I won’t go into details, but my husband really wanted to get a dog for the family, so we bought a beautiful Schnoodle when I was 36 weeks pregnant with my second. We named her Ruby. Having Ruby alongside a newborn and an 18-month-old was incredibly challenging. We acknowledged it was a rash decision to have made. My husband resented the dog quickly, adding to the workload, etc. I tended to all its needs, toilet trained it, etc. I grew to love this dog very much, and my youngest was happy to grow up alongside her. We live in a built-up area with no grassed yard, so barking was constant. She was also quite reactive, presumably protective over the girls, and I hadn’t had the time to train her properly. Fast forward 2.5 years, and I felt sorry for Ruby. She lived a great life with us, but we could never give her the attention she deserved. After huge amounts of hesitation, I decided to find her a new home and found a lovely family with lots of kids and a yard. I knew she would get all the love and attention in the world. It’s the second day without her and I haven’t stopped crying. I feel absolutely heartbroken without her. I feel bad constantly asking for updates about her, but I need the photos to know she’s okay and happy. Is this normal? How long does it take for the pain to subside? Did I make a mistake rehoming her? I’m just absolutely gutted.
You made the right decision in rehoming an animal you couldn’t give full care and patience to. These rash decisions happen far too often, so please let this be a lesson to not get a living animal that you aren’t going to commit to for its entire life.
Trust me, lesson learned. This pain is worse than a breakup x1000!
I can tell you really loved her, and because you loved her so much, you wanted the best for her. I think she’ll be happy in a home with a yard and not being yelled at. It’ll hurt for a while; try to stay busy, and hopefully, eventually, you’ll feel better about it.