Toby and Jax

Hello,

I came across your Pet Loss Companion podcast on Youtube and have recently purchased your book. I feel the need to share my story of the recent loss of my two dogs this year. A response would be greatly appreciated, but you are obviously under no obligation to do so. You can share my story and any response with your audience (please just remove my name).

My dog Toby died on May 26. He was a 15 year old 100 lb Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix that I adopted as a puppy in 2008. His death was not unexpected since he was diagnosed with cancer (melanoma) about a year prior and he was very old for a dog his size. I had time to grieve in anticipation, but you never can fully prepare or know exactly when it’s going to happen. His death was difficult to bear initially but I was able to reach some sense of peace knowing that he lived a great life, lived longer than probably 95% of dogs his size, died naturally and quickly at home with his family, and that I had done pretty much everything I could for him. Plus I still had a younger dog, Jax, to lean on as a lifeline and who kept my routine. That is until Jax unexpectedly died just 4 months later on September 25. The circumstances surrounding Jax’s death were complicated and, unlike Toby’s death, I have not been able to reach peace with it.