Does anyone think that still grieving the loss of my pet after 5 years crazy or excessive?
If you are not functioning in life then yes, you are being excessive, but it sounds like you just miss this dog that impacted your life! Some dogs impact our life and we never forget them. They came into our life when we were struggling, or they just seem to know what we need without any words or signal. They just know. If you cannot move on and take care of yourself and your loved ones now then you may need some counseling to help you deal with the loss, but otherwise ignore what others think. If they haven’t had a dog that impacted their life, then they do not understand.
When I was a kid we had a sheltie named Skipper who was without question the best dog we had. The idiot meter reader kept leaving the gate open and we complained because skipper enjoyed chasing cars. Our worst fears came to pass when he got out and was hit by a car. He survived but was paralyzed from the shoulders down and refused all food and water so we decided it was more humane to put him to sleep than to be trapped in his crippled mortal husk. It’s been close to fifteen years since we lost Skipper and all it takes is a smell, a sound, some fleeting image that reminds me of our family pet and the tears come. Dogs really do become like family members to us and their loss is as painful as a human we have loved in life…I cant finish this. I’m starting to relive it again…
