Healing a Broken Heart: How a New Puppy Helped Me Through Grief

After I lost my dog Amber, everything felt different.

The house was too quiet. The floor beside my bed where her bed use to be was too empty. My routine felt empty. And the space she left behind—physically and emotionally—was enormous. I didn’t just miss her... I ached for her. I found myself reaching for her out of habit, expecting to hear her paws on the floor, to see her waiting at the door; barking her greeting to me. But she was gone.

And the grief hit harder than I expected.

I struggled with the heaviness of it—the deep void that losing her carved out of my life. She wasn’t just my pet. She was my baby, a steady presence, a source of comfort I didn’t even realize I relied on so much. Without her, something in me felt broken and empty.

So, in the middle of that sadness, I made a choice.

A choice to open my heart again—not to replace her, but to help heal the part of me that missed loving like that.

And that’s when I brought home a puppy. We named her Anabelle.

It was emotional. It was scary. But it was also the beginning of something unexpectedly beautiful.

But Anabelle is the sweetest kindest nature. With a adorable personality and the biggest heart who loves to snuggle. She is just what I needed to help heal. I’m not saying that the grief is gone but Anabelle has definitely helped

Anabelle came bursting in with energy, with mess, with laughter—and with healing. She gave me a new rhythm to follow. A new pair of eyes to look into. A new connection to build. She reminded me that while grief doesn’t disappear, joy still has a place. And love, somehow, always makes room.

I still miss my Amber deeply. I always will.

But now, instead of only tears, there’s also a wagging tail.

There’s puppy breath and silly zoomies and a cuddle from the snuggle bug that she is; a fresh little heartbeat beside me.

And slowly, the sharp edges of my grief have softened into something warmer—love that continues, even through loss.

If you’re grieving a pet right now, I just want you to know:

You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to move on.

But if one day your heart whispers that it’s ready to love again, listen.

It may be the beginning of your healing, too.

With heart,

Nancy