Three Cats, Two Dogs: One Journey Through Multiple Pet Loss

Rating:
Summary: For anyone who has ever loved a pet
Review: David Congalton experienced a pet owner's worst nightmare -- the simultaneous death of his five animal companions due to a sudden house fire. Three Cats, Two Dogs is an honest account of the heartache faced by Congalton as he describes his grief process. While this personally candid account begins in tragedy it ends with redemption, the formation of a new animal family. Congalton reveals how anguish transformed into commitment towards abused and abandoned animals. Three Cats, Two Dogs is fervently recommended reading for anyone who has ever loved a pet and considered their animal companion as family.

Rating:
Summary: Give me a break
Review: First some background--A few years ago some stray and ferel cats started adopting me. Due to the life they led they all came with major medical problems (FIV, FeLk, FIP, kidney failure and more). I loved them all, I cared for them all through very long, painful, illnesses. I had to make agonizing choices, put them through painful proceedures, watch them suffer, and watch them all die. I loss 6 in the course of one year. And others before and after that year. That's why I bought this book.

I don't want to discount the author's grief over the loss of his pets, which I can wholeheartedly understand and commiserate with, but his "journey" is so unlike anything that any other pet owner on the face of the earth is ever likely to go through, and he was so blind to the gifts that he received that the rest of will never even come close to, that I found myself incensed at his bad attitude and behavior. I could not in any way relate to this mans "journey."

His animals died quietly in their sleep. He didn't have to live with long terminal illnesses, painful treatments, or horrible decisions. I don't want any of my pets to die, but as they have to, I would pray to have them pass as his did rather than suffer through illness. But was he even remotely grateful for such a quick and painless passing? No.

He was a public figure so hundreds (no joke!)of people offered their sympathy and support to him. But there were two people who did not...and he was so angred by these two people that he felt it necessary to write about them, by name, in this book. A whole whopping two people were insensitive to his ordeal and this so enraged him that he felt it necessary to lash out at them? Poor baby. If I could find two people who understood what I was going through I'd feel blessed and lucky.

He got to stop working, due to his grief. Have any of us ever had that luxury? Or did our bosses not want to hear about it? Again, was he grateful? or annoyed when people hinted it was time to come back to work?

He held a public memorial service for his pets in a theater and it was standing room only. He got to talk about it, share it, let it go. How many of us get any opportunity to talk about our dead pets to anyone, least wise hundreds of people? Most of us know that no one wants to hear about it. We have to keep it inside. Again I feel he was blessed and yet he didn't see it.

Despite his grief he got twice as many new pets within a very short period of time. But does he enjoy them? No, in fact, he refuses to even celebrate Christmas with new pets. And once again gets irritated when a couple of people don't understand this. This proved to me that he learned nothing from the deaths of the original five....life is short and can be taken at any moment. He should have celebrated joyously that he had new pets...but he "couldn't bring himself" to do so. I barely had time to grieve one death before another was occurring yet I assure you I celebrated Christmas and every other day I could with the new pets.

The authors attitude annoyed me. He was given the best of everything and it still wasn't enough for him. If he had seen those five pets through long, painful, illnesses one right after the other, and had to grapple with painful treatments and surgeries, when to euthansize, digging a grave in his backyard one night and getting up and having to go to work the next day, all the while having no one to talk to about this...then he might begin to understand what the average pet owner goes through. I don't think he has a clue what it's like for the rest of us....and I hope he never has to.

Rating:
Summary: Emotionally challenging and honest.
Review: Having suffered pet loss in two different forms, ( as a result of death and as a result of a divorce) I could empathise and sympathise with David and Charlotte on losing not just one animal companion, but five. Although I do not by any means claim that I fully understand the depth of their grief, no one truly can. Grief is an individual process and experience, because of the relationships that exist between all individuals.

As I read this book I could only do so a page at a time, stop to cry and grieve for David and Charlotte and then move on again sometime later, to the next page. Once I read up to Chapter Four (I think it was) I could proceed reading normally, although somewhat bleary eyed.

This is a truly moving and emotionally draining encounter of love, connection, companionship, loss and grief in the truest sense.

My condolences and my congratulations to David and Charlotte, not just on their loss and a wonderful book respectively, but also for being able to 'see the light' in a time of darkness, by showing the world how animal companionship is, in its most pure and deepest form, and for being able to 'move on' out of respect for five wonderful soul companions.

As a result of reading their true story, David and Charlotte inspired me to commit 'deeds, not just words' to the animal kingdom. I have committed my spare time to my local animal shelter (Blue Cross Animal Shelter)...and as a result of that deed, I adopted two cats and a rabbit....(to add to my two canine companions and rabbit!!!!)

You two should be proud of yourselves...your committment is infectious.

Well done David and Charlotte.

Blessings for all Animals. May they always have people such as yourselves to see them in peace and harmony, with love.

Rating:
Summary: A very touching story
Review: I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves their animals. Besides being wonderfully written, it lets the reader know that there are other people out there who truly cherish their animals as part of the family. It also lets people know that the grief they feel when losing a pet is very real and should not be minimized. This book will be kept on my shelf and reread often.

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Summary: A Must-Read For Any Animal Lover
Review: In the last year, my wife and I have lost our dog and cat, both to old age. We were devastated and I'm surprised by how deep our grief went. Close friends gave us various books and articles to read about pet loss, but I just couldn't bring myself to read any of them.

Then I came across "Three Cats, Two Dogs" by David Congalton at my local bookstore. I read it in one night; I literally could not put this book down. Here's a couple in California who lose five pets in a house fire in 1997 and guess what? They end up going through enormous grief, but then turn around and adopt ANOTHER set of animals, refusing to give up on their compassion for animals. You can't read this without crying, but then you're overwhelmed with admiration for this couple's courage.

I especially enjoyed the little essays in between the chapters. Apparently the author used to write for a newspaper and he shares some of his old newspaper columns about the individual animals who died in the fire. What a wonderful tribute.

When I finished reading "Three Cats, Two Dogs," I realized that it was more than OK to grieve for dead pets. Anyone who has ever loved a companion animal will benefit from this book.

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Summary: Celebrating Life with a Fur Family
Review: Just finished another interesting paperback book I bought thru Amazon.com titled
Three Cats and Two Dogs--One Journey Through Multiple Pet Loss by David Congalton. Copyright 2000 Publisher: NewSage Press

It is a story about a writer who is also a radio talk show host and his wife who lose all their five pets one night in December 1997 to an accidental fire while the couple was out. In the months that followed, not only were they grief stricken and felt a deep sense of loss but also felt a sense of guilt and great emptiness. Within months and after lots and lots of tears, they started to "move on" as best they could. Within two years they had rebuilt their fur family including among them several handicapped animals. At the end of the book, their family consisted of a grand total of nine cats, one kitten and four dogs and they couldn't seem happier although they will always think about the night when all 5 of their pets died.
This is a great book for anyone who has ever lost a pet and would understand the couple's grieving process. And happily the book does end on a joyous note.
Happy Reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read For Any Animal Lover
Review: Please don't let the tough subject matter of this book--the tragic death of five animal companions--stop you from reading Three Cats, Two Dogs: One Journey Through Multiple Pet Loss. Beauty, joy and wisdom shine through every chapter. A must-read for anyone who shares his or her life with a loving family of any kind.

Rating:
Summary: A Book Even Non-Pet Owners Can Relate To
Review: This book is an honest and heart wrenching tale of pet loss as suffered by the author and his wife. Most men would never "bare their souls" like Dave has for ANYTHING, much less the loss of five pets. He is completely open and sincere in describing his feelings and thoughts, and for this, I truly admire him.

Like Dave and Charlotte, my cats ARE my children and I love them very much. "Three Cats, Two Dogs: One Journey Through Multiple Pet Loss" made me realize that EVERY SINGLE DAY is to be cherished and that my cats are to be treasured even more than I did before. Thank you, Dave, for reminding me of this.

Dave Congalton is a colleague of mine in Cat Writers' Association, Inc. and I recently had the opportunity to meet him at our annual conference. He is just as honest and sincere in person as he was in writing this book. May the Animal Angels and Goddesses bless you, Dave, for sharing your tragic loss and making me realize how very precious life and my cats are to me.

I highly recommend this book to all pet lovers!

Rating:
Summary: I Already Knew This
Review: This book tells me it is okay to grieve and it does it very well. The problem is I already knew it was okay to grieve because I was grieving - terribly. I wanted to find out how to deal with my grief. I read a lot of reviews and a lot of books, but the only books that worked for me were Will Fido Be in Heaven and Cold Noses by the pearly gates.

Rating:
Summary: A Moving Tribute
Review: Three Cats, Two Dogs is a beautifully written and moving book. David Congalton powerfully recounts the experience of losing his pets, and of how he moved through grief and recovery into new pet ownership. Congalton is a wonderful story teller. With clear, vivid prose, he describes his five wonderful companions and their tragic loss. The book is never maudlin or over-sentimental: the author confronts the emotional devastation of multiple pet loss with a clear eye and great wisdom. This isn't just a book about a sad event--it's about how we all learn to cope with death, and how we can take the loss of loved ones and grow to even greater love and understanding.

If you've ever lost a pet, read this book. If you've ever loved an animal, read this book. It will heal your soul, and bring you deeper understanding of the vital place of companion animals in our lives.