Dogs grieving one another

Justicemom said:
I think dogs understand a great deal about death. Over the years, I have had many clients ask to bring along their other pets when they had to let another family pet go.

I had seen more than a handful of dogs sniff the body of their departed buddy. Some sniff and nothing else , some start whinning, some become sad and lay down by the body, some snuggle with the body. I kills me everytime. To a one though the clients believe to helps them with the grieving process.

The one that sticks out the most in my mind: a large GDS mix, very old maybe 14yrs. The clients had 2 younger GDS and husky mix who the husband sat in the lobby with while I performed the euthansia. At exact moment the dog passed away, the 2 dogs started howling, a bone chilling whaling howl. It still brings shivers to my bones thinking about it. They continued until we brought them in to the room. Both ran up to the departed, sniffed all around and nudged the body, sniffed once more and both turning and walked out of the room, dragging their owner away. Yes they understood, very well it my opinion. Changed my mind alot about what dogs feel.
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I'll be honest, this is one of the reasons I decided not to become a vet. I knew, at some point, I'd probably crack. And reading about the dogs whaling like that, that might have been my moment. Yikes. Made me cry and gave me goosebumps all at the same time.

Thanks for your story....as I'm sure you've been on the front line enough to see it all.
 
Justicemom said:
dog passed away, the 2 dogs started howling, a bone chilling whaling howl. It still brings shivers to my bones thinking about it. They continued until we brought them in to the room. Both ran up to the departed, sniffed all around and nudged the body, sniffed once more and both turning and walked out of the room, dragging their owner away. Yes they understood, very well it my opinion. Changed my mind alot about what dogs feel.
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That breaks my heart. At the moment our 13 year old rabbit died, our maltese howled bloody murder continuously.

One of my biggest worries is when I have to let one of my babies go. My boys are from the same litter and have only been separated for three weeks in the two years theyve been alive. If Luka is in the crate, Toulouse sits beside it. If I take Toulouse out, Luka props himself up against any window he can find to watch or whines if he doesn't know where Toulouse is. Toulouse waits by the door if Luka is in another room, and barks for him before he'll go outside. They are insanely attached to each other. It's like it takes both of them to make a "whole" sheltie. I cant even think about what will happen in the future.

My only idea is that as they age, I plan on getting another sheltie puppy (or two) that they can bond with. It won't be the same relationship, but I hope it cushions the blow for all of us.

As for my own experiences, it's been a lot better when the animals have died in house. They don't seem to look for the deceased. The one exception to this was my cat Isis that I've mentioned several times. She was sick for a long time and her littermate knew it. He grieved for about six months and nearly starved himself to death. He didn't look for her, but I have no doubt that he actually experienced grief.
 
My husband and I are in o ut 60's now, so we have had the unfortunate experience of loosing 4 dogs, three of them shelties. Three of them died here, and are buried on our property, so our other dogs knew about it.

The most recent, though, was our little Bonnie, who was run over by a car. Her "brother", Duncan, was with her when it happened, so he know something really serious was wrong. We put her in the back seat of the car and rushed to the Emergency vet (late at night), where we had to put her down! :cry: They put her little body in a very nice cardboard box and we brought her home to bury under the pine tree. We let Duncan sniff the box, which he did for some time. We went and buried her, with Duncan, said goodbye, Bonnie, several times, etc.

He was depressed for several days. It took him quite awhile to get over missing her. That was last March. 10 days ago we adopted a little girl sheltie from the rescue place. I think they are going to be great friends!
 
NLadybug said:
My husband and I are in o ut 60's now, so we have had the unfortunate experience of loosing 4 dogs, three of them shelties. Three of them died here, and are buried on our property, so our other dogs knew about it.

The most recent, though, was our little Bonnie, who was run over by a car. Her "brother", Duncan, was with her when it happened, so he know something really serious was wrong. We put her in the back seat of the car and rushed to the Emergency vet (late at night), where we had to put her down! :cry: They put her little body in a very nice cardboard box and we brought her home to bury under the pine tree. We let Duncan sniff the box, which he did for some time. We went and buried her, with Duncan, said goodbye, Bonnie, several times, etc.

He was depressed for several days. It took him quite awhile to get over missing her. That was last March. 10 days ago we adopted a little girl sheltie from the rescue place. I think they are going to be great friends!
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I agree with you 100% And how wonderful that you have welcomed a little rescue girl to bring new happiness to your home. Congratulations -- and oh! pictures, please!!!
 
A really interesting thread and for me timely in a way. When Pia has to go back to her breeder for her first litter(for the full four months) we will be devastated and suspect that Tara will also miss her tremendously. Having read thru' this thread I shall take Tara with me when Pia goes, so that Tara will at least know where Pia is. Thank you for the guidance.

The Christmas before Jess was PTS (She died on 5 Jan) the three Labs knew she was ill and treated her with so much kindness and care. After Jess went the Labs looked for her for ages and didn't stop until Tara arrived....

When Tara lost her pup in the womb she was so depressed and not even her beloved toys consoled her, but as soon as Pia arrived she perked up fast.

I think that animals uderstand death and imminent death and accept it, they know they can't anything to cure a sick one. They do understand absence and loneliness, I think that is their grieving.

As far as where a pet should be PTS I reckon that if possible it should be in their familiar and loved surroundings for their sakes, to reduce any trauma to the minimum. We have been lucky, so they were all buried in the garden and maybe their friends can tell that.

May all our pups live forever - if only they could.
 
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