"I Can't Believe How Much This Hurts"

My niece just today took her beloved pet cat “Smokey” to the Kansas Humane Society to have him put down following a long life and relationship with her and her family.  She did today what many people find themselves having to do…make “that” decision on behalf of a member of the family who cannot make that decision for itself, and for which death does not come naturally.

She Facebooked about her experience.  One of her posts is as follows:  “Gave Smokey some Benadryl, and hopefully that will relax him as we prepare to leave in about an hour. I can't believe how much this hurts.”

She then, awhile later, posted this:  “It took less than 5 minutes.  Smokey is no longer in pain, he is playing freely in heaven.”

I recalled myself when we had to make that decision.  I thought about others that I know who made that decision.  I thought about people who would say, “It’s only an animal.”  And I thought about the pain and grief that I have felt with the loss of a beloved pet.  I thought about how much it hurts…more than one would ever imagine.  I then wrote on her  timeline the following as a response.

"I can't believe how much this hurts." I can believe it. Your mother and dad can believe it. Those of us who have lost beloved pets grieve just as if we had lost a human family member. No, they aren't human, but they've been an integral part of our lives for however many years it was, and it hurts to have that relationship severed.
It hurts even more to know that death itself came about because the devil lied to Eve and she believed it rather than trusting God. We can be angry with Eve...we can be angry with God...but ultimately we must be totally bent at the devil who is the ultimate cause of death, decay, and destruction.
Yet we also know that God is at work even now through Jesus Christ to redeem the creation, and provide not only us, but (I believe) Smoky, Lydia, Susie, Dynamite, KoKo, and all the rest of what He created and called "Good" so long ago with life that is not sullied with the stench of death and decay.
May God Himself comfort you with the comfort of His peace and love.