[Marie]

For the loss of my dog.

My parents got her like a year and a half ago and we'd gone through a lot of pets up until this point. My parents had a habit of homing animals that weren't wanted, so usually they had some sort of illness that shortened their life. Id they didnt, they almost always had a problem witht heir personality that made it hard to cope with so we ended up giving them back to whatever shelter we got them from

Anyway we got our last pet and she was healthy and normal and my parents promised we'd have her until she died. So I guess I let myself get really attached.

For about 8 months I loved her with every bone in my body. I'm not an affectionate person and I tend to have a guard up all the time to stop people getting close. My dog was the only thing I truly loved without any hesitation. I was her sole caregiver, walking her all hours of the day and feeding her, playing with her, sleeping with her on my bed.

I went to university a year ago and I cried a lot because I had to say goodbye. Unfortunately my dad was in a real bad car crash and my mum has arthritus, so with me gone it didnt leave anyone to take care of her as well as I did. My parents felt cruel because she wasnt getting all the exercise she needed and she became very frustrated. When she snapped at my mum at christmas, my parents decided to give her to a shelter.

I cried so much for so long. I went back to university for my second semester and I tried to get over it. I went back home for easter and cried when I walked in the dog and wasnt greeted by my dog.

It's been 8 months and I find myself crying because I miss her so much.'
It's not normal and I don't know how to stop it. She was my baby and I loved her so much and she was taken away from me.