Saying Goodbye: Dealing with pet bereavement

Punky the Dog
12/19/1992 - 11/16/2007
Posted on 04/17/2008 by Emily age 22

Tell about the first day you got your pet:
We got Punky on Valentine's Day of 1993. My mom fooled us and said she was getting Brownie Patches but she and my Dad had gone to look at puppies. She basically chose us because as soon as my dad walked up to the dogs, she ran up to him wanting to play. I remember this black little fur ball licking my face and I was in love from that day on.

What is your favorite memory with your pet?
Punky used to sleep in my room every night, out of all four people in my family, she chose my room. One day she bit me (I don't even remember why) and I told her "Well, you're not sleeping in my room tonight!" and that evening when it was time for bed, i had my door open and she stood in the doorway staring at me and I just knew she was sorry. And I folded and said, "ok, it's alright. I know you didn't mean it" and she just trotted right in with her little nails clicking on the floor and laid down on the rug.

What do you want people to know about your pet?
She was the most loyal friend I've ever had and even though I can't even begin to count the number of times that dog bit me or peed on our carped, ultimately I would have given my own kidney to save her life.

What was your pet's favorite toy?
We had this plastic dunkin donut toy set we received from my grandma for christmas when we were little and it came with the little donut holes that were made out of rubber and hollow with a little hole so you could squeeze the air out of them; they resembled a ball very much. Well, my dog loved those things. We ended up having only one of the original twelve left (the others mysteriously disappeared) and it's in the little dog house with her ashes now