End-of-Life Healing
In searching for the right time to let your dog go, there are many difficult decisions to make. When your dog is suffering, is surgery always the best option? Will quality of life decline as a result? Is it better to forego medical procedures to ensure the time remaining is spent in health and happiness, even if that time is significantly limited? The only way to answer these questions and reach a decision you can live with is to keep your emotions secondary to your dog’s needs. This is about your dog, not about how you’ll feel when your dog has passed on, remember that and you’ll decide what’s best. Focus on quality of life and you’ll make the right decision, then you can start to accept what’s to come and begin the process of mourning.
When you prioritize quality of life, instead of trying to force more time with each other, you’re also giving yourself peace. In my multiple journeys of letting go with dignity, I have learned that the physical loss, tears, sadness, and feeling of emptiness will subside. Ensuring my dogs experienced quality of life and dignity in death went a long way in finding peace and acceptance through this challenging transition.
It is never easy to let go of a beloved pet, but I share with you the lesson Suzie taught me. Suzie was one of six dogs in our pack and as she got older and weaker, she participated less and instead, enjoyed watching me play with the other dogs. She knew she’d be passing soon and that I’d be okay. When her time came, I thought of moments like that and realized she’d been telling me she was ready to go. You know your dog, you share a connection, listen to your dog’s needs, trust that you will know when the time is right - your dog will tell you in his or her own special way.
She is physically gone but I still feel Suzie is with me, I feel her energy around me. Understanding that she told me when she was ready and realizing that we are still connected gave me the strength and assurance I needed when it came time to let go of other dogs in our pack.
This awareness, this light, will allow you to trust the process, mourn the loss, and begin to heal. You have to remind yourself of the good times, not sickness or suffering. Stay focused on the special connection you shared because that’s the DOGGIE WHITE LIGHT that heals and hopefully enables you to adopt again.