Fading Glory
We fall so deeply in love with the bundle of fluff that arrives to us, tiny, wobbly, and generally mewing or whining often. That baby love gets us through the toddler stage when everything is a toy and/or should be eaten. Somehow their antics keep us smiling and laughing through the frustration of the whirl wind of destruction and mayhem that is often left in their wake.
And then they begin to age, becoming more reasonable, more mature, and maybe a little more grounded. They are there next to you for comfort, and still good for a laugh whenever you need it most. And somehow, in the blink of an eye, they’re grizzled around the muzzle and face, and getting up slower and slower off the floor, and no longer jumping at their favorite toys.
Aging with a pet is always hard to watch. The aching steps as arthritis sets in, the inability to get up onto the bed, their favorite perch, or even into the car, the wistful looks when the younger companions bound away and they just know their body won’t allow them to do that anymore. And the part that’s even harder, the occasional falls, or the loss of ability of coordinate their body at all.
We all get very emotional when we have to watch an animal that we love struggling to do things that are very basic, and once came with ease. Many clients reach out to me very worried about their aging pet - are they ok? How do they feel? Are they suffering?
After having connected with many older pets, some very close to crossing over, I have found one thing that brings me, and my clients a lot of comfort.
Aging isn’t emotional for our pets.
Animals do not have the same emotional attachment to youth that we do as humans. When we are suddenly faced with our own mortality (or observing our pet’s), we often feel a sense of loss, fear, and anxiety. We wish we could do the things we used to with ease, we are afraid of the end drawing closer, and we’re worried about what other aches and pains are coming.
The good news is that our pets don’t have that emotional attachment to the experience of aging. They take each day as it comes, and do what they can as they can. They experience the good days, and the not so good days, with equal reverence. They are aware of the end of physical existence drawing near, but it brings no fear or worry for them. They know that souls continue on, even if the physical body fades.
This knowledge brings a deep sense of peace to my clients, an ability to accept what is in the now with no expectation of what might be tomorrow, and no grief over what was yesterday. It is my wish that we all can find a deeper sense of peace through the aging experience.
