Have you ever, at some point, suddenly found your eyes watering?
In the early morning, I reached out to touch the food bowl on the bedside table. My fingertips only touched the cold floor. When I opened the door after work, there was no more pattering sound of footsteps rushing towards me — only the light in the hallway shining alone. In the corner where it always lay on the sofa, there was no longer a fluffy ball of fur, only a shallow indentation that time had gradually smoothed out.
That little one who accompanied you through countless late-night overtime hours, who took care of all your unhappiness, and who gave you all the trust and affection in their life — suddenly left.
Many people will tell you: "It's just a pet, don't be so sad." "Just get another one." But only you yourself know that it has never been "just a pet". It has been family. It has been the light in your ordinary life, your unreserved love, and the most tender period of your youth.
So today, I don't want to teach you "how to quickly get over sadness". Instead, I just want to tell you: There's nothing wrong with being sad, and there's nothing wrong with missing someone. We don't have to rush to make ourselves better. We can carry our memories with us and move forward slowly.
Allow yourself to grieve completely, without pretending to be strong
Too many people tell us to be "strong" and to "get over it quickly". But saying goodbye is never something that can be done "in a rush".
You can pore over the photos of it in your album late at night — from the tiny baby who timidly hugged your palm when you first brought it home, to the big kid running freely in the yard. You can laugh, and then cry.
You can look at its empty nest and pour out all the unspoken words to it. Tell it that the sunset today is beautiful. Tell it that you miss it very much.
You can have a big cry without holding back, without being afraid that others will say you are being sentimental, without pretending to be indifferent in front of others.
Your sadness has never been unnecessary. Every tear you shed for it is proof of your companionship. It is your unreserved love for it, and the most sincere response.
Don't set a "shelf life" for your sadness. Don't force yourself to "get better in a week" or "stop thinking about it after a month". Some people heal their wounds in three months, while others may still suddenly miss it after a year. None of these is right or wrong. Missing it is not weakness — it is the bond between you two, which has never been broken.
Don't listen to those words like "Stop thinking about it, the more you think the sadder you'll get". Those shining days you shared are not a painful burden. They are the most precious gift it left for you. You can freely recall it and miss it, just as you did when it was by your side.
Say goodbye to it in your own unique way
Often, the reason we get stuck in sadness is that we haven't had the chance to say goodbye properly.
Goodbyes never require a grand ceremony. They are hidden in every little thing that is unique to you two.
You can sit down and write a letter to it. Write down all those "I love you" that you never had the chance to say, all those difficult days you spent together, all those regrets and yearnings you kept hidden in your heart — one word and one sentence at a time. Don't worry about format or fancy words. Just like when you talked to it normally, tell it everything in your heart.
You can take a walk in the places you often visited. Go to that lawn where it always chased butterflies, go to that path where you two walked every evening, go to that park where it first learned to catch balls. Soak in the sun it loved most, breathe the wind it breathed, and consider it as accompanying it on one last journey that belongs to you both.
You can neatly store its little blanket and toys, or place them where you can easily see them. There's no need to rush to erase all traces of it from your home. There's no need to force yourself to "let go and declutter". Those small items that carry its scent are evidence of the journey it walked with you. You can let them stay there quietly, just as it still stays quietly by your side.
Goodbye is never about forgetting. Saying a proper goodbye is not about letting go — it's about properly storing the love and warmth it gave you in your heart, and carrying them with you as you move forward.
Put it into your love, and weave it into your future days
A puppy's life is very short — so short that it can only accompany you for a small part of your life. But it spends all of its time teaching you how to love and how to treat this world gently.
After it leaves, you don't have to be trapped in "the days without it". You can carry the love it gave you into your future life.
It used to like lying by the window to bask in the sun. You could place a small potted plant there. Every day, water it and let it soak in the sun, just as you used to feed it and groom it. Continue that tender care.
It used to wake you up in the morning. You could use those ten minutes to prepare a hot breakfast, just as you used to prepare breakfast for it every day on time. Continue that love for life.
When you were sad, it would quietly lie beside you and lick away your tears. You could bring that tenderness to the people around you, to the stray animals on the roadside, and to every corner of this world that needs warmth.
Someone asked, what is the meaning of keeping a pet? Isn't it like knowing that it will eventually leave, yet still having to endure this heart-wrenching pain?
But I always feel that the love it gives you is already enough to withstand the pain of parting. The days you spent together, those moments it healed you, those unreserved affections — they have long become the tenderness and strength within you, and will accompany you through all the storms ahead.
It spent its entire life showing you what it means to be loved. And the best response you can give it is to live well and live passionately, with the love and courage it gave you.
If the sadness is too heavy, don't bear it alone
I know that on some nights, the longing will come flooding in like a tide, overwhelming you and making it hard to breathe.
If for a long time you have been unable to sleep, unable to eat, have lost interest in things you used to enjoy, and can't help shedding tears — don't think this is "abnormal". And don't try to bear it all by yourself.
You can talk to friends who have also lost their pets. They understand your sadness and the emptiness in your heart. They won't say something like "It's just a pet". They will just listen quietly as you tell your story, and cry with you.
If your sadness has nowhere to go, you can also seek professional psychological help. This is not weakness — it is kindness toward yourself. It is your willingness to give yourself time to gradually reconcile with your sadness.
Also, don't listen to those "Just get another one" remarks. Don't rush to bring a new life into the world just to fill the void in your heart. This is unfair to the new little one, and it's also unfair to your unfinished goodbye. Wait until you have truly healed — until you do it because you want to welcome a new life, not because you want to forget the old one. Then, it will be time to embrace new companionship.
I have always believed that those little creatures who left us have never truly gone away.
They have turned into the evening breeze, into the stars in the sky, into the sunlight falling on your shoulder, and into the tenderness that wells up in your heart whenever you think of them.
It spent its entire life giving you all its love. What it dreaded most was seeing you stuck in sadness forever because of its departure, forgetting to live a good life.
So, there's no need to rush out of sadness. And there's no need to force yourself to get rid of the longing.
You can carry the love and tenderness it gave you, and move forward slowly.
As long as you remember it, it will always be alive. In your heart, in your memories, in every shining day that follows — it will always be there.