In the midst of a painful divorce, woman gets to keep her German Shepherd soulmate, prompting fellow pet parents to share stories of love through loss

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Aug 17, 2026 6:45 AM EDT

A divorce is never easy, but when life gives us hardships, all we can do is celebrate the small wins that come with them. 

No one ever gets married with the intention of getting divorced, yet so many marriages end up in a sundering of the relationship. It's not only emotionally difficult, it's a logistic nightmare. Splitting finances and material items is daunting. Suddenly you have to go through everything you own and split it half half (or something like that). You have to let go of memories, of items, and even split time with your children in some cases. It's a bit crazy of a concept when you think about it. But here's the thing, the small wins that you do get to hold onto matter a lot. Like in this story of a woman celebrating the small win of her German Shepard. 

She's 35 years old, which is not an easy age to go through a divorce in. The divorce is messy, but she has one small win, and that's the fact that she's taking custody of her 11 year old German Shepard, Timber. They've been together through everything, and knowing he's there to comfort her through these difficult times keeps her going with vitality. The divorcees of the internet come through to share their stories of pain mixed with the pet custody that kept them going. This kind of thing is so heartwarming because everyone knows how hard it is to do something alone. Not everyone has the experience of divorce specifically, but everyone knows grief and loss. Enjoy this wholesome and heartwarming read about a woman and her dog against the world. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10656271104
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 02
    I'm (35f) going through a pretty rough, unwanted divorce and will be living alone for the first time in
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 03
    my life. I'm so thankful I was able to get custody of my 11 year old Shepard. He's the only thing
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 04
    keeping me going right now, and knowing he's going to be with me on this journey makes this
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 05
    transition lot easier and I know he's going to keep me safe.
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 06
    I just discovered this subreddit and needed to give him a little shout
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 07
    out. His name is Timber and he's my best friend "
    via u/BrokenButterflyy
  • 08
    lizlemonesq My white shepherd Carrie says hello! Congrats on
    via u/lizlemonesq
  • 09
    getting custody. I'm divorced as well. I hope everything ends up settled amicably.
    via u/lizlemonesq
  • 10
    Grannypanie Congrats. Gets better. The dog will bond even more now as he senses your stress.
    via u/Grannypanie
  • 11
    Sonja5150 Hey Girl...I went through a break up last year and got
    via u/Sonja5150

  • Divorce is one of the hardest things for someone to go through. It's so painful to go through just a breakup, but I couldn't imagine a marriage. Where's the gap between the amount of marriages and the percentage of divorces? It seems like people really do have the best intentions, but things go astray. Splitting items, furniture, and children is so hard. Having to say goodbye to a pet could be harder because you can't exchange the time in the same way. It can be terrifying to think about getting married because of the divorce rates. 

  • 12
    custody of this guy Hang in there it gets better.
    via u/Sonja5150
  • 13
    Informal-Brain2272 Sorry you're going thru this, you've got the best breed dog beside you.
    via u/Informal-Brain2272
  • 14
    fromhelley Congratulations! Look like you won for sure!
    via u/fromhelley
  • 15
    cheeky_chiclet Go OP!!! Go Timber!!! Good
    via u/cheeky_chiclet
  • 16
    luck on your new adventures!! You're going to do and be great!
    via u/cheeky_chiclet

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cute dogs german shepherd Random Acts Of Kindness divorce
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