Your Pet Loss Stories

by Kimberly
(Michigan)

I got Eve when I was 11 in sixth grade, she was just a little puff ball back then and the first name my parents gave her was Baby then Fiona... then after a few days we decided on Eve. She was a German Shepherd/Jack Russell mix.

She was a very happy little puppy and she quickly grew into an adult. She calmed down quite a bit after a year and was incredibly smart, so smart. She could do all the tricks and she would beg by just resting her head on your lap and just staring at you.

When I was younger I'd pretend I had magic and she was my magical dog, and that we could talk to each other. She brought me comfort through my teen years. I went to three separate middle schools and moved three times in high school having to make new friends everywhere I went.

In high school I had convinced my mom to get another dog and we did. We had her for over a year until she lost her life being hit by a car, it was devastating but Eve was there for me. In the end of my junior year I was sexually assaulted by a family friend, Eve was there for me too with no judgement she protected me, made me feel safe that if he came back she would protect me. But Eve was my shoulder to cry on, she listened and made me feel safe no matter what.

When I turned 18 I moved out, having to leave Eve at home because of college.... This was devastating, I couldn't bear the thought of sleeping without her, it took months to get used to it. But I still visited every week and took her on one of our walks. She started getting sick a few months ago and we found out she had congestive heart failure, I feel so guilty for leaving her and not being there for her.

Yesterday morning I woke up to 23 missed calls from my parents. She woke up, went outside to the bathroom, came inside and laid in her bed and took her last breath and went to sleep. It kills me that I wasn't there to hold her.

We buried her in my grandmothers garden and planted some roses over her. Whenever I had anything wrong in my life I've always gone to Eve now that she is gone and I can't hold her, I feel so alone, so lost. I have no idea how to get through this or cope. I could write about her forever and ever.