This tip came in as a comment on the Veterinary Medicine Blog, submitted by Brenda, a viewer of this site. I felt that this cautionary tale warranted telling on the site, too.

Nothing is predictable with pets. Sometimes taking a minute to be "extra careful" may help prevent a tragedy. I thank Brenda for sharing her story to help alert others about this risk.

From Brenda:
My favorite cat was sitting on top of our open garage door when I drove out and pushed the button to close the garage.

He probably got scared and instead of jumping into the garage, he rode the door down and got his head stuck.

We found him hanging dead outside of the door when drove up. I am having a hard time coping with the fact that I pushed the button and hurried off instead of pausing outside the door for 30 seconds. Maybe I would have seen him and could have saved him.

He truly was the best cat I have ever had (and I've had 3 others). However, people's statements like "each pet teachers us something new;" and "they loved you with all they had to give and would not want you to blame yourself" were really helpful to me.

I also feel like pets will be in heaven and I am taking comfort in that. I believe God will want to give us gifts in heaven that will make us happy and I'm looking forward to being reunited with him.

I remember from the death of past pets that it becomes easy as the years roll by to forget the neat things about them. I spent quite a bit of time writing up my memories of him and his unusual habits.

I have also went through all my pictures of him and am making scrapbook pages of his pictures and these remembrances.

Thank you, Brenda, for sharing your story and this warning about cats and garage door openers.

Additional Resources:
Pet Loss & Grief Support Hotlines
Dealing with guilt: did I do everything I could?
Follow Up: Dealing with Guilt
Helping Children Deal with the Loss of a Pet
Understanding Euthanasia
Additional Grief and Loss Resources