Am I the only one?

So I've got two beautiful dogs, but they're "getting up there" in age... .....my lab is 9 and my pit bull is 14. Last night my lab had a 2-hour coughing/hacking fit. I know full-well that he just ate too much grass or got into the garbage and consumed the equivalent of a roll of toilet paper.......but I slept all night thinking I'd find him unresponsive in the morning.

Totally ridiculous because he's the picture of health.....but I can't stop myself from fearing that moment when I find one of them not alive anymore. Anyone else worry about this? DH knows that he'll have to medicate me for weeks - they're my babies!

Re: Am I the only one?

I just lost my dog of 11 years!! I had the same thoughts as you!! Its been very hard on me and 10X harder on my mother. My mom is so lonely.

Re: Am I the only one?

It's only natural to worry about your fur babies. (Motherly instinct.) I worry a lot about ours too. If anything seems to be the slightest bit wrong, I'm infamous for jumping to the worst case scenario conclusion (drives my DH nuts!).

For some crazy examples, when our dog got into the litter boxes I feared that he would get a blockage and die (he didn't of course), and when we installed a cat door to prevent his snacking, then I worried about his head getting stuck!

I find that this helps me: instead of focusing your energy on worrying, focus them on solving the problem at hand and taking action. (This puts you back in control.) Weigh how likely different outcomes are and act from there. If you find yourself obsessing about it, ask yourself rationally if it calls for a trip to the emergency vet - or even call them and ask yourself (if you even feel silly calling, then you have your answer right there). I also find that I'm much more likely to worry when stressed, lacking sleep or if it's late at night - if any of these are contributing factors to your worrying, it will definitely help ease your mind if you recognize them. (Okay, I'm over tired and am just being silly.)

Woah, I wrote a lot! I have too much experience in this subject!

Anyways, hugs to you and your fur babies! You're definitely not alone!

Re: Am I the only one?

Bama is our first dog, so I worry about him all the time even though he's only 2 years old. It's terrible; I make myself sick sometimes thinking about the day when we'll have to put him down

Re: Am I the only one?

every now and then I'll be coming home from work, with my key in the door - and I can only hear one of them barking.......it makes me sick to think that I may open the door to find one of them not alive (notice I can't even say the "d**d" word ).

And because they're the cutest!!

Re: Am I the only one?

I Worry about my one cat for some reason all the time. About two weeks ago I so upset at his age I got up at like 2am to research online how long cats live so I could feel better and sleep. I will be devestated when he goes....I think about it TOO much

Re: Am I the only one?

p.s your pit bull is adorable!

Re: Am I the only one?

OMG, how cute are your babies?! The first shot looks professional too! What an awesome picture!!

Re: Am I the only one?

I so can relate and my puppy is only 9 months old!!! But I just think about her getting older one day and I get sad!

I told this to me DH once and he was like you are nuts, she is not even a year old yet!!!