Marianne and her guinea pig
Most of the time when we talk about pets, we are referring to cats and dogs. Although cats and dogs are the most common pets, many people have other kinds of animals as a pet.
It is the bond and not the size or species that matters
And it doesn’t matter, how small or exotic the pet is; if you shared your life with the animal, and there was a strong bond between you, it’s not surprising that you grieve when your pet dies.
When I was a girl I had a beautiful guinea pig for about 5 years. Every morning she would wake me early with her distinct sounds, and I would get up and bring her fresh food. She was inquisitive and liked to sit on my lap. It was a sad day when she died, for she was part of my life. And, of course, to me she was the most beautiful guinea pig in the entire world.
Grieving the death of a fish
Even fish you can bond with and mourn when they die.
Once I had a big algae eater. Originally part of a small group of tropical fish belonging to my father, he was very powerful and had a strong presence and quickly eliminated the competitors and grew to be much bigger than we expected. When my father died, I decided to take care of his fish, and I shall never forget the determination of that big algae eater NOT to get caught. It took a long time, but eventually I caught him and got him safely transported to his new home. After that episode I was not only exhausted, but deeply impressed by the presence and strength of that fish.
The big algae eater was energetic and enjoyed burying himself at the bottom of the aquarium, and hiding in the underwater cave playing peek-a-boo with human visitors. Most of all, he loved to jump. Alas, my algae eater died in a tragic way. One morning I came to check on him, he had jumped out of the aquarium during the night, so I found him lying dead on the floor. I thought I had sealed all openings good enough to avoid exactly that, but apparently I had not.
I felt so sad and so guilty, and I was kicking myself for not being there when it happened, so I would have had a chance to save him.
Feelings of guilt – and how to let go of them
The guilt after that kind of loss can be very strong and not easy to let go of. You can read some suggestions for coping in my article “Dealing with guilt and seeking forgiveness after pet loss“, and you will find a great deal of useful information on coping with guilt after pet loss in my book “Healing Pet Loss: Practical Steps for Coping and Comforting Messages from Animals and Spirit Guides“.
What helped me in my specific case with the guilt after the loss of my fish was to connect with the fish after he had passed and help him get settled safely in the afterlife – he went to a big pond with plenty of space to swim and jump. Receiving his forgiveness and knowing that he was okay brought me comfort and peace of mind.
My suggestions to you would be to start by reading the article and the book and do the exercises mentioned in there. And then, if you feel inspired to connect with your own angel animal, you can try my “Easy Exercise for Connecting With A Pet In The Afterlife“.
What kind of animal have you lost? And what are you struggling most with right now? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
I simply cannot get inner peace. My furry buddy, my beloved guinea pig died yesterday. I took him to the vet, he wasn’t a specialist in Guinea pigs, but for the past year he was very assertive in ecery illness each of my piggies had. He diagnosed my piggy with cystisis and he medicated him and for three days my piggy did not get any better. After the last trip to this vet, I quickly looked for a small species vet in my community, I found one, but since the vet had already gave him two strong shots of antibiotics, we had hope he would be fine the next day. So I decided not to take him to the specialist. If he didn’t improve I would take him to this clinic next day. The problem is, my piggy died that night. I feel like a fool, I feel so bad for not taking him to see the specialist…remorse and guilt is killing me, I cannot stop crying.
I just loss my pet fish today and I can’t seem to stop the flow of tears. I done everything to take care of my fish. I wasn’t ready..It was a shock. It hurts badly..those around me don’t understand my pain.