I do not hate animals and don't attack me, but...

[kirmy]

There is never need for childish drama but some people breakdown. I withdraw and lick my wounds. I certainly wouldn't send a silly group email begging for prayers. I can only imagine the person was a bit of an idiot before bereavement too.

 

[DianaCox]

When I was in grad school, making $525 a month (though my husband made somewhat more), and we had a newborn, my 10 year old cat got very very sick - she disappeared for a couple of days, and came home half her weight and barely able to move. I held her in my arms and wept, trying to get her to "tell" me whether it was time to go - and I didn't feel "yes." So I talked to the vet in the vivarium at school (UCLA med school) and he thought it MIGHT be a thyroid adenoma - so I took her to the vet and they tested her thyroid and it was sky high - diagnostic for adenoma. So we put her on anti-thyroid meds and when she was healthier and had gained some weight, I paid the astronomical fee of $200 for surgery to remove her thyroid. And she got better. She lived another two years, and then just dropped dead, probably from a stroke caused by the tumor coming back. But I needed those two more years with her.

 

[MyNewLife]

Well. Then there are well meaning friends and relatives....

Now I won't tell you who this person is but her roommates sister called one morning to share that her diabetic cat had passed in bed with her. So this woman and her roomie went to sisters to be supportive and sisters were going to bury her. Both sisters went out with a shovel and her best feline friend in a blanket inside a large rubbermaid tote, when this woman got to thinking about diabetic comas. Could the cat be in a coma since she hadn't voided after she passed? Could she still be alive? Had rigor set in? The horror of a pet being buried alive became a real possibility since no one knew for sure. This woman told her roomie her fears, her roomie then went racing (not quietly) out to dig up (with her hands this time) said cat to make sure she had actually passed. She had. Both sisters even more hysterical, this woman totally mortified that her mind and mouth had caused even more grief. To this day, it is a subject for teasing at get togethers. The woman has been forgiven and a new best feline friend lives with the sister.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I have a daughter in good health and no pets at this time. I have had pets and I have had to have a couple of them put down when the only other option was to let them suffer. I'm pretty lucky. And I think they were lucky.

The family member who inspired this thread is an almost-40, never married, lives alone, single guy with no kids. Since he has never had any human family members, he has nothing to compare with. So this is likely very big IN HIS LIFE, but it strikes me as a bit melodramatic.

I'm pretty sure that animal owners who have no children and parents who have no pets see this issue differently.

So I asked my BFF, an animal lover who has had to put several animals down over her 75 years but has also had to bury two human children. She tells me there is no comparison.

I know that people who don't have kids...my pushing 40 years old daughter whose rescued kitten is getting old is among them...feel that losing a pet is the end of the world. But people who have been through that experience AND the loss of a child tend to see these losses as distinct events. And, from my recent perspective, opting to NOT have my mom's broken hip repaired and increasing her meds for pain relief KNOWING that her cardiopulmonary response would not handle that choice was far more difficult a day than relieving a pet's pain.

I'm not saying the guy wasn't legitimately suffering...but if this is the worst day in his life...he's one lucky dude.

(Okay...I'm a cynical old bitch because another friend recently witnessed her 42-year-old son decide to unplug...amyloidosis...and he said, "Let it be," and he was gone in a few minutes...after 76 days on life support...leaving a wife and two kids. To me, THAT'S the stuff of "the worst day" in someone's life.)