How do you do it?

[RedSky]

I know how you feel Gazmo, it is hard dealing with illness and death so close together, but to loose four in as many days you must be heart broken. I really feel for you, but take comfort in the fantastic lives they had with you and the happiness they brought you and you them. I'm sure you will always miss them, but that is how you know they were well loved.

[Gazmo]

thankyou RedSky im feeling a little better talking to you guys x

[racinghamster]

soufflé is right, when we keep small pets for so long, their deaths are part of their lives with us and It`s all too easy to dwell on the negative. I came to a point when I kept mice, I stopped feeling emotional about their passing because mice are normally prone to various illnesses like respiratory and tumours, so keeping mice as pets comes with this tag of instability. But when you keep only one or two, the demise does seem to hit harder because human emotions are such that we start to feel sad for the cage mate who will be left alone, or how that mouse will cope without a friend....

Many emotions come with pets and although the positives far outweigh the losses, we also need to be able to handle the closure. x

[Gazmo]

thankyou, i just get knocked a lot by these things xxx

[fluffydd]

It must have been so hard losing 4 of them so close together *hugs*

I take it very hard when I lose my pets too. I don't know that I'll ever get used to it. I guess rodents weren't the best pets for me to choose but they are just so cute. After I left home I didn't have any pets for 16 years because I knew how upset I would be when they died. I'm not sure why I decided to get my first 3 gerbils in 2010. Even before I got them I was worrying about losing them but I still got them anyway and I loved them so much. They were joined by 2 rabbits and few months later by another gerbil. Then in 2012 Fluffy came to live with us. I was devastated when the first of my gerbils died and it was just as hard with the other 3. Fluffy was a wonderful comfort when the last of my gerbils died. At that point I really wasn't sure that I could have any more. The day after Sprocket died there was a trio of gerbils that needed a home but I couldn't do it. Then a few weeks after that there was a pair of gerbils advertised online and my OH decided we should give them a home. They were already 3 years old and I tried not to get too attached to them but they won me over. One lived with us for 3 months and the other for a year and I was so bonded with him that it hurt so much when he left us. And when Fluffy left us that broke my heart. It's taken me a long time to feel ready for another hamster, 6 months later we found Carmilla in a tiny cage so I had to rescue her.

So many times I've said that I can't have any more pets but I've had so much joy from them that I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on. I know they have made my life better and I'm glad I've been able to give them a good life too. I get very stressed when they are unwell and I worry about them far more than I should do but I'm not sure that I want a life without animals again. We have 7 of our little friends buried in the garden now and losing all of them has been really hard.

We have 13 members of our animal family at the moment and I do sometimes feel so sad when I think about losing them all. On New Years Eve I thought about how nice it would be if we could have a whole year without losing one of them but I know that's not very likely. But I'm glad to have given them such happy lives and I would feel bad if I hadn't been able to help them. I have thought about getting a much longer lived pet like a tortoise. I had one as a kid and he was fantastic so I may get another one someday.

[RedSky]

It is hard, and the more pets you have the more you have to deal with it, but at the same time I find the best comfort when losing one pet is to have your other little furry family members around you.
I've only lived in my current house for a month and we have been dealing with a poorly under weight hamster, I found my snake had passed and is buried in the garden which hasn't even been sorted yet so dreading the possibility that I may have to dig him back up and move him and the dog raided the bin, had an x-ray to see if he had bloat, found a lump the size of a tennis ball, had it removed, tests confirm cancer and now we are discussing chemo for him.
As you can imagine it has been a little stressful, but I am thankful for every minute of every day that my furry family are with me, even the non furry ones! And I wouldn't dream of missing out of the love and happiness they bring me, so that is that really.
I find it helps to focus on the good times you have had together and to always do what you can to make their lives happy.
Don't put off til tomorrow what you can do today and might regret.

[Gazmo]

thankyou, im so sorry your animals have been in bad health :/ thankyou very much for your kind words, another one of my fish died thismorning but i knew it was coming as he wasnt very well :/

[RedSky]

Thank you Gazmo, it does suck I won't lie but as I'm sat typing this my dog (who I can only describe as my baby) is laid next to me and I couldn't be more content.
I'm very sorry to hear about your fish, even when you are aware of what is coming it doesn't make it that much easier. You are in my thoughts, and I hope the rest of your family are doing well.

[Gazmo]

thankyou, you too, i hope your familly are doing well too x i appriciate your kind words xxx

[DrKMcK]

It's never easy to lose our pets. Having 4 die around the same time, well, that just makes it harder. But I've always looked at it as; how empty my life would have been without my pets, of whatever type. I remember being very young and collecting gypsy moth caterpillers. I didn't know they would be moths and was always confused why I never got butterflies. However, I remember my delight when they made their cocoons and the day I would open my jewelry box (That's where I kept them ) and all these moths would fly out. I wouldn't want to have missed out on that. Henry, my first gerbil, and the beginning of a lifelong love of the rodent set. I loved that little guy. He would sit on my bed, never run away, and if I left the room and came back a bit later?, There Henry would be, having run to the top of the highest point of the bed...my pillow, waiting for me. I could walk around the house with him in my pocket, or on my shoulder. No Henry in my life? Perish the thought! My most recent loss was Patches and I still miss her so much. But, having Ted E, Bear, Toffee and Almond has made it easier because I can't just mope around. They need me to care for them. So, having other pets does help me when one dies. I'm getting very antsy to get a new Syrian. Been too cold and my knees have been too bad for me to go this month, but I am hoping to get my new baby the first week of May. Besides, Colby's brother Sam is waiting to name the new addition. I cannot disappoint him, now; can I? Nothing but time will help Gazmo. I don't want to live a life without love, be it from my family, my friends or my wonderful, loving, funny, pets. {hugs}