The DU Lounge

ones is very painful.

We're here for you, and there are grief support groups online and off that can help. Including the Bereavement forum here.

I got two very important things from grief support groups. The first was the emotional support, the reminder that as hard as grieving is, we get through it, and people will help you through it.

The second was hearing so many stories, personal stories, of experiences people who were grieving had had to reassure them their loved ones are still very much alive on the other side, and there will be reunions, including with pets. I'm not religious - left the Catholic Church in my teens - but I believe because of all those personal stories I heard, and some experiences I had myself, that we all have those reunions to look forward to (and no religious beliefs or rituals are necessary, no matter what some authoritarian faiths try to teach). Believing that doesn't take away the pain of saying goodbye here, because it's still a separation. And we don't know how long that separation might be. But those ADCs (after-death communications that have nothing to do with mediums) and NDEs (near death experiences) are reminders that there is an afterlife. You might have had some ADCs yourself. I discovered with grief support groups that when people felt free to talk about their own experiences, quite a few people had stories to relate. Including about pets.

I wish you weren't facing having to say goodbye to your good boy soon. But I'm sure you will see him again.