It’s been a rough couple of days mentally and emotionally, but I think I’m doing okay at compartmentalizing it until I can be alone and then it comes out in waves. Mostly, I like to process by writing and being alone or watching movies.

I’ve also managed to catch a cold. I suspect that it is emotional grief related being at that is a pattern of mine.

A sad thing I’ve noticed is that nearly everyone I have mentioned it to has a similar story. I have lost many pets and creatures – but I think sometimes I forget that other people have very similar experiences.

As soon as I say, “My dog got hit by a car and has died.” Most people respond with, “I’m so sorry. I had a dog once….”

The immediate need to relate to grief or loss is a human condition that makes my story seem cushioned somehow. Less alone and isolating. Maybe that’s why as people we are so fast to respond with a story of our own in an attempt to relate?

When my German Shepherd, Dutch, died I was devastated. I’d had him for 8 years and the last three were intensive years of medical treatments and expensive drugs. I gave him injections and pills on a daily basis along with special foods just to keep him with me when I should have had the grace to let him go. But I couldn’t let him go because then I would have been alone.

Now with Xena gone I feel her vacancy in my life, but I also recognize I am not alone.

I wonder sometimes why we love the creatures we love. Why do people and children and animals come into our lives? What brings them there? Happenstance? Chance? Need?

I have decided over time that I never choose pets, they choose me and I have always been better for having had them for whatever duration that they are with me. They teach me more about myself that I can return with simple care and feeding. They are reflections of what my nature is that I avoid or fear or need to learn to treasure. They are mirrors of compassion that I cannot give myself but can, for some reason, accept from a creature that has no worldly opinion.

This blog is for our pets. This posting is for your stories and adventures with creatures that have become or have been a part of your life.

What pet gave you the best memories? Can you share one? Do you have a story that you can give to the ether for others to relate to or be amused by or reflect on? If this pet is no longer with you, how did you grieve?

I will put together something of my own but right now I am still too congested to talk about her.

I hereby open the comments for stories of our beloved companions, be they mice or horses or toads. Please tell us about your pets….