[Dailydrool] To Melissa and Jo

[Noah Goslowah]

I have had varied experiences with the death of one of our pets and the remaining animals dealing with the loss of one of their friends.  I regret not having been able to have any of the dogs or cats put down at home, although 2 of our pets have died at home, suddenly. 
 
When my scotty's best friend boxer Floyd died, the scotty clearly missed him very much and searched and searched for his friend.  They would occasionally escape, and walk down the sidewalk 2 blocks, turn around, and head home.  They would walk, not run. The neighborhood was familiar with the pair of them, and even the bus driver told me that they were headed home when I was pursuing them with 2 leashes.
 
We just gave extra attention to the scotty.  It took him a month to stop looking for his friend in the house.  We did take him out to enjoy chasing the geese next to the state pen, and other favorite geese sites. That seemed to bring joy back into his life.
 
Recently, we lost our only cat, Merlin.  Merlin had played with and teased the dogs.  Roland was clearly the only one who missed Merlin as they had interacted most often, usually by sharing my husband's lap in the evening.  Roland searched for a long while for his little buddy.  Roland has Stella to play with, so that helped.  I helped Roland search the garage, where the cat usually slept. Again, his searching lasted about one month. I should have let the dogs sniff the body, but I was so upset that I didn't think in my own grief.
 
I hope Pearl recovers.  Personally, I would not get another dog right away.  I've found that dogs choose friends as we do, not bonding with every housemate.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss of Harvey.
 
Janice


Janice Henry Colvin


      
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