Why so serious?
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From Lara to all dogs, cats, birds, mice, rats, Guinea pigs and all the other animals out here…Happy holidays.
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Well, it’s not the kind of update I’d like to put out but it’s now been two months since we had to say goodbye to our little Penelope. We took her into our new vet thinking that her sudden breathing difficulties were due to her asthma and having just moved to a completely different environment than what she spent all her life in before (moved from the humid South to the arid West); unfortunately, she was diagnosed with cancer (that had likely been developing for some time unnoticed because she never had any other symptoms) and fluid had basically filled her chest cavity.
My wife and I were devastated and have been having a hell of a time adjusting - she and her brother (who passed in 2018) were with me since they were born and were my light through the lost of my brother and so many similar life-altering events before I met Catherine. I think I’m finally at the point where I can look at pictures and videos without bawling my eyes out, so I wanted to celebrate her memory. Here’s to you Penelope (July 4, 2010 - Feb 9, 2023).
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I’m so sorry for your loss.
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I’m so sorry.
I know how hard it is to lose them, they’re family. I’m sitting here thinking of my cats who are no longer with me and crying a bit, smiling a lot with all the memories they bring up. They give us so much.
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My condolences, may she rest in peace.
They steal your heart, but once it’s time to say goodbye it makes it all the more harder. And when you have to make the decision yourself, jesus, horrible.
I’d like to think that once it is our time to go that we see every loved one of ours again, all in one place, everyone. This would be the absolute best.
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Gotta keep your best friend as cool as possible!
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Okay so I wanna post several pictures; if I may.
So a little backstory— family has had 10 total saint bernards (individually). I have been around maybe half of them or 3 more. As far as pictures go----I have several from our recent dog we got which is a terrier mixture. I’ll also post my late maya—the 10th and final saint beranrd to the family as she passed in 2021. I’ll share her first.
Saint bernard; Maya (7 years old); she was my everything. The photo above is her final photo which I kept as a memorial to her life we shared together.
Now the next two are Terrier Mix (Choo-Choo) Current dog
It’s def diffrent with a small dog instead of a bigger dog. But Choochoo has been a blessing since Maya’s departure.
BTW this place is great thanks for making it feel so welcome…
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Aww this takes me back. Someone liked this today and I hadn’t seen these in a while… been very different in the Knottian house without Penelope, will be two years in February. For those that love their pets like family, it’s never really the same after loss 
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Yeah, same here. Had to say goodbye to mine back in September. Things are definitely not the same.
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What I do find odd is how pets often seem to have similar traits to ones that have passed - even if they never met.
It’s probably more that they pick up the behaviour from their owners, but it does feel sometimes like somehow they’ve picked up something.
My old chocolate labradors, the mum (Pepsi) was intelligent and a little more independent than her daughter (Kassi), who was more devoted, silly and a grouchy guard dog.
For example, if Pepsi wanted her daughter’s seat on the sofa, she’d grab one of her cuddly toys and start to dismantle it so Kassi would jump down to save it - Pepsi would then immediately jump up on the seat.
But when we lost Pepsi at nearly 15, Kassi suddenly started to be able to hold pills and spit them out later discreetly like her mum did (before, she swallowed anything we gave her) and she seemed to become more grown up (despite already being nearly 12).
When we lost Kassi years later, we adopted a brother (Dennis) and sister (Dolly - we didn’t pick the names!) from a shelter - they were just over 2 years old, Romanian, a mix of breeds (but more Anatolian shepherds we think) yet Dolly is more intelligent, independent and demanding just like Pepsi, and Dennis is more devoted, silly and is a really grouchy guard dog - just like Kassi…
They’re nearly 5 now, and despite being very nervous in the shelter they quickly settled and now even calmer than normal dogs - for example if you step over them they won’t move whereas most dogs look / jump up lol.
It’s the same with our horses - our three mares over the years have all had feisty tempers but lovely with us, and the three geldings have all been sweet but naughty…
I really can’t explain it, but there’s something comforting about the feeling that maybe our old pets are still around in some way…
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I can’t tell you how perfect this post is, and how much I agree. Our boy Ollie picked up so many traits from Penelope, but also within the last year he’s started so many of the things Benicio used to do (he passed in 2018, we adopted Ollie in 2019). Thank you so much for sharing this 
Edit: Btw, my wife is a massive horse person - she just started up at a non profit that provides therapy via horses (really proud of her and she’s making a difference).
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I’m so sorry for your loss, it’s devastating. Sending a virtual hug.
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Aww yep it’s really hard to explain as Dolly and Dennis even display many of the same mannerisms as Pepsi and Kassi yet they never even met, are different breeds and had very different upbringings - it’s comforting to feel something hangs around, as for example when I look in Dolly’s eyes in addition to her intelligence and naughtiness I swear I can still see the glint of Pepsi’s mischievousness lol.
And wow yep good on her, that’s awesome - it’s amazing how responsive horses can be to people, even the wildest mare we had when I was a child would know to be gentle with me, and it really seems beneficial to everyone involved so a really great thing to do 
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100%
Dogs are so amazing, they just steal your heart. If there’s one con/caveat (I guess that’s the word) it’s that they don’t get super old. Oh man what I wouldn’t give if they could grow old with us, healthy at that. Like a parrot, oh man. I’d give all my possessions in a heartbeat for Lara to grow old with me.
On a lighter note…
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Cat lurves Xbox
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Lara and my brother’s dog Nala 
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