Our pets really step up when we need them

Hit Kate41,

That is so lovely. I am lucky that I am able to spend a lot of time in the day with my stepdaughter and grandson but it’s when I’m home alone it can be hard. But I also have a dog, she is a 12 year old little bundle of fluff and having her so excited to see me every time I walk into the house just makes such a difference. She sleeps on the bed too but has done that for a long time now. My hubby adored  her and played with her when he was well so I make sure I keep doing that. Luckily she is also rather dim so seems oblivious that my husband has gone, no pining or behaving differently, she is just her usual funny excitable self, I love her for it.

Hi bramblejoo 

I think Dyson new something Wes different when neil passed,  the first 2 days he just lay on the bed i bought for Neil to use down stairs and would just whimper and cry i couldn't wait to dismantle the bed because it just made my loss even worse . Now he just tries to do the things he did with neil trying to sit on my lap when I am at the kitchen table so he can get a treat . I would be lost without him because even on my lowest days he is there for me doing something daft normally its him forgetting what size he is and tgetting himself stuck somewere making me smile 

• Ah they are the most wonderful creatures aren’t they! I keep telling my dog that she has to stay around for a long time now, not sure she understands me though.

They are so funny getting themselves into funny spaces that they shouldn’t really fit in.   Especially as you’ve got such a big dog, that must be amusing! 

I was lucky enough that in between lockdowns my hubby and I were able to have a two week holiday, we spent a week in Devon and another in Cornwall, I favourite places that we’ve been to so many times. It was just a couple big months before he died. It was just us two and the dog and he really enjoyed it, got some fresh air and relaxed having no treatment or scans for that time. One day when I’m brave enough I’m going to go back there with the dog and revisit those same places and just remember the happier times x

Hi, I too have a daft dog who is helping me through this eternal nightmare. 

Scruffy was my husband's best friend, and luckily  he doesn't seem to be affected by John no longer being here....or it could  be because he now sleeps on the bed every night now!

The only time when I feel almost 'normal' is when we're out on a walk...so he now gets even more walks than ever. Yesterday I walked 12  1/2 miles (not all with the dog though)!  

Scruffy is my reason for getting out of bed in the morning, I really don't know what I would do without him. x

Hi Sarah21,

Im so glad you have Scruffy to help motivate you to keep going. I was out with my dog (Daisy) earlier, wandering through the park in the rain just helps a little.

We will be enduring this huge pain and suffering for a long time to come in dire but somehow these little (or big) animals somehow make life just that little bit more bearable. 

Oh how I wish I could be like them sometimes, where you just don’t realise the enormity of what has happened and how your life will never be the same again. Instead our dogs just want to carry being fed, walked and played with and they’re happy. A lesson we could learn from them, take joy from the simple pleasures in life... x

How lovely that so many of you have dogs to cuddle up to.  Of course no substitute for our beloved partners by any means but comforting... I would welcome a pet to talk to during the long, lonely hours.  I haven't been out the house at all or seen family for weeks and a dog would be so lovely to snuggle up to right now.   

Hi Pooka, 

Well you have us instead! Post on here anytime you’re feeling low and I’m sure there will always be one of us around to reply and hopefully make you feel just a little less lonely x

Thanks Bramblejoo x

I miss having a dog of my own, although I feel desperate at the moment, I just feel it's not the right time to get one as I'll soon need to return to work.  Definitely will have one in the future though. As Bramblejoo says they focus on the everyday joy of life and I really need to do that. Easier said than done but I'll try. I feel so lonely too, think this group is so helpful.