Your Pet Loss Stories

by Kate Riddell
(Galashiels, Scotland)

Yesterday my beloved dog, Tan, was put to sleep. At the beginning of March she started suffering sickness and diarrhea and despite doing tests the vet couldn't find much wrong with her. When she stopped keeping water down they did exploratory surgery and found a tumor.

Sadly although he did his best to repair the intestines she caught an infection and was unlikely to recover. We welcomed her into our home in July 2008 as a rescue dog, she was almost 2 years old.

To have lost her so unexpectedly and so young is completely heartbreaking. I'm at a complete loss now and will miss her so much. My husband and I spent most of the day crying. I have had so many supportive messages from friends and family who knew how much I loved her and many of my family are devastated by this loss as well. She was my life and I loved her unconditionally.

Once she has been cremated we are going to scatter her ashes from the top of a hill near our home town. I am also putting together some photos to put on our wall. She was our first dog as a couple and meant a huge amount to us. We will never forget all the happy memories she gave us and thankfully all we really have are happy memories as her illness was so short and she was still quite happy even when signs of her illness began to show.

I'm not sure how I'll get through the next few weeks but I know we'll get there eventually. Tan was such a huge part of my life. I find it very helpful being able to talk about her.

Tan, R.I.P. We love you and will miss you every day.