A Gentle Farewell: Sonya’s Story of Life, Love & Winnie

When we welcome a pet into our lives, we rarely think about the day we’ll have to say goodbye. For Sonya, her journey with Winnie, a gentle little soul who helped her heal after the sudden loss of her first dog, Shani was one filled with love, loyalty, and cherished memories. In this heartfelt interview, Sonya shares how Winnie came into her life, the deep bond they built, and the tender choices she made to honour Winnie’s passing. Her story is a gentle reminder of the healing power of love, the importance of listening to our pets in their final days, and the comfort that comes from creating a farewell that feels true to the bond shared.

How did Winnie come into your life? 

Sonya: I had a chihuahua called Shani. I had her for seven years and she got bitten by a snake. Very sudden I wasn't there at the time. It was quite awful. And I was just completely lost. She was the first dog that I'd had. So I had a look online, I thought maybe there was a dog that I could foster or help save, and she came up on a Gumtree ad and her name was Bella. So two days later after Shawnee passed, I went and met Bella and I took her home. She was already three and a half. It was meant to be and it really helped me through the loss of Shani. 

Tell us about Bella’s personality. What drew you to her? 

Sonya: She was Bella I just connected with straight away. I just felt she just had this really soft, gentle personality. Yeah, it just felt right. Just felt right at the time. 

You bought her home as Bella, how was it that she became Winnie?

Sonya: My partner at the time had a daughter whose name is Bella, so I thought I needed to change it. It's a bit of a long story, but Winnie is another part of her name. Shani was actually Shanwynne, and I shortened it to Shani. So when I got Winnie, I used the end of her name and used Win and then made that into Winnie. 

There's probably lots of memories, but is there one particular memory with Winnie that you come back to?

Sonya: Winnie went missing only a couple of months ago. This is about six weeks before she passed. After three days she was found. And I guess that's the most vivid memory that I had. It was just an unbelievable situation that she was actually found. And just that feeling of having her home. I didn't know where she was, but she came home three days later, so that's probably the most vivid, strongest memory I have of her. Just her loyalty and her just wanting to come back to me. I think that's very strong and that's still very fresh in my mind. 

How did you feel in the days leading up to Winnie's passing? 

Sonya: So I chose to give her a peaceful passing. She'd not been well for quite some time. I'd been to the vet the day before and I pretty much decided that day. And we had the vet come to the house the next day, so we didn't prolong that. How did I feel? Probably a little bit relieved that I just made the decision. I think that was the hardest. But once I'd made the decision, I felt like I was kind of moving with that decision and feeling a little bit better about it as the day went on. But yeah, obviously a little bit traumatic at the same time. 

How did you know the time was right for Winnie? 

Sonya: I probably knew before that Winnie was coming to the end of her life and that I would have to make this decision for her, but I knew she was ready. Just the way she just looked at me and the way she was behaving. She was in a lot of discomfort and had a lot of health problems. I knew it was time, and she did…. Winnie gave me that look. We spent some really special times together that morning watching the moon rise. I just knew in my heart that I had to do the right thing for her. 

What made you feel supported with that decision and during that time? 

Sonya: I was very supported by my mother and also my partner and friends. My mum I think was the biggest support. She knew how hard it was and she was her baby as well. She just reassured me that I was doing the right thing. Winnie was on heart medication, she had pancreatitis. She would have some really, really bad days and she wouldn't eat. It was awful. And then the next day she'd be all eating and all bright and happy and it's like a rollercoaster. But I guess the bad days became more than the good days. As mum said “look she’s okay, she's had a good day, but the next day or two days later, she's back to bad. That’s not fair, the constant up and down.” And I was just worried about her, what's she going to be like today? So yeah, more bad days than good days, unfortunately. And you just got to do the right thing, don't you, for your pets, do the right thing as a dog owner. And also the vet who came to the house, he also gave her a complete assessment and said that I was doing the right thing for her. It was definitely her time. So that kind of made me feel better as well. 

Originally you planned a cremation for Winnie, but then you changed your mind. Walk us through that. 

Sonya: A couple of hours after he (the vet) took Winnie away I went into a bit of a panic mode and said, no, this didn't feel right. I wanted her back. And because I had the cocoon as well, I was like why I didn't make that decision to start with. It was just all happened a little bit too fast. But I wanted her back here. I wanted her back here with me in the garden where we spent a lot of time together. I think deciding to do the cremation was a rash decision, but it wasn't the right one, and I knew that pretty much a few hours later. So luckily it wasn't too late. 

Why was it important that you buried Winnie in the garden? 

Sonya: I think just knowing that she was here. I mean her spirit, I feel her spirit's here. We spent a lot of time together in my garden - a lot of really good times. I've been here for 20 years. She's been here for nine years with me, so that was important. And every week or so I talk to her and I put some flowers or I put some shells or I do something special for her and just acknowledge her and honor her. And that's quite cathartic for me. 

Can you tell us a little bit about the burial, what you did and how that worked for you? 

Sonya: I had a friend help me dig a very big hole for Winnie, and she was in her cocoon. We had some of her toys, her lead, her collar, just a few of her special things went there with her and I guess, and even just the moving of the sand on top of her, it didn't feel, it just felt earthy, it felt special. And that was also very cathartic for me as well, to be a part of that and know that she was just going back to earth, I guess. 

You mentioned you included some things. What sort of things, when you thought about what was going with Winnie and what was important, what were they? Why did you choose those things? 

Sonya: A couple of her favorite toys, her collar, her lead, a little jumper that Winnie was wearing when she got lost, and another little new jumper that I'd bought her. So yeah, just some of her special things. It wasn't that I didn't want to have them around anymore, it was just part of the ritual, I suppose. 

Did you give it a lot of thought? Tell me a bit about the planning that you went through. 

Sonya: I guess that was a decision that I made myself when Winne was put to sleep. I actually lit a fire in my back garden that night, and I just spent the time by myself and decided that I wanted to bury her here. And I picked the spot. I actually put some candles there. It was like I was preparing that space for her, and it kind of made it exciting. It sounds funny. It was exciting. She was coming home the next day, 12 o'clock midday when he was brought back to me. So it was like this excitement almost, which sounds a bit strange. But I was excited and I was looking forward to having her back and knowing that I was doing what I wanted to do, that she wasn't just coming back in a little vase or something, it just didn't feel right. This felt a lot better. So yeah, it just gave me some better feeling. And yeah, I definitely knew that was going to be the right thing for Winnie and for myself as well. 

What made you choose to use a Sweet Goodbye cocoon? 

Sonya: Unfortunately, when Shawnee passed, I didn't have a cocoon. I knew all about them. I did ring Nat at the time, and she said, look, it's okay, just wrap her in a sarong or something like that. Then I got Winnie, a few months later, Nat actually mailed me a cocoon. So it is been sitting in the cupboard for eight years. And yeah, it was just, I guess because with Shawnee I felt I didn't have anything. I didn't know what to do. This just made the decision easier and I had that vision as well. 

In what ways did having the cocoon make it the experience feel more gentle or respectful? How did that contribute to that experience? 

Sonya: It's a good question, and I don't really know how to completely answer that, but when I used to look at that in the cupboard, it used to make me feel quite sad and a little bit anxious. It's like, oh, I don't want that day to come. But when the day did come, I don't know, it just felt like I was honoring her. And yeah, I don't know, it's a little bit hard to explain. We actually used that during the euthanasia. So we had her on a table and we actually had her lay on the cocoon, and then when he (the vet) took her, we wrapped her up. Even so when he (the vet)  bought Winnie back the next day, he went to the back of the car and he just kind of handed her just in the cocoon. It wasn't like in a box or plastic container, and I just held onto her and I just felt this, I felt comfort and I know it was just her shell, but it was like I could connect with her again, but without seeing her. I didn't open it up or anything like that, but just knowing that she was there and just holding her and probably did that for about 10 or 15 minutes before we laid her to rest. It was like that reconnecting with her again. It was really special and I'm glad I got the opportunity to do that. And I guess with that, there's no hurry to put her in the ground. She's there, as you say, it's a bit more organic. You don't want to really want to see their little face, but just to know that her little body was in there and just that reconnection was really important for me. 

So it was just, I guess a rash decision at the start, but definitely made the right decision in the end. And having the cocoon as well. I mean, when I go and talk to her, I can picture her in there. It just feels safe and comfort. I feel comfort in that as well. So yeah, definitely the right decision in the end. 

Tell us about the Sweet Goodbye Cocoon.

Sonya: I know there's a lot of different products, obviously for Winnie, the cocoon was perfect for her because she was only very small. I was using the cocoon for Winnie in her bed for a while. I think that might've been when I first got the cocoon. But then it was like, okay, well she's connected with it, now it's time to put away so it doesn’t get dirty. And I wanted to keep it sacred for that special time and when I have to say goodbye.

I guess it's hard because we don't have our pets for all of our life. The thing that people have said to me is just what a good life that I gave her and the joy that they give back. I know a lot of people find it hard to move on with another pet because of the pain, but it does get easier. It's just life, isn't it? As a pet owner, you have to prepare yourself as best as you can. And I think with Sweet goodbye, that's helped a lot of people. It definitely helped me, not even just the cocoon, but a lot of the messages and the support that a lot of the reading that I've done has really helped me to, even with Nat saying, just change your routine up a little bit. Don't do what you always used to do because it's going to make that gap bigger, change your daily routine until the time that you've got your new little friend, and then you make that new routine on the next journey. 

You’ve recently been fostering another dog – tell us about that.

Sonya: My friend Megan wasn't sure where I was at and where I was feeling when I mentioned to her that I wanted to sign up for fostering. I wasn't ready just to get a puppy or to commit to another animal as such. I just thought I could just fill those gaps. And I think Foster cares really quite sought after as well. So with that conversation, it sort of opened the gate and she said, well, maybe you want to look after my dog for six weeks whilst I go overseas. I've actually met her dog before once or twice, and her name funnily enough is Winnie. So it just kind of happened that way.

I live by myself and I did have a really close connection with my Winnie, so it just kind of fills that void. And it also taught me that you can have that bond again with another dog. You just think, oh, but there's never going to be another Winnie. And so I think you are always going to connect with animals, your spirit's going to connect with their spirit. It took the pain away and has really helped with my grief and the loneliness. And just filling that little void, which I felt terribly with Winnie not around. So she's been my little angel. 

What would be your advice to someone who's struggling with pet grief? 

Sonya: Everyone's different. I know that a lot of people say they just can't, they don’t want to go through that grieving process. For me personally, I think having another animal around helped me and I think people should just keep that heart open. And I know everybody grieves differently, but just opening your heart and just looking back, I mean, I look back and go, so many people said to me, oh, you gave Winnie the best life. And just honoring yourself as well, how good you were as a pet owner and what you gave that animal through their lifetime. I know it's hard, but yeah, just try and see the joy in that. And I was flicking through photographs and it didn't really make me sad. It was like things that I had forgotten about as well. And I also found just writing a few things down as well, things that came to mind, things that I had forgotten about, I'd sort of jot down now and again as well. And I'm still going to put something together eventually, but haven't got there yet. But yeah, I think just keep your heart open. But yeah, everybody grieves in different ways, but definitely for me, having another animal around for me really helped. But yeah, that's not for everybody, but for me personally, that's definitely taken the edge off for me. 

Are you thinking now of getting another dog? 

Sonya: I'm still available for fostering. With fostering, more often than not, it can actually go to an adoption as well. So look, I'm a believer in when the time's right the universe will take care of that, Just like it did with when I lost Shawnee with Winnie and now with this Winnie. So everything's kind of just happened organically and when the time's right, but not rushing into anything right now. 

Do you think fostering another pet is something people should be encouraged to do?

Sonya: Definitely. I think even if it's not permanent, because I think it's hard for people to make that decision to say, right, we're going to get a puppy, we're going to commit. It's not a full commitment, but it's just gently. It's a gentle way of filling that void, I guess. And being able to show that love to another dog without that full commitment. I know a lot of people say you can’t replace them, you're not replacing them, but we've still got all the love to give, so why not share it! People want to adopt, but they don't want to foster because they're scared of that separation and that you're going to get too attached. For me personally it definitely has helped me heal and look towards the next journey of having another little companion that is going to come into my life.

What would you hope that people would most remember if they look back at their time with their pet? 

Sonya: I guess just looking at what they've given them as a pet owner, the experiences, the joy, the love, the holidays, the walks. I guess it's hard. Everyone's different. For me, I just embrace the fact that I got to spend so much time with her. 

What has been the hardest thing since losing Winnie?

Sonya: I think that's the hardest part is coming home for me. I live by myself and coming home to an empty house and not having that little friend, that little pet greeting you at the door and happy to see you, I don't know. I still feel my Winnie around me, not just because she's physically buried here, her shell's here, but her spirit's definitely, definitely still around 100%. And whether or not having her here has made a difference, I won't really know. But I think for me personally, she’s definitely here in spirit and I'm not going anywhere in a hurry. 

Saying goodbye to a beloved companion is never easy, yet Sonya’s story reminds us that love can guide us through even the hardest moments. By honouring Winnie in such a heartfelt way, she has shown us that farewells can be filled with dignity, connection, and peace.

We extend our deepest gratitude to Sonya for sharing her journey with Winnie so openly and tenderly, her words will no doubt bring comfort to others walking a similar path.