Laura

“The grief of pet loss is a quiet sort of suffering. There is no bereavement leave from work, no funeral with loved ones. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, someone will ask about your pet. Oh, we lost her last week, you’ll say. I’m so sorry, they’ll say back. And that’s it, the moment is over, and you’re expected to continue on with life like it’s any other day. Like your world hasn’t been flipped on its axis, the empty spot at the bottom of the stairs like a black hole in your living room. Pet loss is so intensely personal, so intimate and tragically singular, that others can’t really participate in your hurt. When a human dies, there are friends, coworkers, and family members—people who knew them and can recount funny stories or profound memories. Of course people knew Ruby, many of them loved her, but it was different. A pet is there with you more than any friend, any family member, and any significant other. They’re present in all your most private moments, when you can let your guard down and just be. They’re there for every heartbreaking cry, and every mindless laugh as you watch your favorite TV show. They’re there through every season, every dinner cooked, and every sleepless night. They’re there, consistent and content, no questions asked, just happy to be standing next to you. It’s something you’re so used to, something you might have taken for granted, and all of a sudden their presence is zapped from your life so quickly and violently it leaves marks on every part of you.”
― Isabel Klee, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About

“Loving a dog is proof alone that actions speak louder than words. You exist together, a back-and-forth, a give-and-take, as fluid and reliable as the lap of a wave along a shoreline. You sleep together, eat together, walk together, love together, and your commitment to each other never has to be stated. It just is. You get to know each other through living, the careful observation of two beings who want to understand.”
― Isabel Klee, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About

“That’s the magic of dogs: The simple, unrelenting magic is that they don’t even have to try. They heal just by existing, reminding us to live every moment to the fullest. Because what is life other than taking long walks, eating good food, and spending time with the people you love most?”
― Isabel Klee, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About

“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality