About grief

Thank you all for the love and support. Losing Reynard was the hardest in a string of losses. In April of '07, my beloved Boris (FIV-positive) died of sudden severe renal failure. That was followed by Jingles' sudden death, Mr. Lucky's death from CRF; then Wiggles, an aged ShiTzu beset with many ailments; and shortly before Reynard died, my very elderly Mystery succumbed to CRF. I had treated Mystery for three years for hyperthyroidism and CRF. She was incredibly resilient but I knew she would not live forever.

In 2002, I lost my dear mother to what can only be described as flagrant medical malpractice. The following year, I lost the dog I loved best to veterinary malpractice. These two haunt me with their hosts of unanswered questions and the sad feeling that if only I'd known better, their deaths might not have happened.

I have the feeling that all this grief has piled up and that I have not truly dealt with it in a constructive way. All this is to ask this question: Has anyone gone through grief counseling? If you have, please comment and tell me how it helped you - if it did. If not - but you feel you have put your grief to rest in a good way, I'd like to hear that, too.

This is a very heavy topic, but I feel sure that I am not alone in this. I know you are loving people who have suffered as many or more losses than I have. I feel a kinship to you in that regard.

Alma