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♥ The Owl and Puppy Dog: A Lesson in How Children Mourn — 26 Comments

  1. Such a difficult thing to deal with, he sounded a lovely dog. I am dreading if something happens our cat that he does not survive. He is always getting into scrapes and needed £2000 worth of vet bills when he was tackled by a fox – thank heavens for pet insurance.

    Hi from SITS and Northern Ireland.

  2. Stopping by from SITS. Your writing is beautiful and captivating. I’m so sorry for the loss of your pets. What wonderful memories you must have with them all though for the loss to be so impactful.

    May the Lord bless your day!

  3. Thank you for commenting on my post at 5 Minutes for Faith. We recently had a cat tragedy. We had five cats and now we have four. It was very hard to deal with and dad was not here to help. Agh.

    Very good post! Have a great day!

  4. I came over here from SITS and I’m so glad I did. This was beautiful. I can relate to this, too…we lost our dog, one of our cats, two pet mice, and three fish all this year. My kids have had their share of “pet funerals” for sure.

    Have a great day!

  5. Oh man… I just dealt with animal death last week, and will be posting on it later this week. My kids dealt with it totally differently also. One really kept it inside, and the other was crying and freaking out.

    I’m sure it won’t be our last dead animal situation, but it was our first and I was so unprepared.

    I think we’re all through it now though. I so enjoy your blog. It just always seems to be what I need to read right at the moment, and never ceases to bless my heart!

    Much love,
    Sasha

  6. A beautiful story. Of humility. Difficult decisions. Death.

    And grief.

    You’re such a perceptive mother. You recognized how your sons needed to grieve in their own separate ways over the loss of their best friend.

    Sweet dreams.

  7. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for the lovely comment you left for me on my blog. You were truly a blessing for me today!

    I have actually began to doubt if my story was even reaching people let alone helping them. I have such a heart for parents, like yourself, who have experienced loss. However, I have found that my daughter’s story sometimes tends to rub more salt in the wound, instead of helping like I intended.

    So thank you again for your encouragement. 🙂

    Sassy

  8. We faced a similar crisis when we had to put our cat to sleep due to terminal illness that was making her suffer great pain. And you’re right, we all react to grief differently but in the end, it’s the comforting love of our family that brings us through. That owl, I do believe is a blessing in disguise. You lost someone yet you saved one at the same time.

  9. Dear friend,
    I never can handle it well when a pet member of the family leaves for heaven. That cat, oh how sad it must have been. And Copper… and the owl… and the two look alike fish.

    Will surely look forward to visiting you in heaven, to see for myself how these animal friends look like.

    I have a few pets waiting for me up there too!

  10. You definitely did the right thing. There was no need for Copper to be in any more pain. It sucks when our kids learn lessons like that. It hurts so much and there’s nothing we as mamas can do about it. The owl thing is very odd. Maybe sometime in the future it will make more sense? Hindsight is 20/20…

  11. I had to go through something with my son’s hamster and I think I was more broken up than he was. I fear for the day we lose the family dog, because he’s been with us for 7 years and I expect another 7 more.

  12. What a beautiful post. My heart breaks for the loss of your beloved collie, and the pain your boys struggled through. I’m sure a hole is left in your hearts.

    The owl is an amazing part of the story! He is kind of a puzzle.

  13. Hi again~

    We recently dealt with the loss of our 13 y/o Pomeranian. I blogged about it but I’m not sure if you saw it when you stopped by. Here’s the link in case you’re interested:

    http://toomanyheartbeats.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-recent-loss.html

    It happened while I was in the hospital the last time. That made it easier and harder to bear all at the same time.
    It is SO very difficult to lose our pets. I never thoroughly understood just how difficult it can be until our own dog died. I had never really been an animal person until we got our dog. Then he really grew on me.

    Since his death, we have gotten a new puppy. (I blogged about him, too.) The pain of losing our dog is obviously still there, but the new puppy is certainly helping to ease things a little bit.

    I am also amazed by the story of your owl. They are very beautiful creatures.

    Hope you and your family are starting to heal in your own way.

    Many Blessings,

    Teresa <

    http://toomanyheartbeats.blogspot.com/

  14. It is so hard even as an adult to lose a beloved pet. After all, they are a member of the family. Watching children go through the heart break is even harder. It is a good lesson to them as well.
    What a great message as to how we all deal with grief differently. And to not be afraid to ask for help. I often wonder why so many of us are that way.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and letting me know about Jason Upton’s music. I had never heard of him before.

  15. Wow! What an animal story and a story about grief. You were doing the best you could with what you had and the circumstances there were.

    I feel bad about Copper. We had a Collie when I was a teen. He was hit by a car, he had surgery and he died the next morning. It was so sad. My brother took it real hard.

    Great real life post. Thanks

    I tagged you in the Five Things I Love About Summer challenge. Come by and see mine.

    Take care,
    Nannette

  16. Oh, I know I don’t look it, but I’m Cherokee…born and raised. In our culture, an owl often represents insight…deeper vision….Now I have chills.

    What a wonderful story. I’m going to carry it with me all day…we had to put down Dally’s pony at Christmas time…just the emotions you got through do lead to insight. And make you feel a little helpless at the same time….

  17. Pingback:The Joy Bearer | Blue Cotton Memory

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