Losing a pet

Grief is such a timeless thing. Over a year ago, we lost our beautiful dog Vic who had epilepsy. Even now that we have a new dog, we still think we see and hear Vic everywhere.

We recently got a new bin for our kitchen. A big black bin. Whenever we'd see it, we would think it was Vic who was a big black dog. We had to buy stickers to put on the bin so we wouldn't make that mistake.

Talking to other dog lovers, its clear that we are not alone in seeing our deceased pets everywhere.

There is no timeline on grief. Nor should we feel guilty that we are grieving for an animal and not a human being, because it shows we have compassion. It also shows that we don't value animal life less than human life, which is I believe, something to be proud of. 

Vic with one of his favourite things - ice cream

We have many animals on this island..

Here's a lion -

and here's a crocodile...

It's finally here!

Today I received my author copies of Caring for Your Dog: The Essential Guide. This was a day I never thought I would see because the owners of the imprint Need2Know books, Forward Press, had gone into liquidation. 

I wrote the book for a number of reasons –

1. To help other dog owners decide what was best for them and their dogs.  Having a dog can be a bewildering experience. What do you do if you think your dog’s got fleas?  Is vaccination essential? How do you socialise your dog? 

2. To encourage people to consider adopting a dog.  There are so many dogs without homes who could be the perfect pet for you.  Yet many people wrongly assume that they need to buy a dog from a breeder.  They assume that dogs in charity pounds have ‘something wrong with them.’  Usually the only thing they have wrong with them is that their owners have died/been convicted of animal cruelty and had their dog removed/been evicted from their home and had to move into rented accommodation where dogs are not allowed. 

3. To make sure people were informed about pet insurance.  For most dog owners, having pet insurance is the only way of guaranteeing that if your pet needs an expensive operation you won’t end up footing the bill yourself. 

4. The main reason I wrote this book is I wanted people to be aware of the fact that special needs dogs can live happy and fulfilling lives.  I dedicated my book to Vic, my dog who sadly passed away.  He was epileptic and had a fantastic life.  We used to go for long walks on the island where we lived and he’d blaze the trail.  Yet I heard of other dog owners having their pets put down simply because they were epi dogs. 

Caring for Your Dog is dedicated to Vic, the bravest dog in the world. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't miss him.