Mourning?

[kdlmon]

This afternoon my JRT was put to sleep. I am wondering if my yorkie, Cooper, will mourn this loss. I know that many of you have dealt with this situation. Does anyone have any advice? Stories to share? Thank you!

[PixieK83]

I dont have any advice but I would just like to say that I am sorry you had to put him down. You are in my thoughts and prayers!

[IsabelleOllie]

I am so sorry for your loss.

We had a pair of yorkies when I was growing up. They were best friends and very bonded to each other. Barney was about a year older than Chelsea and she adored him. He came down with oral cancer when he was about 12 and it progressed very quickly. We were very worried about how Chelsea would react to losing him. She didn't eat much for the first few days after he passed and was not herself at all. We gave her extra love and attention (which came naturally as we were all in mourning, too) and we all got through it together.

[zowiandnikasmom]

i am very sorry for your loss of jrt. my heart goes out to you and i know how painful it is to lose a beloved little one. a year ago august, my baby girl nika passed away. i also have her mother zowi. they were a very bonded pair, totally inseperable. zowi always mothered her and cleaned her face, etc. even when she was all grown up. it was obvious that zowi was depressed after nika's passing and she didn't eat very much for a week or so. i didn't leave zowi home alone for a couple months unless i absolutely had to, she went everywhere with me. going for rides in the car seemed to take her mind off it for a while. we gave her lots and lots of extra attention and love and she was eventually back to herself. i really do believe that they do mourn the loss as well, and yorkies are so sensitive to our feelings i am sure that she picked up on how devastated we were so i tried my best to be strong for her and held her a lot. when i cried for nika, zowi would look at me like she knew exactly why i was so upset. after a couple months had passed, we did adopt a 5 month old puppy that was rescued from a puppy mill. the new pup pixie loved zowi at first sight. the first day was iffy for zowi but after that, zowi started to mother her and seemed very happy to have a new friend in the house.
sending positive thoughts and hugs to you and cooper at this difficult time. i'm sure jrt wouldn't want either of you to be sad and i'm sure jrt will be watching over you and is now your angel above. remember love never dies and jrt will always has a very special place in your hearts.

[sbgooljar]

I am so sorry you had to make this difficult decision and may your little angel rest in peace. Hope you will take some comfort in the memories you made together.

[111lily222]

I am so very sorry for your loss. My hear breaks for you. This past Sept. our lil parrot Rudy passed away. Our Louie was sad and just not himself, would constantly look over where Rudy's cage was and then look at us, and was not as playful. If we said Rudy's name he would look up at us, and then over to where his cage use to be, and then just lay down and looked very sad. So yes I believe they mourn. What we did to help Louie was keep him busy, took him for more walks, and I also would take him in the car for rides more often, and that seem to help. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Rhetts_mama]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's never an easy thing to go through. When we had to PTS our Golden, our doxie did go through a period of mourning for her. He spent days whining and looking for her and would sleep on her bed. We spent more time with him, taking him with us when ever we could. Maybe I was projecting my feelings on to him, but I really do believe he felt her loss as much as we did.

I hope your sweeter memories bring you comfort in this difficult time.

[lexi43]

We have two Basset Hounds that are sisters. We were only going to get one but we couldn't seperate them. They are very very close and we worry all the time what would happen if something happened to one of them. The thought keeps me awake at night. I don't think they could live without each other.

[Teresa Ford]

I am so sorry for your loss. May God bless you with comfort and good memories.

To answer your question. Some dogs do grieve. But other dogs if they do grieve, I couldn't tell they were sad or if they were missing the other dog.
When Noah (18 years old) was put to sleep on June 20th of this year. We brought Noah home and unwrapped his blankie and let the other doggies see him and say good by in their own way. All four dogs sniffed him. Only Rubin nudged him and looked at me sadly. He also pawed at Noah in a very gentle way, like he was trying to wake him. Rubin got Noah's kong out of his crate and dropped it by him. He followed my son and hubby outside and watched them bury him. Rubin dropped the kong over and over on the dirt pile so they buried it with Noah. They put a flat stepping stone on top the new grave until we could have a marker made. Rubin laid on the stone until it got dark then he finally came in. So yes, Rubin who is 8 yrs. really grieved for Noah. Rubin still goes out and lays by Noah's headstone, almost daily for about ten minutes in the morning sun. The other dogs do not go into the little pet cemetery in the back yard.
Gracie who is 2 years old, looked for Noah in his crate the first few days. Gracie gets every one up for the day. But after that she didn't seem to miss him. Abba was very young just 12 weeks old, had no reaction at all. Lily our Lab was about a year old and seemed to know he was dead when we brought him home. She sniffed him and looked at us, she did not touch him or show curiosity about his crate, or bed. For about a month she would sniff at the grave very briefly, Rubin would growl and bark at her, then Lily would run off and play.
One weird thing Gracie did was drag Noah's crate pillow out onto the sun porch. After putting it back a few times, I gave up and put it in the trash. We moved his crate to the outside building until I needed to use it again.

[LunasMomma]

I have no experience with this situation yet, as when my first Yorkie passed, she was our only one. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss I'm sure your baby will mourn, though. Dogs are so sensitive to their families and they are very tuned in to how we're feeling. Give that extra love and attention and you'll all grieve together with love and support

Hugs to you all!

[R_Z]

Sorry to read this. Our thoughts go out to you. Perhaps with time things will sort themselves.

[southernbelle04]

I have no advice to offer, but wanted to say so sorry for your loss! Prayers going out for you and your family!

[Donnainohio63]

I can tell you when I had to have my black lab put to sleep, he was 14 and broke a hip and the vet told us it would be best for him because of his age, anyways, Sophie mourned Buddy for about a week. She did not want to eat, I had to feed her by hand, she kept waiting for him to come through the door. It was really sad to watch. But she was ok after that first week.

[BellarousasMom]

Bella and Cheyenne our cattle dog didn't get to know each other real good, but still played some considering Cheyenne was blind. We had to have her put to sleep in June and I did notice that Bella wouldn't walk in the area where Cheyenne spent alot of time at outside. She also wouldn't venture close to her crate in the house. But she would look at it and look back at us. I'm pretty sure Bella missed her tho, no mourning but missed her. So sorry for your loss, it will make it easier to have your other furbaby.

[Britster]

I am so sorry for your loss.

When I brought Jackson in, we were living with my moms dog, Carmen, who was around 4yrs old. She hated puppy Jackson at first but they quickly became good buddies. She got hit by a car when he was about 10 months old.

He was sooo sad at first. I actually let him see her after she had died, and sniff her, I thought maybe he might understand, and it almost might give him a bit more 'closure' rather than just "my friend is gone". I don't know. I'm not really sure how a dogs mind works in that sense. But they definitely grieve. It probably took Jackson a few weeks to start acting more normal. He definitely missed her.

Now, of course, he's 3yrs old and probably doesn't remember a thing. But I'd say he was kind of in a funk for three weeks and then he was fine.