Kinda hate to admit this, but i cried more when my dog died then when human family members died. Even ones i cared about. This happen to anyone else?
Is this the first dog you lost? I suspect the first time is often the hardest time. If a dog's life span is 1/7 of ours, one could conceivably experience the death of seven dogs. For folks like me, who often have more than one dog, that figure is increased greatly.
When a dog is ill or dying, they are so helpless. We feel like we should be able to do something for them, but that isn't always possible, particularly when they are just dying of old age. Like people, dogs often die of a stroke or failed organs. At least sometimes, we have to good sense to let them or if need be help them to die rather than suffer needlessly like we do with other humans.
Often a dogs end comes quickly. There isn't a lot of time to prepare oneself for the inevitable. Often with family members we know for a long time that they are dying. Many of us are mentally ready for their death. My mom died from complications as a result of emphysema (she was a really heavy smoker). She was sick for several years beforehand and often in and out of the hospital. Her death was almost a blessing when it came. I was sad to lose her but I didn't cry, as I remember.
