[Gpdd] Grief - Baby Truffles

[Marsha Neely]

Dear Corrine,

I'm so sorry for your loss.  I do my best to keep up with the digest, but I 
don't usually say much.  I want you to know that I had a very, very similar 
situation as you have now.  More importantly, I want you to know that things 
do get better with time, and that the people here on the digest are the 
best.  I lost 5 precious furbabies in the short period of 10 months and I 
was just crushed.  Muttley was the first piggie I'd had in several years and 
I just fell in love with him the second I saw him.  I loved him so much that 
when I had to go out of town a couple of times for work, I called everyday 
to check on him.  After a while, I got a female and I named her StinkerBelle 
(2003).  She and Muttley had two litters together, one boy and one girl per 
litter (Ozzy & Trixie - 11/07/2003 and Elvis & Bob - 02/01/2004).  I kept 
all of them but Bob and spoiled them all rotten.  I lost Muttley at the end 
of 2005 and I was crushed.  The only thing that kept me going was having his 
babies with me.

Muttley passed 12/30/2005 (heart attack after surgery)
Elvis passed  08/27/2007 (vitamin deficiency)
Ozzy passed  09/08/2007 (grief from Elvis passing)
Tigger 11/23/2007 (piggie I rescued in October 2007 who had pneumonia when I 
got him)
StinkerBelle passed 12/20/2007 (Torsion)
Trixie passed 06/27/2008 (result of bladder stone surgery two weeks earlier)

When Trixie passed that was the end of Muttley's family.  I still grieve for 
all of them, but I have another 5 beautiful little female furbabies now 
(KissaBella, GracieBallet, BonnieMamas, Chloe, and Heidi).  I lost my only 
remaining male, Bubba, very suddenly earlier this year.  The loss is always 
devastatingly sad, but knowing that I did everything I could possibly do for 
them makes me feel better eventually.  Having other piggies is the best 
therapy for me.  I have a high stress job, Director of Residential Services 
at a domestic violence/sexual assault crisis center, and they ARE my 
therapy.  They get me through the really hard times.  Nothing can ever 
replace the ones we lose, but just looking into my girls beautiful little 
eyes lets me know that they understand.

Take care and remember that we are all here for you.  I will never know 
exacly how you feel, but I can certainly empathize with your situation.  You 
did everything you could for Baby Truffles, and now she is with her mother 
and my babies.  I can imagine them popcorning all over the place at the 
Rainbow Bridge.

Marsha