Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Pet Loss: Mangia and Me from Huffington Post

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Mary K. Moore
Mary K. Moore

Author, 'The Unexpected When You're Expecting'
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Pet Loss: Mangia and Me
Posted: 02/21/2012 1:40 pm
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Cats , Grey's Anatomy , Marley & Me , Cathy , Euthanasia , Grieving For a Pet , Losing a Pet , Old-Yeller , Pet Death , Pets , Healthy Living News

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"Why do you have two frozen corn dogs on your eyes?" asks my husband.

It's a fair question. I was trying to relieve the swelling from crying the night before. My 16-year-old cat, Mangia, had died unexpectedly which in many ways is like saying Christmas came without warning or you were ambushed by gravity. Still, as my breaded meat compresses attested, I was completely unprepared for her passing.

Grieving for a cat is a tricky proposition. Especially if you're a woman. By just owning one, you're a potential punchline and crying over one is viewed as more Cathy than cathartic. With dogs, you have society's blessing when it comes to sadness. It's the stuff of best sellers and tear jerkers, from "Old Yeller" to "Marley and Me." I remember being handed "Where the Red Fern Grows" in sixth grade as a silent, in-class reading assignment. It was the story of two hunting dogs bound together by love until their ultimate heroic deaths. You could always tell when one of us got to the touching graveside scene, sniffles erupting, classmates weeping quietly in order of their reading speed.

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