Death in the family

I don't currently have any pets. However, while it's no where near the same thing, I do have an elderly mother in a nursing facility. If she were to die and I were on a ship halfway around the world, what could I do about it? I've left instructions in the past to not contact me. (I'm her only child)

Now, if she were to become very ill (she's actually in pretty good shape for the shape she's in), that might be a different story.

If something were to happen not as expected as an 89 yo's death...say, to my kids, their spouses, my grandbabies, THAT would also be a whole 'nother story, because I would feel the need to be home ASAP to be with the rest of the family.

A pet? No, I wouldn't need to know, and if I did find out, I wouldn't rush home.

I certainly wouldn't be rushing home for a pet , but would like to be told.

I certainly wouldn't be rushing home for a pet , but would like to be told.

That's what I was thinking......it never would have occurred to me to fly home until I read a few responses here that mentioned it.

Whether it is a pet, a close relative, a friend or a neighbor - it is probably good to know what is going on. But whether knowing about it means changing your plans is a wholly different matter. If a pet cat dies, there is little reason for cutting a cruise short - if a daughter and son in law die in an accident, leaving your only grandchild alone in the world, you will want to get back ASAP.

Whether it is a pet, a close relative, a friend or a neighbor - it is probably good to know what is going on. But whether knowing about it means changing your plans is a wholly different matter. If a pet cat dies, there is little reason for cutting a cruise short - if a daughter and son in law die in an accident, leaving your only grandchild alone in the world, you will want to get back ASAP.

Yes, as much as pets are loved, they will never be human.

No way. Why put a damper on my vacation, especially if there is nothing I can do about it? Wait till I get back to tell me.

........ if a daughter and son in law die in an accident, leaving your only grandchild alone in the world, you will want to get back ASAP.

That's the exception to the rule.

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That's the exception to the rule.

 

 

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I certainly hope no one ever has to go through that scenario.:(

I love our pets but there is nothing I can do about it while on the cruise so, no. Why ruin the trip at that point when it won't do you or them any good? I'll be sad and grieving enough when we get home. Just my opinion and don't expect others to agree.

This is exactly how I feel.

We have pets and lost one suddenly last year. I was absolutely inconsolable for days on end. Had this happened while we were away and I knew, it would have absolutely RUINED my holiday. We board our cats at the vet, just because they are our only 'children' and I want excellent care for them should something like this happen. My vet knows when to bother us, and when to call my sister.

I've been on the other end of the situation, however. Many years ago I housesat for a very close friend while she was in Europe on her honeymoon. She had 2 cats, and one of them was horribly injured after climbing a power pole and electrocuting herself. I met with the vet and it was determined that the cat was in terrible pain and needed to be put to sleep.

This was in the 80s - before cell phones - and I had no way to tell my friend, and it broke my heart when she came home and I had to give her the news. I apologized all over the place, but she said she was glad she didn't know because it would have ruined her honeymoon.

I wouldn't want to know. There would be nothing I could do and based on how much we love our dogs it would ruin the rest of the cruise for us.

Many years ago, my husband and I were on board a plane for Monterrey, CA to attend the 100th anniversary of the US Open. We received an email from our vet that our cat was very sick and needed care immediately that he would not be able to do (very near death due to diabetes - the cat, not the vet). We got up off the plane, without question to take care of our cat. We couldn't leave that to our pet sitter. We tell that story to non cat, golf fans and they look at us like we have two heads. The cat went on to live another 8 years and Tiger won the US Open by a record setting 15 strokes. We have framed the unused tickets as a reminder.

So a guy named Joe lived with his mother and his cat. Because he felt he had to take care of mom he never went on vacation. His good friend Harry finally persuaded Joe to take a vacation, promising him he would take good care of mom and the cat.

While on vacation Joe calls home and asks how things are going. Harry replies "Your cat died."

Joe was furious his buddy would just blurt out the news like that. So Harry asks "What was I supposed to say?"

So Joe says "First you tell me the cat's on the roof. The next day you tell me the cat fell off the roof but it's at the vet. The next day you tell me the cat took a turn for the worse. The next day you finally tell me the cat died."

Harry says "Ok, I see your point."

Joe says "Good, glad we got that cleared up. So tell me, how's my mom?

There's a pause, then Harry replies "Your mom's on the roof."

I am one of those odd ones who said yes it seems, even if it was one of my pets.

I lost my first cat that was ever actually "mine" (picked out, named, everything by me as an adult) 11 months ago today. I also had the unlucky (or not) ness of this being my first actual loss to death in my 34 years. We knew it was going to have to happen for about 5 days before hand, so this gave me time to process and decide what to do, because we were told we would have a 50/50 shot at saving him, but it would cost upwards of $10,000. Instead we decided to donate $1000 to the feral rescue he came from, and spent 14 hours driving everywhere the day after we lost him to find the perfect next shelter kitten for our home. Even knowing all this, I was devastated by it all.

I wouldn't want to know for my sake TBH. I would be a wreck if one of our current fur-babies died while we were gone. But also in the last year I have learned a valuable lesson. I am the ONLY one of my family who can hold it together enough during death to get what needs done well done.

It doesn't help that on our next cruise it will be a combination of my elderly grandmother and my oldest DS (18) who are taking care of our cats (the puppy will be boarded at his doggy day care). By June, my grandfather will have just passed recently (he is expected to not live thru April) and I think both of them would be at a total loss as what to do, where to go to get them cremated, and both would feel really guilty over it.

So I wouldn't need to know for my sake, but for theirs. Would I get on a plane the next port and fly home? No. Heck if a human family member passed while we were away no one would even expect anyone to do that because of how our family is.

so a guy named joe lived with his mother and his cat. Because he felt he had to take care of mom he never went on vacation. His good friend harry finally persuaded joe to take a vacation, promising him he would take good care of mom and the cat.

 

While on vacation joe calls home and asks how things are going. Harry replies "your cat died."

joe was furious his buddy would just blurt out the news like that. So harry asks "what was i supposed to say?"

so joe says "first you tell me the cat's on the roof. The next day you tell me the cat fell off the roof but it's at the vet. The next day you tell me the cat took a turn for the worse. The next day you finally tell me the cat died."

harry says "ok, i see your point."

 

joe says "good, glad we got that cleared up. So tell me, how's my mom?

There's a pause, then harry replies "your mom's on the roof."

rotflmao!!!!

Interesting how people deal with death.

How many would go home if notified a loved one had passed?

On our kids first cruise we encountered two women sitting individually at two tops. We had extra seats at our table so DH lets the waiter know we wouldn't mind if they joined us. (We were on the repo after a world cruise.) Waiter says "That lady's husband died, she went home, buried him and came back. That lady's husband also died. She just shipped his body home."

Interesting how people deal with death.

How many would go home if notified a loved one had passed?

It would depend on where I was and how soon I could get home (would I get there for the funeral or not?). If I could get home in time for the funeral, I would; if it would take me too long to get home and I would arrive after the funeral, then I would not.

Interesting how people deal with death.

How many would go home if notified a loved one had passed?

On our kids first cruise we encountered two women sitting individually at two tops. We had extra seats at our table so DH lets the waiter know we wouldn't mind if they joined us. (We were on the repo after a world cruise.) Waiter says "That lady's husband died, she went home, buried him and came back. That lady's husband also died. She just shipped his body home."

Goodness :eek:

So a guy named Joe lived with his mother and his cat. Because he felt he had to take care of mom he never went on vacation. His good friend Harry finally persuaded Joe to take a vacation, promising him he would take good care of mom and the cat.

 

While on vacation Joe calls home and asks how things are going. Harry replies "Your cat died."

Joe was furious his buddy would just blurt out the news like that. So Harry asks "What was I supposed to say?"

So Joe says "First you tell me the cat's on the roof. The next day you tell me the cat fell off the roof but it's at the vet. The next day you tell me the cat took a turn for the worse. The next day you finally tell me the cat died."

Harry says "Ok, I see your point."

 

Joe says "Good, glad we got that cleared up. So tell me, how's my mom?

There's a pause, then Harry replies "Your mom's on the roof."

LOL, very funny.:D