One of the things that has always been at the back of my mind over the last many years as I have traveled has been my beloved dog at home and would he be OK while I was gone. This being his 20th year, that has been a concern for a good while now, even though he has been doing amazingly well. In planning our trip to Europe in May and June, my excitment was sort of tempered with concern about being gone that long, just as I was last year with that long vacation. My boy, Critter, died in my arms day before yesterday and I have to say that I am so very thankful that I happened to be home and not away in Lake Tahoe where we were set to go only hours later. On the one hand, I am so crushed by not having him with me like I have since he was eight weeks old, but I don't have to worry about him now when I am gone I guess. If I had the option though, I'd take him and the worrying any day of the week. I certainly can't say I was shortchanged on time with him, but you know how it is when you have that certain magical connection with someone or something, it's so very rare. So I say treasure your time traveling, and treasure your time home too, it all goes by so fast, even 20 years worth of it.

First off - Sorry for your loss.

I always worry about my pets and those taking care of them. I just know they don't get the time or love that I give them. I know there are times that I just want to take my dog with me on trips since some hotels I stay at are pet friendly and he is small enough. Infact I might take him to the PSPdo in March.

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss.

I worry about my pets when traveling and sometimes avoid traveling to stay at home with them. I do carry their photos. No people. Just poodles.

Once again, I'm very sorry.

I am very sorry about your loss, but glad that you did have so much time with him and were able to be there. I can certainly sympathize. (And you are to be commended for the care you took to help your dog reach such an advanced age.)

I am fortunate in that I work for a small company, owned by two of my closest friends. I live in another state but when they travel, I go there and run the office and take care of their dogs (who are like my own). One has a chronic condition that is not in itself life-threatening but can deteriorate into that quickly or contribute to other problems. I dread the day I might have to contact them on the road with bad news about the one with a condition, or even one of the others. But at the same time, they feel better because someone who cares is watching them.

I had my 19-year-old cat boarded at the vets during my 3-week vacation. It seemed like a nice quiet place, only cats, no dogs, and vets there to watch him. But the poor guy was a real mess after I got him back. He had ringworm (almost all his fur fell out), he was deaf, and he was so depressed he spent the remaing few months of his life curled up in the corner, not wanting to eat or look out the window or do anything anymore. So I would certainly worry about leaving an aging pet with anybody while I'm on vacation.

We found a very good, reliable (and insured and bonded) pet sitter, who also takes in the paper and the mail, checks the property, and waters plants. It's $15 per half hour visit.

When we first set it up, they had us fill out info on our vet (name, address, phone number), and listing what level of care we would authorize (sort of like a living will). That way they know exactly how to handle a medical emergency, and since they are really good with animals, we have full confidence in them. When we get home there is a written report on every every visit, telling what our bird did, how he behaved, what his mood was, etc.; they provide a wonderful service.

Sorry for your loss.

My wife loves dogs but we both feel that it is unfair and unkind to the pet due to our lifestyle/schedule. We have refrained from owning one. Not sure it is the right decision but it has been the easier one.

I am so sorry for your loss.


Yes, I will not travel as much due to the old pooch. We have both been away a lot the last six months (my husband 2-3 times as much as me). When we left on our cruise two weeks ago, the pooch saw the luggage and would not let my husband pet him! To say he was ticked we were leaving is an understatement. My son is home with him, but does not give the dog the same special treatment we do.... and believe me, at his age the pooch is very impatient when immediate attention is not given to his needs.

I'm sorry for your loss. My cats have been with me for over 15 and 13 years, respectively. My 15+ big guy has been struggling and with each short trip I've taken the past couple of months, I've worried about him. I just cancelled a week trip I had planned because he doesn't have that long (diagnosis recently confirmed) and I couldn't let him go on his own or go early, and regardless, I wouldn't risk leaving his "little" sister on her own for so long the first time - she would feel totally abandoned.

When this is over, I know it'll be harder for me to be away for long periods of time with just one cat on her own, versus the two of them to keep each other company.

My last German Wirehaired Pointer died three months back. I always worried tremendously about him, luckily he died while I wasn't travelling. Unfortunately, he did die while I was at work. Before I left to work, he looked at me, as if to say: "You're going to work, today? Don't you know this is my last day?" I imagined my interpretation was exaggerated, but came home three hours early, anyway, to find him dead and in exactly the position he was when I left. It was a terrible sight and I was a wreck, for some time. When my first German Wirehaired Pointer died, she was in my arms during euthanization...it was a much better death.

I'm trying to stay pet-free for a few years. It's easier for me, but my home is now loveless.

To continue that last story...

I had two international trips planned for last November and arranged for my octogenarian parents to stay at my home that whole month. They flew here from Wisconsin and would be able to keep my dog company, during those times I was away. Before they came, my dog died, so caring for him was no longer a concern.

Unfortunately, while at the London Mega-Do, I got news that my father had a stroke, refused care, etc. While the news was forthcoming initially, it then completely ceased. I took that as a signal he had died and no one wanted to tell until I returned home. Turns out it was just poor communication...he was still alive, stayed the whole month for rehab and then returned to the frosty state of Wisconsin.

So...there's no shortage of legitimate worries.

I'm going away for a 31-day trip next month, and I have two cats, siblings that are about 6 years old. I already feel AWFUL leaving them.

I decided that keeping them at home, with a pet sitter every other day, was the best arrangement. The alternatives were boarding, and finding someone willing to take them in. I figured they'd be better in isolation, but familiar isolation, since they have each other. They get all out of sorts in new environments.

I already feel sad leaving them after reading this, though. :(

We lose three or four pets a year, and it's never easy. Having 20 wonderful years is totally amazing though.

Some animals prefer to wait until they are alone to pass. It's what they do, so you should never feel they are going alone, it's totally possible it's how they want it. Ask any vet or anybody who goes through this a bit, they will tell you the same thing.

A good portion of people's kids don't stick around in the house for 20 years, you are very lucky to have had that long of time.

I am sorry to hear the passing away of your pet.

I'm very thankful you could be with your pet at the end. I had a difficult enough time being with my pet when he passed. I can't imagine how terrible it is to be away. You have my condolences.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your companion.
Our dear old Whitey passed away in the kennel while we were on vacation in 2000. She lived to be 16, quite an accomplishment for an English setter, but I still feel terribly guilty that we weren't with her. I can take some comfort in giving her the very best "doggie life" that I could while she was with us, even though her end wasn't what I would have wanted.

The tears are rolling down my cheeks as I read this thread. I am so sorry about your little one's passing. All our little animals and pets enjoy heaven too, think of that and have the belief you will see each other again some day, OK?

How very sad.....so sorry for your loss.

Thank you all so much for your heartfelt sympathy. It's so very kind. Sometimes it is hard to talk with people about these sorts of things since many people don't even remotely understand the value that some of us give to our pets. Perhaps even more so those of us who don't have children. It's always nice to know others can relate and show that sort of empathy. I feel for those others who also shared their stories of losing their treasured pets.

I'm very sorry. We just had to put one of our beloved Birman cats, Raffles, to sleep. He had a degenerative bone disease and was finally unable to get about. When it was just stiffness I'd have the cat sitters come in to care for them but when it was worse I had a friend stay with him. I worried so every time we had to travel though. Finally knowing we were going to be gone most of Feb and lots of March and looking at his quality of life even with me home we had to make the hard decision. Our vet is very kind and lets you stay with him to the end and as long as you need afterward. But it's soo hard to let go even when it's the right thing to do. I am crying as I type this as it's only been 2 weeks. My best to all of you who have lost their friends.

Wow, I am truly sorry for your loss. I believe that most of the posters in this thread understand the deep bond that a pet and their owner has, as well as the grief that comes when the pet passes.

We too worry about the dogs when we're away. Luckily, they love it when we go on trips because they get to go stay at my parents' house and play in the giant yard - with the occasional skunk encounter (yech!). It seems mildly obsessive, but we (er, my wife) call 2-3 times a day - not to check on our teenage daughter but instead to check on the dogs. When we went on a cruise, I even borrowed a satellite phone so we could call regularly.

Our love for the dogs is not unlike that for our daughter, but she's an independent person who, being a typical teenager, only seems to need us for room, board, money and cell-phone minutes. There is a magical connection with the dogs though, because they truly need and depend on us - and always will - to provide for them.

Although our dogs are only 3 and 4 years old, we're already thinking ahead of the day when we need to move from our 2-story home to a 1-story...for no other reason than so the dogs won't have to climb the stairs.

So sorry to hear of losses of beloved pets. Here is my story -
In 2005 we took the kids to Disney and boarded our 2 dogs at a kennel we had used a couple of times before. The dogs were kenneled in one large pen, as they had been before. The day before we were to return home, I was awakened by a call from the kennel stating that there had been an "accident" and that one dog had attacked the other and was not expected to make it.
Our beloved 13 year old mutt died at the vet, and no one at the kennel could explain what had really happened. Our other dog was always very submissive, so I cant see her initiating an attack. We decided not to tell the kids until after we got home, so as not to ruin the last day of vacation / make the trip home any worse than traveling with kids already is. When we picked up the other dog the next day, we were coldly told that our dog would no longer be welcome there. Through my tears, I told the b**ch not to worry, as there is no way I would ever leave another animal there.
We are now afraid to kennel our remaining dog, and have to depend on friends or family if we want to go anywhere.

These stories are so touching and sad, but I will tell you this. I would far, far rather feel the loss fully and grieve it and then be able to hopefully be more able to remember the good, sweet times than just to callously toss it off like it means nothing. I don't think we get the rich, sweet, wonderful times in life without buying in for the tough, difficult and sad parts as well. But I'll take them both as opposed to neither. I wouldn't have traded those 20 years I had with Critter for anything in the world. I'm going to pick him up from the crematorium today which will be very strange to see him reduced to a box of ash, but he'll be coming back home. I'm still unsure as to whether I'll sprinkle his ashes in some of his old favorite places, keep him in the house or bury his ashes in the back yard, but in any case I feel like I have lived up to my responsibility to him and the love and respect I had for him. We should all have such a life, that's for sure.