Death, Sex & Money - How to Say Goodbye to Your Pets
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Slate Podcasts
4.2 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 22 February 2023
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Your stories of loving—and losing—your beloved animal companions. Plus, an end-of-life veterinarian offers advice on knowing when to say goodbye.
Some of you also shared resources for dealing with the loss of a pet. Here are a few of those suggestions:
Sara recommended a TEDx talk by veterinarian Dr. Sarah Hoggan on the lingering impact of pet euthanasia.
Looking for books to read? Margaret recommended “Good Grief” by E.B. Bartels, Flora shared “Lifetimes” by Bryan Mellonie, Sophia offered Mary Oliver’s book of poems “Dog Songs,” and for more poetry, Jeni suggested Lynne Schimdt’s “Dead Dog Poems.”
A listener named David told us about the Jimmy Stewart interview on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson where Jimmy reads a tearjerker of a poem about his late dog, Beau. Watch it here.
Aileen shared an episode of Encyclopodia podcast where Dr. Allison Bergin discussed end-of-life care for pets.
A listener named Ali told us about Dr. Amanda Stronza (@amandastronza on Instagram), an anthropologist and conservationist who writes about her experiences with pet loss online.
And finally, another listener shared a CBS Sunday Morning story about Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Learn more about it here.
Did you know we have a weekly email newsletter for the Death, Sex & Money community? Every Wednesday we send out a note from Anna, fascinating listener letters from our inbox, and updates from the show. Sign up at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter, and follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Got a story to share? Email us at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Last June, we said goodbye to our Big Mutt Jones. |
| 0:03.0 | His full name was BJ, a beach for short. |
| 0:06.0 | I named him after my favorite skateboarder at the time, Dan Margera. |
| 0:10.0 | I named them guapo and bonita. |
| 0:12.0 | Jasper brought a lot of joy into our lives. |
| 0:14.0 | Rarely a day goes by that I don't think about Lola. |
| 0:16.0 | I miss my little Steve Bouchet looking weirdo. |
| 0:19.0 | Lots of days still. |
| 0:27.0 | This is death, sex, and money. |
| 0:35.9 | The show from WNYC about the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more. |
| 0:37.8 | I'm Anna Sale. |
| 0:51.2 | Just a few weeks into 2023, there was a big ending in my life. My family had to euthanize our dog, Jack. He was an Australian Shepherd, 13 and a half years old, and a very good boy. |
| 0:57.6 | I met him at the same time I met my now husband, Arthur, and he was with us through our |
| 1:02.1 | entire relationship, our wedding, having two babies. |
| 1:05.9 | As we moved around, Jack was always at our feet. |
| 1:10.0 | Losing him and having to make the decision of how and when he would die was difficult for me. |
| 1:16.6 | I felt both really sad and also a little embarrassed about how sad I felt. |
| 1:22.6 | But the thing about losing a pet is that when you do, people who get how devastating it can |
| 1:29.0 | be to say goodbye to an animal you love, they reach out. |
| 1:33.4 | That includes many of you who responded when I asked to hear about your experiences with |
| 1:38.7 | losing a pet. |
| 1:40.2 | I never thought I'd be a rat person. |
... |
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