Grieving over a good dog never ends

Published 12:30 pm Thursday, August 7, 2025

And there it is again.

Just when I think I am over the devastating grief of losing my loyal companion of 11 years, something happens, and it all comes crashing back down on me as visceral as it was the moment after we said goodbye. 

This week, that 'something' was editing Joe Griffith's column "Aging gracefully: How to support your senior dog's journey."

As I went through it, I was ticking off the list. We didn't have the guide when Lady MacBeth was in her final weeks, but we intuitively seemed to follow the steps.

Like he wrote, we put down rugs, to make it easier for her to get up off the floor; we basically gave her carte blanche to sleep where she wanted and be close to us; we indulged her short, lazy walks and sniffing obsession; we let her eat what she wanted, when she wanted.

In short, we just tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

Still, there's always that guilt. Was I patient enough? Did I do enough to make her last days the best they could be?

I don't know if the doubts cause the sadness, or if the sadness elicits the doubts.

What I do know is that, never in my life, have I found much that compares to the love of a good dog. I'd do just about anything to bring her back.

Inevitably, when people see you're grieving over a dog, one of the responses is, "Get a puppy."

I'm certainly not ready for that. I don't know if I ever will be.

On the one hand, I now know how rewarding it can be to have a dog. On the other hand, I also now know the heartache of losing one.

In the meantime, I guess I just have to take these unpredictable moments as they come, grieve all over again, and take the next step.