Saying Goodbye

Recently my sister had to put to sleep her dog Gracie that has been in our family for 11 years. She was an older dog and had a full life. She seemed like she had some fight left in her still, and then suddenly her health took a turn for the worst and my sister was faced with the difficult decision of keeping her around because it was so hard to let her go, or doing what seemed best for her and putting her to sleep to end her suffering. I think this is one of the hardest decisions anyone ever has to make. But as hard as it is to let a beloved family member go, it is also not fair to let them suffer because you cannot bear to part with them. I was lucky enough to get a chance to say goodbye to Gracie, it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But once I saw her and how much she was suffering, I knew it was without a doubt the right decision to let her go. My husband and I went to say our goodbyes and ended up staying at my sisters house all day that day. I held my sister while she cried, and cried myself knowing that soon I would lose a family member. The day that she put her to sleep my husband and I again went to her house to comfort her and her children. All 4 of her children took it pretty hard. The oldest refused to show anyone how sad she was, but I could tell she was deeply affected. The next in line took it really hard as she was a baby when Gracie came into our lives and they essentially grew up together. The middle child was not affected at first, but then when it sunk in that Gracie was not coming home he cried and cried and wrote the sweetest letter to her. The youngest also took it really hard, Gracie would sleep with him at night and he absolutely refused to go to bed without her. It was so heartbreaking to watch him cry because Gracie could not sleep with him anymore. I ended up buying him a black lab stuffed animal (as Gracie was a black lab) and told my sister to tell him that Gracie had sent it to watch over him while he sleeps since she could not be there to do it anymore. That seemed to do the trick, now that he has his stuffed black lab he is able to go to sleep. This situation made me think of my cat who I have had since I was 16. She is now 14 years old (in human years) which makes her in her 60's or 70's in cat years I believe. She is still really active for her age and every time we take her to the vet she gets a clean bill of health, so I know that I won't have to worry about losing her anytime in the near future. But I also know that she cannot live forever. She is like my child, I know that I will be devastated when it is her time to go. My poor husband is going to have a hysterical "mommy" on his hands when she goes. Just thinking about it makes me cry. For now I try to show her how much I love her and take care of her the best I can. I take a little bit of comfort in knowing that I will see Gracie and all of the other pets we have lost, and will lose, again one day. But it does not make saying goodbye any easier