Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...Luna was up in a tree and out of my reach. No one was around to help me steady a very tall ladder to get her, but I felt as though I could reach her. Woke up when I was just inches away...

I am sure this was triggered by a combination of my obvious loss and also the frustration and possible loss of Kerry's (twinoats) and veiledchamlver's cham who accidently got lose. Hope you guys have some luck locating your guys ;-/
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Since my horse brill passed away 05/09, I have had recurring dreams, and they all involve traveling, sometimes by train, trailer, and maybe with Luna she is not "out of reach" but just travelling also to her final distination. I keep hoping we will arrive one night, and I think I am there to help him till he reaches his destination. Whether he and luna are really travelling to a destination, or this is just the wonderful way we were created to deal with loss, I do not not know. I would like to believe we are there to help them along. I am honored to be allowed to see him and be wtih him in my dreams, the only times I am not sad and the only times I do not miss him.

I would consider your dream a special prvilege.

C

Thanks...nice thought. Not one for "going somewher after life" but as you said:

"Whether he and luna are really travelling to a destination, or this is just the wonderful way we were created to deal with loss, I do not not know."

works for me Think it will be a while before I edit her out of my signature.
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

After my grandmother passed away, my mother had a difficult time dealing with the loss. But then she became convinced that a certain star was actually my grandmother. She now takes comfort in her nightly walks with her dog, and her conversations with my grandmother.
Of course, I don't believe my grandmother is a star. But there's no convincing my mother otherwise. It's her way of dealing with the loss.
I'm very sorry for the loss of Luna. She was a special lil chameleon. Sometimes people get caught up in discussions about whether our pets have souls, whether they can truly show emotion, or are we simply wanting to see them in our own image. I for one don't truly care for the final points of this discussion. In the end, it doesn't really matter whether they can TRULY love us, or feel for us how we feel for them. The important thing is that we TRULY love them. We truly feel empathy for them. And yes, we truly feel loss at their passing. It's these feelings, I think, that make them part of us.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Victor,

That was very nicely said - brought tears back to my eyes. The connection to our animals is different from that with people (for me anyway) in that we do need to express ourselves to them in so many different ways and they with us. Whether it is Luna having me "trained" to turn on her humidifier or dripper when she did the ‘look at me, look up at where the mist/water was supposed to be coming from’ (learned behavior on BOTH our parts!), scratching my cats in their favorite places or playing their quirky games or even my consideration for not turning on bright lights near my tarantulas. It is all about respect, and love, for the companions we bring to our lives. I have always been a voice for the voiceless - humane care, respect for all (no matter how many legs they may have!), speaking for them when they cannot speak for themselves and creating, sustaining and respecting their habitat and needs. For me, this includes the ones I keep in my home and the ones who live out in the natural world. Luna was with me a short time, but I gained so much from her. I will pick her up tomorrow and “plant” her in my garden where she will return to the earth whence she came and in that respect, will be with me always.

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Lele, there will be many weepy days ahead. You'll be sad when you get up in the morning to go turn on her lights, or when you grab a silkie and head for her cage, or when you are sitting in her room and you look up and expect to see her looking at you and watching your every movement, or when the time comes to clean out her cage. That was the hardest for me, but she is at peace and she was climbing the tree in your dream so you would know that she is able to climb and that she is not sick anymore ! I still call Rana Chloe sometimes, but she is not offended, she is very proud to be called Chloe because she knows that I love her that much!! Luna was special from the day she was hatched and will always be near!!
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 boyfriend- Trent species unknown

Her cage is in my office - right behind me. I realize now that every single time I walked into this room (MANY times a day) my first stop was always her cage - to see how she was doing, feed her, take her out for her shower or apologize when we had to make a vet trip. It is an odd feeling to walk right to my desk.

All of you here are not the only ones to have been touched by her life. I have anything that is shipped to me "live" delivered to my local feed store just in case I am not here. They accepted my leaf cham trio, Luna and Darwin (and of course MANY orders of crickets, roaches, etc.). They all know me, but it was Chris who I would always chat with about Luna's woes, silliness and beauty. I even printed a copy of the "snoozin'" pic and she put it on the register! Well, yesterday I stopped in to tell Chris what had happened. As I was relaying the story to her I looked at her eyes, which were quickly welling up with tears. I was so touched. She had never "met" Luna in the flesh...uh, scales - but was going to this summer when I would bring her in - of course that never happened, but it was so special to know that she touched someone else's heart, too.

thanks for being there

btw, did I ever send you the pics of Stitch?

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Yes, and it's soo funny to see him being a bad boy! He like other chams on the forum, tends to go to the wild side when he spends his days outside! Only he does not try to bite me when I bring him in, he just blow air out of his nose real loud, like a little bull.
You should do what I did and put a picture of Luna above her cage, that way you can still see her when you walk in.
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 boyfriend- Trent species unknown

I put that favorite upside-down pic of her on my desktop so I get to see her everyday. I am going to clean the cage this weekend and move my luna caterpillars in there so life will continue...
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Just change how you list her like.
0.1 Angel Veiled Chameleon

that's a sweet idea...I'll have to see what arises
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

I am hispanic and as a child was told my grandmother and great grandmother had gone to heaven and were stars looking down on me. They told me the twinkling was them winking at me. It is a charming story and a way to cope with the loss and not feel so alone.

Yup is sure is and when the wind blows the leaves when I am outside that is them walking beside me. Sometimes it is the only way I cope. I kept Chloe on my sign off with Missing you, because I always tell my babies, Lovin' You! and I always told her that too. Or you can put 0.1 traveling Luna.
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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 boyfriend- Trent species unknown

Ditto for me...I think it's in the culture
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Raf

0.1 Nosy Be's (Roja)
1.3 Bearded Dragons (Diego, Ginger, Baby and Georgia)
1.1 Adult Sulcattas (POOPIE and George)
0.0.2 Baby Sulcattas (frick and frack)
1.0 Home's Hingeback Tortoise (SPEEDY)
1.0 Yellow Footed Tortoise (Alfred)
0.1 3 toed turtles
1.0 Red Siberian Husky (Harley)
1.1 English Bulldogs (Alice and Chuckie)
0.1 Blue Merle Great Dane (Wednesday)
Saltwater Fish and Inverts too

np
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Maybe lots of cultures like to tell stories about the stars being their ancestors. Especially so children can cope with loss. It's like thunder being the angels bowling. It makes things less scary. Speaking of thunder a hurricane is coming pretty near by. Maybe someone can come up with a nice little story to help me cope with being blown away! It actually should only graze us as it passes by, hopefully.