Do we get too attatched to our animals?

benson21

benson21

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I was sitting having a cuddle with my little dog last night, when I noticed how old he is looking now, which broughtme to the thoughts of when he is not with us anymore. Cue lots of tears!
I admit, I treat my animals as my family, I dont have children, so I guess the dog and pony are like my children. And sometimes I do worry that I am too attatched to them!
Thoughts?
 
I dont tend to get too attached but my husband is hugely attached to our terrier and I cant even begin to imagine what will happen when we lose the dog
 
I am far too attached to mine, I don,t think its something you can help, its just the way some of us are! Unfortunately when I lose them I have a hard time getting over it!
 
OMG totally! All my pets are one of the family ... I even cried when my cowfish died (although he was a main feature in our house) people actually went to say hello to him before me when they came round!

We lost a horse a few weeks ago (not expected) and still cant even think/talk about it - completely blocked from thoughts until a later date :(
 
Yes,to us thats why we have them, all our animals are our family. We are all devastated if we lose any of them. Our lives revolve around them, I spend all day with the dogs and horses now Im not working.
 
Yep I get far too attached! Took me a good two years to get over loosing my loan pony even though he's still alive and out there and happy!
My cat keeps asking to be lifted up onto things and i was sitting here worrying that she's getting too old/stiff to cope anymore when the little monster shot into the kitchen and leapt up onto the side board from a good 3 feet away and then jumped over and onto the windowsill then saw me and you could see she was thinking "oooooops!" :p
 
Yes definitely, my dog is a big part of the family, I adore him :rolleyes:

I also loved my horse like a child (had her 20years) and when she died recently I suffered more than when I have lost members of my family.
 
Yep, but then why would I have our lovely girls in our lives if they didn't mean so much? I utterly adore them, I can't bear the thought of ever being without them, but if they didn't mean so much then there is a huge amount I would miss out on. When they look happy and chilled then I feel wonderfully happy, I wouldn't swap that for the world.
 
I'm far too attached to my animals, when I left the UK I sobbed for weeks for .... my cat :o! I still cry everytime I see him, but I think it's more the guilt I feel for 'abondoning' him (he is living the life of riley with my auntie). I wish I could harden my heart to them as they are constantly trying to break it tbh, just last week another of my cats has gone missing and I have sold a horse (that I bought to bring on and sell) and the tears haven't stopped since :(
 
yep:D they are a bit part of my life, my routines revolve around dogs and horses, i even miss the routine when i go on holiday, although i take 2 dogs with me but hubs draws a line at the horses coming too:rolleyes::D I don't treat them as babies, horses are out 24/7 and only 1 is rugged, but they are part of the family and losing one of them is always painful
 
Yes. I'm pretty bad for it, but having grown up on a farm I've had plenty of experience of animals coming and going. It doesn't make it much easier, but at least I understand that some animals can't stay forever (that's all gone out the window now as I have decided quite stubbornly that my horse is never to know another owner and I shall keep her forever!)
 
I am hopelessly attached to mine. I recently moved yards, and when I was talking to my new YO prior to moving, she got slightly confused when I referred to my children, had to explain they have 4 legs not 2!! I think she now thinks I'm completly bonkers, so at least she was forewarned!!
 
Yup! I was having the same feeling as you OP this morning. My woofy is really looking old :( I've already lost my cat of 18yrs this year, I don't want to lose my dog too.

I'm dreading Xmas time. Holly was a Christmas cat and she would get so excited when we brought the decorations down. It's not going to be the same :(

Animals are something special, they really are!!
 
Meat ones I switch off.

Bottle feds tend to end up pets.

Live horses too attached.

Horses and people I don't know I get very emotional over problems.

Terminally ill/dead horses/livestock/pets I care about and know well - nothing. I completely switch off to it and get very matter of fact on giving them the best/most humane ending, then switch off and it doesn't bother me again. I wouldn't cope if I didn't.
 
My animals, currently 1 horse, 2 cats and a dog, are my whole world, everything revolves around them 365 days of the year and I'd be completely lost without them. They bring me so much happiness and it would be impossible not to become completely besotted with all my "babies".

We lost our family dog a few years ago and I have never felt pain like it, I was completely heartbroken so I dread the day that i will have to go through it again.
 
If 'too attached' means treating them as one of the family, then yes, I am too attached. However I would argue that too attached is failing to let go for our own benefit, keeping them alive because we haven't got the courage to say goodbye when they're finding life too much or are terminally ill.

I think very few people on here or elsewhere are like that.

I cried buckets before my shetland died, because I knew he was old. I cried so many times before my cat was pts I'm sure people questioned my sanity! My pets are definitely not substitute children, they're friends who happen to speak a different language. I'm comfortable with them wanting to seek me out rather than anyone else for reassurance, but although I annoyingly have started describing me and OH as Mammy and Daddy to the cat, I don't actually treat him like a child (ok, I admit, I sometimes speak to him, whilst he gives me that blank 'I don't know OR care what you're saying' look!). :D
 
I have a cat, dog and a horse. Both the cat and the dog are heading into their dotage. I do worry about when the "decision" may have to be made and how upset I will be but it isn't about me it is about doing the right thing at the right time for them. That is the payback for all the love and loyalty they have given me. So yes I am too attached to them all but would rather it was that way than not being attached. :)
 
Fransurrey said:
If 'too attached' means treating them as one of the family, then yes, I am too attached. However I would argue that too attached is failing to let go for our own benefit, keeping them alive because we haven't got the courage to say goodbye when they're finding life too much or are terminally ill.

I think very few people on here or elsewhere are like that.
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Excellent post, I find it selfish when people won't let go when it is in the animals best interets.

My animals are all part of the family and much loved, once we have something it is for life and all the heartache is worth it for the love and pleasure that they bring. (I'm currently saying this while cleaning out the carrier that the cat vomited in, while looking at the new wallpaper thats just been scratched by another cat and have dog fart wafting in my general direction.) :rolleyes: :D
 
:)I am very attached to my Dogs and Ponies,my Rottweiler is getting on in years now she was badly treated when we got her when she was 2 years old,i dread the day i have to say goodbye,my 2 crossbreeds are very close to me and i love them both to bits and then my Rottweiler x who i also adore.:)
 
Yes definitely. I almost had total meltdown last night over having to take my daughter's hamster to the vets to be pts last night after him seeming to lose control of his back legs. He was only a tiny little thing but so very sociable it really upset me, and of course having to tell daughter this morning that he'd gone was awful too. :(

I still think I'd rather have them and lose them than not have them at all, and I like to think of the poem written from a dog's point of view leaving his owner and his home to another dog.
 
Which poem is that, Bikerchickone?
I can't bear to even think about losing any of my beasties, but I hope I will always have the compassion to do the right thing when the time comes. II get soppier as I get older, lol :D
 
I am very attached, my animals are members of the family and I would grieve for them like I would a human. I can't bear the thought of losing them but wouldn't put them through unnecessary suffering. I hate when non-animal people just don't get it and look at you funny when you're upset!
 
benson21 said:
I was sitting having a cuddle with my little dog last night, when I noticed how old he is looking now, which broughtme to the thoughts of when he is not with us anymore. Cue lots of tears!
I admit, I treat my animals as my family, I dont have children, so I guess the dog and pony are like my children. And sometimes I do worry that I am too attatched to them!
Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Yes, we get to attached... I certainly do, they are my family... my babies... but I wouldn't change that feeling and depth of attachment for the world, for me its what makes it so special, I wouldn't have an animal I wasnt attached to and loved to bits:D
 
Yes. I still cry sometimes for ones long gone. And I've sat & cried over dead hamsters & pet mice. My pony will be 24 in spring, I got her when she was 2 & I was 10. For most of that time she was pretty much the only constant in my life, & often the only one I could really rely on to just be there. Not long ago I had a dream about when she was younger, & it really upset me to realise she's actually not going to be here forever. Tbh, I really can't imagine life without her. My daughter is of course the most important thing in my life, but pony is second. I love my boyfriend, but I don't need him like I need my pony. For me though being so attached means always putting their needs before my own, which includes letting them go.
 
For me though being so attached means always putting their needs before my own, which includes letting them go.



As above, to us its all about meeting our animals needs not ours.
 
I think we do and I know I do. However, whenever I have had to have an animal PTS, I have always managed to find the strength to do it, god knows from where, but I always think its the greatest gift we can give our animals - a pain free, dignified ending with those they love. How many human beings can say that is their destiny?

I know I look at my horse, who is 20 in May next year and he is starting to go grey, and sometimes my thoughts go to the time when I will be without him, and it makes me cry. I am crying now as I write this, and have just closed the office door. However, for all the pain their deaths cause us, what they give us in return is totally priceless, and would not change it for the world.
 
I lost my dog in October just before he turned 10. I hate talking about it and have never accepted the fact he has go e. As I grew up with him. All I remember is looking at his grey face and sorry eyes and knew it was time to say goodbye. He was gsd and was a joy to have. I no longer live at home but have found it really hard to bond with my partners dog a black lab. And I think it's due to this reason as he's never done anything bad to me :(
 
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