My husband and I recently made the decision to rehome our sugar glider. We have had him for 3+ months and we have determined that we don't have enough time to spend with him in order to allow him to properly bond with us. He is healthy and happy, but we feel he will be much happier in his new home with a loving woman who works part-time and is able to spend more time with him. On the reality side, I know this is the best decision because he will have more time to be held, will bond better and will ultimately live a happier life; but the emotional side of me is very sad. I tried to distance myself from him (as much as possible) in the past week and in turn, I did not allow myself to acknowledge the emotions I was feeling. I suppressed them and now I am paying for it. They all bubbled up at once and I started crying. We are rehoming him tonight at 6:30pm. I'm dreading that moment, but also looking forward to it because he is a lot to handle and it has been a stressful journey. I have no doubts about the home he is going to because we know the person and she is the ultimate animal lover. She is so attentive, caring and passionate. It still doesn't make it hurt less...
Sara
Sara, I am so sorry. I am sure this must be really hard for you. You are so nurturing. I can absolutely understand your decision to rehome him and that is certainly the responsible decision, but of course, you bonded along the way. Have you thought of visiting him from time to time? This way you can see how wonderfully he'll be doing and not lose touch with him at the same time. I hope everything goes as well as it can tonight for you.
Hugs,
Laurie
Hi Laurie,
Thank you for the support. It was difficult last night, but after spending more time with his new family, we knew it was the right decision. The family asked if we would like to visit, but I told them no. He needs to bond appropriately with them and if we visited he might not do that. Also, I think it would be hard on my husband and I to see him. I did ask her to send me picture updates and she was happy to agree to that : ) I think overall this will be a good thing and time will heal the pain.
Hugs,
Sara
BaltimoreBaby said:
Sara, I am so sorry. I am sure this must be really hard for you. You are so nurturing. I can absolutely understand your decision to rehome him and that is certainly the responsible decision, but of course, you bonded along the way. Have you thought of visiting him from time to time? This way you can see how wonderfully he'll be doing and not lose touch with him at the same time. I hope everything goes as well as it can tonight for you.
Hugs,
Laurie
Sara,
I have not been on in a few days and just read your post. I had no idea what a sugar glider was. Being an animal lover I looked them out. Even though they look sweet they make all sorts of sounds. I lost my dog in October rather sudden after thirteen years so my heart goes out to you. Any pet requires lots of care and attention. As my Heath got worse with the Fibro he seemed to pull away from me. I just figured he might be depressed so I tried getting neighbor kids and grand kids to visit, but he wanted to stay close to me. Then one day he could hardly walk and acted like he was drunk. I took him to the vet and he said it is a matter of time before he dies. I had such Huge guilt that maybe if I wasn’t so bad maybe I would of seen things that I could of done to help him. I guess it was kidney failure. So I brought him home and within a few days he died in my arms. It was like losing a child to me. It has been about nine months and I look for him all the time. I blew up several photos of him and placed around the house in his memory. So when you share your situation I admire you for finding a home that can give him what he needs. Even though it is a loss for you please know it is the best for him. You need to also do what is best for you as you battle with your health issues.
Sending warm Fuzzies you way!
Ron
Hi Ron,
Thank you for the kind words and sharing your story with me. I am sorry about what happened with your sweet dog. I also felt guilt when rehoming our sugar glider, but the new owners have sent me pictures and he is doing fine : ) Caring for him was putting a lot of stress on our nightly routine and it was difficult to care for him when I was experiencing a flare. My husband and I both work full-time and spending 2-4 hours with him per night was not allowing him to bond properly. I think my Kitty, who is used to being the only animal in the house, was also jealous...so now I have all my time and energy to focus on Percius (Kitty). I think it is a wonderful memorial to your dog with the pictures around the house. I understand why you feel guilty, but I hope you don't hold that guilt forever. Even though difficult, I believe things happen for a reason and some things can't be prevented, even if we weren't dealing with Fibro.
Many hugs,
Sara
Fearski said:
Sara,
I have not been on in a few days and just read your post. I had no idea what a sugar glider was. Being an animal lover I looked them out. Even though they look sweet they make all sorts of sounds. I lost my dog in October rather sudden after thirteen years so my heart goes out to you. Any pet requires lots of care and attention. As my Heath got worse with the Fibro he seemed to pull away from me. I just figured he might be depressed so I tried getting neighbor kids and grand kids to visit, but he wanted to stay close to me. Then one day he could hardly walk and acted like he was drunk. I took him to the vet and he said it is a matter of time before he dies. I had such Huge guilt that maybe if I wasn't so bad maybe I would of seen things that I could of done to help him. I guess it was kidney failure. So I brought him home and within a few days he died in my arms. It was like losing a child to me. It has been about nine months and I look for him all the time. I blew up several photos of him and placed around the house in his memory. So when you share your situation I admire you for finding a home that can give him what he needs. Even though it is a loss for you please know it is the best for him. You need to also do what is best for you as you battle with your health issues.
Sending warm Fuzzies you way!
Ron