Katie's Corner: Coping with the loss of a pet Katie's Corner: Coping with the loss of a pet (October 19, 2005)

By Katie Blankenberg

Sixth-grader, St. Raymond School

Coping with the loss of a pet is very hard.

Unbelievably, one of my very close friends, Madeline, who is in my sixth-grade class at St. Raymond School and lives in Menlo Park, has experienced the deaths of three dogs in three years.

Madeline's first dog was a Rottweiler named Halley. Madeline and her younger sister, Sarah, would play with Halley for hours. Then the years went by and Halley was diagnosed with cancer. Halley passed away in July 2002.

Madeline's second dog, Riley, was also a Rottweiler. Madeline adopted her in July 2002, right after Halley passed away. Riley was a very active pet and a constant companion. He always wanted to play and run around.

Two years later, Madeline's family decided to bring Riley along on a vacation since he was such an important part of the family. Tragically, during the vacation, Riley was hit by a car and he passed away in July 2004.

Madeline's family loves the companionship of a dog and they missed Riley and Halley so much that they decided to get another Rottweiler.

Madeline did not give up on having a dog and soon her family adopted a Rottweiler named Cleo. Madeline loved to take Cleo to Stanford for long walks on campus. Cleo was very active, but after a few months Madeline's family noticed that Cleo was not walking right.

They took her to the veterinarian and discovered she had spinal problems because she was the runt of the litter. The spinal problems worsened and in April 2005, Cleo was put to sleep.

Despite Madeline's long streak of bad luck with pets she did not give up on having a dog. So, in another leap of faith, she adopted a black lab mix named Bowie.

Bowie and Madeline are now very happy together and have lots of fun with her family and friends.

"Coping with the loss of a pet is hard," says Madeline. "You get so connected with them and when they pass away it feels like you've lost a part of your family and yourself."

Things that have helped her get through all of these losses were spending time with other animals and receiving an abundance of support from family and friends.

And for parents, remember how important a dog can be in a child's life and don't give up when things get rough with pets. If you are coping with the loss of a pet, try thinking about what Madeline has gone through and the joy she now has with Bowie.

I really admire Madeline for being so brave. She has given so much love to her pets and I think they were all very lucky to have Madeline as their friend.

For anyone who has lost a pet, I recommend they read either "Dog Heaven" or "Cat Heaven" by Cynthia Rylant. My favorite quote from "Dog Heaven" is: "When dogs go to Heaven, they don't need wings because God knows dogs love running best."

These books were written for children but my mom and I agree they will provide comfort to anyone who reads them no matter what age you are.
Katie Blankenberg, 12, lives in Portola Valley.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.