Rosemary for love, loyalty and remembrance

Remembering special pets is one of the pleasures of owning pets and pet sitting and having lots of pets through our hands each year. Thirteen dogs this year and eight cats… Are there special pets and memories of them that you remember vividly? Can you share why?

I saw this tatoo and wondered how do you keep such pets in the forefront of your mind?

My own pets I had an artist paint them. I still have albums full of photos of them , some are framed and on display

.. I wouldn’t go so far as a needle!

Anyone kept leads and collars or a locket of hair? It’s hard to let go of everything…

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My dad’s got a glass cabinet which is used as a memorial for a half dozen or so dogs he’s had over the decades.

Each has a box with its cremated remains, a photo, and a collar.

It’s really special to him, but it always struck me as being rather creepy.

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We have photos. I also can’t throw out our dog’s registration papers, silly but one piece of paper in a file. We kept his collar and bowl for ages, just couldn’t throw them out. We will never have pets again, small townhouse, but sitting last year brought home what we have missed for the last 5 years since our last cat passed. Also sitting for affectionate cats showed me how aloof mine had been! I am actually searching out sits now for pets rather than because I am wanting to travel.

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@Highfive I travel the world with my dog’s collar in my suitcase, just so a part of her is always with me. I am going to use her lead to glue around a pot and put a plant in it with her ashes, a permanent place for her. We can’t do normal burials for our pets like humans but doesn’t mean we loved them any less.

I petsit because my Ziggydog is irreplaceable to me and having other animals around me to love gives me the fix I need. Couldn’t go through the heartache of losing another pet ever again, despite people telling me otherwise.

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Just read an article about a couple who lost their home in the California forest fires. Their cats went missing too.. They spent a year and a day returning to the site and looking for them everywhere. They hope they were taken in and loved by someone.. it must be so hard not knowing.. they have a new home now and keep thinking how much the cats would Iove it where they now are…

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I expect most have heard of the terrible train accident in southern Spain recently. Not all the bodies and possibly survivors have been located yet. Among the missing is a dog. A cross Snauzer and Spanish Water dog. He’s called Boro. There have been false reports that he’s been reunited with his owner but these have been denied by the family.

He’s been found and reunited with his family!

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One of my reasons for continuing to pet sit and housesit is to rekindle that love I felt from the pets I owned and cared for. Full time is a huge commitment. But I can do full time for short bursts and that is what I do with much joy.

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