Last year, it was the last family cat, 2 years older than me. They were fairly long lived and had good lives, and when you grow up with them your entire life they really do become like siblings. Understandably a painful experience losing them.

Ok, I'm going to go do something cheerful now to change the mood...my condolences.

 

[Cavouku]

I lost count around twenty. I've had a lot of pets in my life so far, and I expect many more, but the downside is I've had quite a big exposure to mortality and death (although not in as grizzly a manner as that sounds). Cats, dogs, birds, rats, guinea pigs, ducks, turtles, and probably more I got to keep and take care of just to have die down the line.

A few years ago, our family dog dog. She was 3 years older than me. Last year, it was the last family cat, 2 years older than me. They were fairly long lived and had good lives, and when you grow up with them your entire life they really do become like siblings. Understandably a painful experience losing them.

Ok, I'm going to go do something cheerful now to change the mood...my condolences.

Oh, I dunno, a bit of sadness is good for you. I feel as if people under-appreciate their more negative emotions. Stay a while and cry, I just might.

Now, ducks and turtles, those I have not had the pleasure of owning. Or rats and guinea pigs, but those are still common, ducks and turtles are a bit more rare.

But I can relate to the dog thing, in a way. Fred is pushing 13, a dalmation-chocolate lab mix. He still comes across as puppy-like, but he starts showing more "old man" tendencies every day, and it's concerning.

Sometimes I wish you could get pet elephants. Obviously when you think too realistically, that's a terrible idea, but small-scale, it's a pet that might live as long as you do, and they can be really lovable when they're not drunk.

I dunno about you, but I'll let the sadness sink in a while longer.

 

[Sariteiya]

I've had a couple pets die, a few guinea pigs, two dogs, and three cats.

The hardest one was one of my cats though. She and I had been pretty literally inseparable since I saved her from some bratty kids when she was a kitten. She followed me everywhere, and everyone knew her as "my cat". One day she just stopped eating, and within a week she was completely emaciated. The condition she had was treatable, but it would have meant constant pills, visits to the vet, and a fairly poor quality to life, and would have only extended it by a few years at best. I spent a whole afternoon sitting with her and trying to decide what would be best for her. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, more so because she trusted me completely. In the end I chose to have her put down. I don't regret it, but I do miss her an awful lot.

My mom had a similar experience with one of our dogs. She still tears up when she thinks of her. Animals make deep and lasting impressions on us without our even knowing. I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[infohippie]

Just a couple of months ago, one of my rats died. I went and bought a nice cotton place-mat to use as a shroud, wrapped him up and dug a hole in the back yard next to a nice tree, then placed a large stone over the top of the grave when I was finished. It always hits hard even if you've seen it happen many times before. It's good to reflect on your pet's life and remember how much you enjoyed each other's company.

 

[tlgAlaska]

As a kid I had a dwarf hamster that died the day I got it. It must have choked on something. At least I had no time to get attached.
Then I had a turtle for some years, but he got to big for the terrarium I had and I couldn't afford a bigger one. So either I had to let him life in subpar conditions or give him away. I did the latter, luckily an acquaintance of my family had his whole basement arranged for turtles. I miss the little bugger, but at least I can say he is at a better place now without it being an euphemism.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Last year my Beautiful dog died I still get sad when i think about it.

I made a thread about it here, lol.

EDIT: And sorry to hear about your loss OP, Don't let anyone tell you that it was "Just a Gerbil" or anything like it, because it wasn't. It was YOUR Gerbil, and anyone who says otherwise has obviously never lost a pet.

 

[Cavouku]

Last year my Beautiful dog died I still get sad when i think about it.

I made a thread about it here, lol.

EDIT: And sorry to hear about your loss OP, Don't let anyone tell you that it was "Just a Gerbil" or anything like it, because it wasn't. It was YOUR Gerbil, and anyone who says otherwise has obviously never lost a pet.

Heh, funny enough, it was sorta my sister's gerbil, but she doesn't come down here to dad's house very often. He was in my room for a while, used to keep me up at night a lot. He was pretty frantic for a while, and probably was up until just a few months ago.

...He was just so... slow yesterday. He breathed like he was hiccuping, a sudden short breath every little bit. He couldn't keep his eyes open, or really walk. In the end, he did the rodent thing, where they know they're dying, go into the corner in the back, and go to sleep.

We buried him out back today. I thought dad would want to set him alongside Spike, our degu that passed a while back, but he put him by the tree near the fence.

I can remember when we had a tonne of hamsters, dwarf hamsters. We had to get a whole bunch of cages for them, and they seem to have had a strong gene for albinism, because we practically split them up like that through the middle. Now we're down to the one degu. He's pretty young though, so he'll be around for a year or two more I believe.

I liked that he didn't put out a desperate struggle. Rodents seem to be very aware that they're dying, but I can't be sure.

 

[kasperbbs]

Once my white rat ran away, i found her the next day sleeping on top of the heater next to a gigantic hole in my curtains that it apparently made.

 

[DragonBorn96]

2 years ago, one of my cats went out in the morning, and that evening he didn't come back, nor was he there the following morning, or the one after that, or the one after that. And then, only a couple of months later, one of my others went missing, which was even wierder because this cat didn't usually stray farther than our garden. Oddly enough, cats all around our street went missing around that time and none have come back.Suffice to say, I wasn't the happiest bunny.

Also, I've lost as in "passed away", I lost 2 mice, a rabbit and a hamster. Was gutted by all of them

 

[Tartarga]

I used to have this cat called Scratches, one day while I was leaving for school a large black dog came from no where and started chasing him. Scratches ran and I never saw him again, I really liked that cat too. Then a few years ago I had a dog who I named Daisy, one day she started biting people so we had to get rid of her. I really hope they didn't put her to sleep or anything, the mere thought of that happening to her still saddens me.

 

[FalloutJack]

I've lost cats and dogs, and it's flipping heartbreaking.

Three of my cats died and one was in bad health and vanished, as cats do sometimes. I amusingly think of her as an ageless stable timeloop of a cat, going back to the beginning when I found her as a kid. (Yes, I have read The Unadulterated Cat.)

In my life thus far, I've had two adorable collies, both of whom will be missed a great deal.

 

[Skeleon]

I sort of lost two, one died, one had to be given away. We had two parrots (one for me, one for my brother), but my brother was allergic to them so my parents gave them both to the bird park. The other was a cute lively goldfish which we kept in our garden's small pool. Not sure what killed it, it may have been the amount algae... :-(

 

[Fetzenfisch]

the 2 coolest rats that ever lived . miss em

Spoiler

 

[Artina89]

Mainly cats. Lets see. There was:
Morc: Got run over
Mindy: Died of old age
Mossop: Got run over
Rosie: Had to be put down due to cancer

They got run over because when I was a kid we lived near a main road. My parents wouldn't have had cats if it wasn't for a neighbour having a bird table and leaving food out. She didn't attract that many birds, but she attracted a hell of a lot of rodents. We didn't get any more cats after Rosie died because my parents like to go away for a weekend and not have a pet to worry about. That, and my family prefer dogs.

 

[The Virgo]

I've had three parakeets die.

But the worst was that two stray cats had kittens, so, when they were a couple of weeks old, my parents and I took them in so we could tame them and give them away. Well, their skin started getting crusty and they came down with a cold of some sort ... and out of about 6 or 7 kittens only one made it.

Having to remove those cold, stiff bodies, fleas jumping off, is one of those things that never goes away in your mind.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Whole bunch when I was much younger. My mum used to have a habit of rescuing animals and they'd all be old or slightly feral. Didn't realise it until much later, I got the running away story constantly.

Two that I actually knew about at the time were my guinea pig when I was about nine and my cat about a year ago.
Guinea pig I cried like a ***** for. Cat I mocked for getting run over.

Both of them were pretty aged when they snuffed it.

 

[Skops]

Just 1. Oakley, our bunny. It wasn't a bad thing though, Oakley was a fucking terror! He'd shoot out shit like a fricken machine gun, he would bite my dog's ass while she was trying to poop. He would bang his his head on the back door to let us know he was hungry. Lastly, Me and my dad were allergic, something we swear he could tell cause he wouldn't leave us alone sometimes. You don't know how strange and sad it is when you have to race outside into the backyard and save your dog from a maniacal bunny.

Yeah, the day we realised he ran away... It was a happy day. We assume he's still alive somewhere, eating other people's dogs and children.

 

[Trololo Punk]

I've lost 2 cats and 3 dogs, either from running away or passing away.
I currently have 2 cats and 1 dog.