Re: Post Your Cartoons and Yuk Yuks

3026
Gaznazdiak wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 6:37 pm @YT
Dogs have always been my favourite people, there are more pictures of lost canine loves on my walls than people, alive or dead. They are an endless source of unconditional love.
I've been totally dogless, and bereft, since my last baby left me on the 6th of August last year.
Possum was a rescue girl, a beautiful Jack Russell/Chihuahua whose previous human had died when she was 10, my previous boy Poo(a Tenterfield Terrier) had passed 6 months before at the age of 17 and we both needed some "sugar".
We had 6 good years together, but Possy developed dementia, she was starting to respond to meds but was still forgetful and would occasionally get lost in the yard.
I was working on my car one afternoon and for the first time EVER I had been careless and left the yard gate open.
By the time I noticed, it was far too late, she had gone for a wander and fell into the house dam with her thick winter coat on.
I know it probably sounds a bit pathetic to some, but it nearly ended me, the guilt on top of the grief was really toxic combination, I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, killing a loved one who is also your only companion in the world can really do a number on your mind.
This is the longest I've ever been dogless and even though I know there are hundreds in need of adoption, cowardice has prevented me so far, a selfishness which adds an extra loading of guilt.

Below is how I like to remember Possy, in her prime, sitting in her favourite spot, on Dad's lap in the car.


20200710_123444.jpg
It's tough. You make one mistake, one slip. The sweetest cat we had LOVED to be outdoors, roaming and hunting. We weren't paying attention and she licked anti-freeze at someone's house (it's sweet, apparently). Our dog at the time another Belgian Tervuren (WONDERFUL animal) found her "sister" under the deck, but it was too late. She died that night. Broke the dog's heart and she, too, was gone by the end of the year, 1998. We just lost our Elfie at the end of this June. She was 14 and had been in several homes until she came to us at 5. Sweetest thing, utterly useless as a watchdog--a "unicorn" among Belgian Tervuren. She could spend a whole football game with her head on my lap, just being hugged. Been dogless since. 2 cats tho.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Post Your Cartoons and Yuk Yuks

3027
Hey Gaz, that sounds like the kind of feelings that parents go through when they lose a child. “If only...” type thinking can really do us in with guilt and feelings of impotency. And fear of failing so spectacularly again prevents them from having another child (or adopting) even though they want to be good parents.

Most folks in that situation seek professional therapy. Working it through with a counselor help process raw emotions and eliminate feelings of self recrimination. All things leave scars on us if they are valued and have meaning in our lives. But so long as life continues, choices remain to engage again. The most loving and caring people in the world are also the most daring because they willingly open themselves up to vulnerability each time they choose to love someone.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Post Your Cartoons and Yuk Yuks

3030
I realize I'm not alone in that sort of reaction, seeking therapeutic help under Oz firearms legislation however, can be a minefield.
I have spoken to one and heard of several others who lost their license and their firearms after seeking help with a depressive episode after grief or drought stress.

Getting either back again involves multiple visits to a designated(not certain) psychiatrist, ongoing, at their own expense.

I can see a logic to it, but the usual government heavy handedness of the application means that you learn to "rub some dirt on it and walk it off".
Fidelis ad mortem

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