Helping Pet Owners deal with their dog's cancer

We often hear from people that they are upset because they don't feel like their family and/or friends understand what they're going through. It's difficult enough when you find out that your dog has cancer, but then when you are battling your loved ones over the money it takes to keep your dog alive, it becomes overwhelming.

A friend once admitted this to me....

I used to feel sorry for people who put so much importance on their pets. I thought that they didn't have full lives so they were substituting a person with an animal. Something was missing in their lives so they had to make it up by adopting a dog or a cat.

I've come to realize that I'm the one people should feel sorry for. You are the ones that are blessed.

To watch you absorb and revel in all that unconditional love that your pets give you is a thing of beauty.

You are never judged, talked back to or made to feel insignificant. Every day of your life, you are loved as if there is no tomorrow.

I see your eyes light up every time you spy your dogs. I see the stress of the day melt away from your face when they shower you with attention. I see the sheer contentment reflect off your very being when you are surrounded by all that love.

For some reason, I wasn't given that capacity to love an animal. I don't know why, but I simply don't have those feelings.

But what I do have is the capacity to understand that you are the lucky one!

So, if you feel like someone is not honoring your feelings of grief, it’s O. K.. They're not being mean. They just don't understand.

What to do when family and friends don't seem to understand