had to put my dwarf hamster to sleep

gsxr1

Im finding it a little hard to deal with.

She was one of two. The other running around like mad now, searching.

I know its only a little hamster, put I have been caring for her for 3 years now. She had her own way and was the boss of her sister in the cage.

She took ill and was dieing in my hand. slow heart and breathing. Not the normal million beats a min as normal. Mouth open and tounge out.

<snip>

Im in bits now. Tears. the missis is upstairs crying. Fecking hell I did not think a little pets end would hit so hard.

TehDagsBass

Any time you save an animal from suffering, you've done the right thing. This can be anything from taking in a sickly stray to putting down the pet you've cared for, for years, when they become too ill to live a good life any further despite being desperate to hold onto it for some more time so you don't have to face the reality of the situation.

Losing a pet, no matter what size, is tough. I've had small and large pets throughout my life and even to this day I find flushing a dead goldfish tough. When my old dog died, I was in such a state that I brought it home to bury it and ended up spending hours in a ball with the body, unwilling to put it into its grave. They bring out the strongest emotions in us, emotions that we don't normally ever feel, even for other humans.

You've done the right thing so take solace in that. I would talk to someone who is well versed in hamsters asap with regards to the other one, as I don't personally know how it should be handled with regards to putting a replacement into the cage, how soon, etc.

Just be glad you gave it a good, happy life and gave it a dignified and as painless as possible death, and sorry for your loss.

Cherry Blossom

gsxr1 wrote: »

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TMI - unnecessary for the purposes of this thread

DeeRottie

I think the only people who can understand how hard the loss of a pet hits are people who have pets themselves. Until you have an animal you care about, you don't realise what an effect a furry friend can have on your life. You looked after her and cared for her for 3 years, she was part of your life and made you smile. Off course her passing is going to hurt, so don't feel like you shouldn't feel sadness and loss. But you did the right thing for her in the end, it's not fair to have her suffer. Even though she was a little hamster, she clearly had a big impact, so take the time to feel sad over her loss x

Binka

RIP little hamster. What was her name?

It's one of the hardest decisions to make when it's a pet you've loved and cared for.
Fortunately with human loss it's generally out of our hands; with pets it's often us that have to make the call.
Hope her little friend will be ok.