Why Am I Grieving So Much Over the Death of My Dog or Cat?

I grew up having cats as companions. A few years after graduating from college, I again got a cat. The first day I had him, he alerted me to someone trying to get into the apartment through a hatch over the closet. (You would not have imagined that a tiny kitten could meow and howl so loudly!) From then on whenever someone came to the door of where I lived, he would sit right next to me as I opened the door. When with me in the car, he would not allow anyone to approach the car. We spent many years together. When not protecting me, he was the sweetest friend you could want.

When he died, I grieved more than some people might another human. I later understood that there was a deep karmic connection between us. The fact that he was in one life form and I in another did not matter. The deep, caring karmic affinity was there.

You are grieving for the loss of a loved one.

You are also feeling guilty for not having done more with and for your dog when he was alive. Sadness over knowing we will not see the loved one (regardless of the life form) again and guilt that we did not do enough when the loved one was alive are part of the grief process.

Please let go of any thoughts that grieving the loss of a dog or cat, or an other companion animal, is somehow not right. The karmic connection takes precedence over the form we find ourselves in in our uncountable lifetimes. Knowing about causality and rebirth can greatly help us to recognize and understand the reasons we love.

And the reasons we grieve.

Comments

[Chau]

Thank you for your personal story.
It will assist me when my day comes around again.

-another "felinephile"
Chau