Love and Loss

Adelaide

I'll try not to focus so much on the loss of our pets, but part of social work is how we humans manage the grief and bereavement as a result of the decline and death of a loved one.  This was part of sparked my interest in veterinary social work (VSW) while discussing Misha's palliative care with the traveling veterinarian, who with her permission,  I will introduce her later.  My social work internship includes assisting families to find facilities and other support when their loved ones are deemed appropriate for comfort care and end of life measures.  I've heard from all my pet-loving friends how difficult this is for them as they experience this with their furry family members.  One of these friends, who started out as a client when I owned a pet sitting company 14 years ago, became close friends and confidants especially when discussing anything Yorkie (Yorkshire Terrier).  It was something we had in common when I first met them and when they had their first Yorkie, Bear.  They had hired me as their pet sitter and at the time, I had two Yorkies, Adelaide and Scruffy.  If any readers are familiar with what I call "heart dogs" Adelaide was my heart dog.  Part of me.  She passed when she was 16 years old and a part of me died with her.  Some will understand and others will not.

When it was Bear's time to cross over the rainbow bridge, my friends called me to be with them.  I was overwhelmed with love for this dog, this family, and the fact that they wanted to share this very intimate moment.  We were all overwhelmed with grief at the loss of Bear.



My friends have since moved to another state but they still own their house here.  I've been checking on it a few times per month while they prepare it for the market and sometimes they come stay in it and bring one or all of the dogs.  They have...had...three Yorkies.  When Bear was still alive they adopted another tiny Yorkie and changed her name from Lexi to Lotus.  Lotus was used as a breeding dog but when she moved in with my friends, thankfully those days were over!  Lotus lived the life of a princess and if you know Yorkies, some of them pretty much demand it.  Lotus had a way of getting her humans (me included) to do anything she wanted.  And I for one, was always happy to comply as in return I received the best Yorkie kisses and cuddles.  This last week I was at the house and noticed someone had been there.  I'd texted my friend and yes, she had came to Tacoma on business and had brought Lotus with her.  I made reference to how sad I was that I missed them and in my head made a mental note that I was pretty sure I would see Lotus again.  After quite a few years and a bout with some joint issues and cancer, Lotus was not getting any younger.  While working on starting this blog this morning, I was looking through Facebook at the dog pictures I've accumulated through the years
and eyed my Lotus pictures I had posted when I was lucky enough to sit or walk them.

Lotus

As I was leaving for work after a couple hours on the computer, I noticed I had a text.  I'm pretty methodical (slow) when I look at my texts, first I have to read who it is from and then the content of the text.  In an instant I was happy to see it was from my friend but as I read on my heart dropped into my stomach.  Lotus had died last night in her sleep.  I was personally heart-broken but so much more so for my friends as they are tried and true dog lovers and I know Lotus was their heart dog.  What is it that causes physical, emotional, and psychological reactions at the loss of a pet?  It's something I hope to explore more as I dive deep into the discipline of VSW.