IS it better to have loved and lost, when it hurts so damned much??
Losing a beloved pet is agony. Makes ya wonder, why (in light of their abbreviated life span), we keep opening ourselves up to experiencing that excruciating pain again.
Perhaps that's what is meant by, "better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." Loving my dear Cleo who passed a month ago, grew and developed me in ways I never would have believed was possible. I have even more capacity to love, now.
Each relationship we have, whether animal or human, expands us, teaches us more about ourselves, and helps our soul evolve. With any luck and a commitment to loving fully, we give that back to the one who catalyzed these changes in us.
People wanna believe that bad or painful relationships were a waste of their time, but it's not so. Maybe you got lessons in attaching or detaching from another, you'd have never gotten otherwise... and what DID you learn about yourself during that love affair? Have you since resolved never to choose that type of person again??
If so, the experience was worth every minute you spent there.