Thank you Ashley Laderer for your article. I’m sorry for you loss. I know how much it can hurt. Pet lovers are fortunate that you wrote this article to help us through our grief and remind us it is real and universal.

I lost my companion of 14 years this past April. I sobbed for weeks and on some level didn’t feel like it was “legitimate grief” in the eyes of others. That added to the already unbearable loss. I wrote a lot of poetry and one called “Holding On” was curated here on Medium. As there was no ritual to mourn her, writing seemed my only outlet.

I related so to what you described. Every time I opened the door and she wasn’t there with her nose poking through the inner door,watched television and didn’t have her lying at my feet, or not wake up to her whines, it cut right through my heart.

This will be the first Christmas without her. Preparing for the holiday, I have had an underlying sadness that I couldn’t place. Your article has reminded me of what it is.

Thank you again for sharing and researching the grief of the loss of those wonderful beings who touch us more than we may ever know until their gone.

A big hug to you. Mary