Dogs who mourn

[Tobi]

They do deeply miss their human companions when the human passes over:

http://www.care2.com/causes/dogs-who-mou...umans.html

Misty's friend, Jet also mourned quite deeply after her passing. I visited to cheer him up every day, and play games with sticks, which we had always done. It took him about 3 weeks to come back 'to himself' a bit more after she left.

[Catherine]

Anyone who has ever known a dog knows that they mourn.
I felt so sad for the dogs in the article. I am glad they found new loving homes. In time they will know peace again.

I was struck by one of the final lines: "Can dogs really grieve for the dead? Behavioral experts are torn."

If animal behaviorists are torn, then they obviously do not spend much time working with actual animals.

This story broke people's hearts. When the dog reached up to his partners hat I wanted to cry.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/10/...t-funeral/

Dogs are not the only ones who mourn. I have had hamsters die of a broken heart when the mate passes away. Guinea pigs are really bad for turning their faces to the wall and dying if they lose a cage mate.

I think it is so hard for them because they have so few ways to express their grief.

[LPC]

Great find, Tobi! I hadn't seen that page and have bookmarked it. My bookmarks are a long list now, LOL! All that is written in the article is confirmed by what I have experienced myself with other pets who were very close to their caretakers.

Catherine, your article is a heart-string puller, too. As for the so-called behavioural experts, they must be living on another planet, or their observations have never included those with very close bonds. A laboratory is not the right place to observe unconditional love between pet and caretaker.

[Tobi]

All animals mourn those who they have been close to, who pass. And I think some even mourn those they didn't know....the reason I say that is I went for a walk a few months ago, and saw a dead Badger in a field. I couldn't see it very closely as it was down a slope slightly from the little lane where I was walking. But it looked as if it had only just recently passed. There were cows way across the other side of the field.
I carried on with my walk and about an hour later, returned the same way.
This time cows had gathered all around the Badger. Two lay down near it, gazing at it. The others were gathered in a semi-circle, all very quiet and peaceful, not grazing but just paying the Badger (I am sure) some form of 'respects'. I stayed there for a while, and the cows didn't leave the Badger. I wondered if it was just curiosity....but there was a kind of calm among the cows which conveyed something else to me.

[Catherine]

It was so sad to see the dog looking at his partner's hat. The dog knows the man is dead and he misses him.
I know behaviorists can't measure the bonds between animals and people. It is impossible to measure how much they grieve. That doesn't mean we can't see and recognize that animals are grieving a loss. It is a certain blindness that prevents people from seeing animals the way they are.

Interesting observation about the cows and the badger. I guess we all feel a certain respect for death and want to spend a moment acknowledging it. Maybe the few moments of silence is a universal response. I think we barely understand how animals feel and respond to things. I must look around and see if I can observe anything similar.