My angel has passed

[Melina]

Hi guys
I haven't posted for a long time but i feel this is the only place i can share something like this. My darling darling Dolly passed away this weekend after suffering a respiratory infection that got the better of her.
My whole life is broken into pieces and i just wanted to die with her. Her viv keeps 'looking' at me but i can't bring myself to move anything.
Has anyone else experienced such heartbreak?- i don't think anyone else other than other cham lovers will understand. She was my world and now she is gone

 

[laurie]

I know the feeling well. If you go read some older post by Miss Lily, also from England, you will see almost the same wording when she lost Lily. A lot of us feel the same heartbreak when we lose one. I do even after years of keeping chams and losing them, I am just never ready. Sorry you lost your angel so soon.

 

[Elizadolots]

I'm so sorry.

 

[Melina]

Thank you both for your kind words. Laurie i may send Miss Lily a private message in the hope i can reach out to someone who has felt the same. I have to face going to work this morning and i have a huge photo of her on my desk - i'm petrified at the thought of seeing it.

R.I.P Dolly monster - mummy and daddy are broken without you xxx

 

[jannb]

I am so very sorry to hear that Dolly has passed. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Melina]

Thanks Jannb - i remember you offering me some helpful advice when she was laying her first clutch of eggs

I never realised how empty life is without a cham in it - i am so madly in love with them!!

 

[Miss Lily]

Melina, I have replied to your PM - I'm so sorry that I didn't see it sooner. I know exactly how you feel. They become so much part of your life and when that is suddenly taken away it is very hard to see a future without them. I am so sorry you lost Dolly, they are such wonderful creatures.

 

[Melina]

Thanks Miss Lily - you guys are great

 

[ijmccollum]

I feel your pain - it's hard to lose something that has meant so so much to you. It will be awhile before I break Chi-Chi's viv down as well. Wish you well.

 

[wendyeeeo]

Hi guys
I haven't posted for a long time but i feel this is the only place i can share something like this. My darling darling Dolly passed away this weekend after suffering a respiratory infection that got the better of her.
My whole life is broken into pieces and i just wanted to die with her. Her viv keeps 'looking' at me but i can't bring myself to move anything.
Has anyone else experienced such heartbreak?- i don't think anyone else other than other cham lovers will understand. She was my world and now she is gone

I am so, so very sorry for your loss. And yes, I have experienced the same grief you described when I lost my first chameleon. I have had many pets throughout my life - but the loss of my first chameleon was the hardest grief process I have had to go through thus far. I have been somewhat curious about that since it happened, and I really only have a couple of observations about it. For me, chameleon care is very time consuming and in the beginning filled with worry! Now it's less stressful but every bit as time consuming (if not more) - and it's by choice! I give such meticulous attention to this pet in comparison to my others 1) because it's necessary and 2) because it's rewarding for myself and the Cham. I think such an intense "emotional investment", if you will, is very amazing and eventually very devastating when it ends. I never would have guessed that owning the little reptiles could be such a spiritual experience! But it really is.

Hang in there and thank you so much for sharing. It helps the rest of us who know what it's like.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Her viv keeps 'looking' at me but i can't bring myself to move anything.
Has anyone else experienced such heartbreak?- i don't think anyone else other than other cham lovers will understand.

Nearly every time.....When my Water Dragon Alan died it was literally weeks before I packed the stuff up - Sorry for your loss

 

[Miss Lily]

When I lost my Lily, we all agreed that the house seemed 'empty' without her - she never made a mess or any sound, yet we all missed that sweet l'il green thing! I emptied her viv after a few days as I kept looking in for her like I always had when I walked past. I emptied everything out and cleaned it and added a flowering plant. That was how it stayed for a few days, until I began to set things up in readiness for baby Amy's arrival.

 

[dreamforthedead]

I'm very sorry for your loss, i really dread the day anything happens to my two. I know it will break my heart! They get to you like nothing else.

 

[Sweetcorn]

So sorry for your loss Melina I've only been keeping Chams for about 3 months now and nothing prepared me for the absolute love you feel for them. I can only imagine how hard it's been for you x

 

[suzi]

So sorry for your loss, my thoughts are with you both RIP

 

[Melina]

I am so, so very sorry for your loss. And yes, I have experienced the same grief you described when I lost my first chameleon. I have had many pets throughout my life - but the loss of my first chameleon was the hardest grief process I have had to go through thus far. I have been somewhat curious about that since it happened, and I really only have a couple of observations about it. For me, chameleon care is very time consuming and in the beginning filled with worry! Now it's less stressful but every bit as time consuming (if not more) - and it's by choice! I give such meticulous attention to this pet in comparison to my others 1) because it's necessary and 2) because it's rewarding for myself and the Cham. I think such an intense "emotional investment", if you will, is very amazing and eventually very devastating when it ends. I never would have guessed that owning the little reptiles could be such a spiritual experience! But it really is.

Hang in there and thank you so much for sharing. It helps the rest of us who know what it's like.

Thanks all of you for your kind words - Wendyeeeo you totally summed it up with the words 'emotional investment' Describes it perfectly i think.

I've been putting a fresh flower on her ashes box each day and giving her photo a kiss