Background info:
On August 12 of this year, we lost one of the best dogs you ever could have asked for and the best friend/brother that any dog (or even person) could ask for. His name was Tyke and my family has been nothing less than devastated at the sudden and unexpected loss.
Two weeks before this crushing loss, my husband and I had taken my dog, Bubba, to live with us at our apartment and he was doing fine. We had been looking at getting a rescue dog. and then on August 19, we did just that. Part of it was because I wanted to be around another puppy and we thought that my Bubba could do with another dog after being around another one his whole life.
My family is really attached to Bubba and we decided to have him stay one night at my parents' house and when we went back to their house the next day, my dad told us he had some bloody diarrhea and thought it was stress. That night, Bubba followed us EVERYWHERE and stood by the door as if to ensure we would not leave without him.
Sunday night, we dropped him back off at home. Friday I had a severe reaction to two yellow jacket stings and had a follow up appointment at my doctor that Monday that was necessary due to continued reaction and the pain getting worse. Bubba was still having blood diarrhea and I knew he had to get to the vet. I told my mom I could take him and reschedule my doctor appointment for that next day and my mom insisted on taking him. So Sunday night, we dropped him back off at their house so he could go to the vet Monday.
He was back today still with bloody diarrhea that won't stop. The vet gave him a thorough checkup including taking temperature, checking his belly, checking for tumors, etc. Her diagnosis was stress. Bubba moving in with us, Tyke dying and the new dog.
I want to be convinced, but after losing Tyke so suddenly, I am terrified and don't know if that's what it is. Can that happen? Can stress cause what my poor Bubba is going through? My dad says that Bubba sits and looks at the couch where Tykie used to sit and stands by the door where Tykie used to wait at to go outside and "hunt" (sniff through the back deck for chipmunks when my dad would go outside to enjoy the weather). It is breaking my heart...absolutely positively just breaking my heart, if that is the cause. I feel guilty for getting the new dog, who has been a blessing to my husband and me. I have tears going down my cheeks right now because I feel helpless. I can't explain to Bubba what happened to Tyke, and I feel like I just made it worse on him. It is heart breaking knowing my Bubba is sitting around waiting for Tyke, and that he keeps thinking he will see him.
How long does it typically take a pet to recover from a loss of a brother/best friend? What can we do to make it easier on him? We already decided that Bubba will stay at my parents house and we will bring our new dog over every couple of days for them to get used to each other, and then we will start with taking Bubba overnight, for the weekend, and work our way up to where he will be ours all the time. I miss him keeping me company at night (my husband goes to bed before me so Bubba and I will sit on the couch and cuddle and watch TV). I miss waking up to him. But I also feel horribly guilty and so helpless.
Does stress cause what he is going through? How else can I make this horrible transition for him? I hate to think I'll never be able to have my little buddy with me
