It has been said that dogs give us a lifetime of happy memories and one very sad one, and this statement is most definitely true. In today’s society, our canine companions have truly become a part of the family. For many people, even the thought of life without their best canine pal by their side is unbearable. Yet sadly, death will befall each of our beloved pooches at some time, leaving us riddled with deep grief. Many quotations exist to help families grieving the loss of a person, but very few specifically apply to the loss of a cherished pet.
Grieving the Loss of a Dog
When someone loses a much-loved dog, they experience complex, painful emotions that can be perplexing. For many people, they simply don’t know what to do with their grief and find it difficult to plan for a future that doesn’t include the pup that was so much a part of their lives.
Trying to navigate through uncharted waters is very difficult. Thankfully, today, more and more people are becoming comfortable with sharing the anguish they feel when having to say goodbye to a cherished family pet. In addition to this, the public at large has also developed a greater sense of compassion and understanding for pet owners and their deep attachment to their dogs, cats, and other companion animals.
While grieving is a very unique process and each person must experience it in their own way, inspirational quotes can provide a balm to the hurting heart.
Here are but a few of the some of the best inspirational quotes to soothe the pain of those who have lost a family pet:
- “The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?” Sir Walter Scott
- “Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.” Gene Hill
- “The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.” Konrad Lorenz
- “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” Mark Twain
- “I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?” Sir Walter Scott
- “Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.” Amy Sedaris
- “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” James Herriot
- “I guess you don’t really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease.” Joe Garagiola
- “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” Will Rogers
- “If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them.” Pam Brown
- “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” Roger Caras
- “Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs your heart is very big.” Erica Jong
- “Dogs leave pawprints on our hearts.” Author Unknown
- “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” Anatole France
- “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” Helen Keller
- “To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.” Hermione Gingold
- “I should know enough about loss to realize that you never really stop missing someone-you just learn to live around the huge gaping hole of their absence.” Alyson Noel
To best summarize the process of saying goodbye to a much-loved canine friend, we can find no better words than these of Ann Hood who said, “Grief doesn’t have a plot. It isn’t smooth. There is no beginning and middle and end.”
To truly process such a tremendous loss, you must allow yourself to feel. It will be messy, and it will not necessarily follow any recognizable trajectory. Incredible loss is most often followed by incredible pain. In time, the joy of having known and loved your best canine pal will far outweigh the agony of your final goodbye. In the mean time, be kind to yourself. May you find comfort in these quotations and encouragement that your fave pooch will always be near so long as you keep your precious memories alive in your heart.
