How To Handle A Grieving Dog

Yes, dogs do go through a grieving process when one of their animal companions or human companions passes away.  It is important to allow your pet to grieve and not chastise him while he's going through it.  He may not want to eat, or he may take a piece of clothing and stash it away in his crate or favorite place.  Let him have it for now.  Comfort him and soothe him during this period of morning.  You're most likely going through your own difficult period and your pet also senses this.  It's a time to be together and comfort each other.  Though it may take many forms, grieving allows all of us a period of transition which can be very difficult.  So allow yourself and your pets to go through this difficult period of life.

One morning I woke up and there seemed to be trouble afoot, and it wasn't me who caused it.  What a relief!  But, it seemed that there was something wrong with Cinders.  You may recall, she is the grumpy mini Schnauzer who is always giving me a bad time.

Cinders had passed her 14th birthday, so she was getting very old in dog years - 98 years old in human years.  She always slept at the foot of the bed near Jodi, and this particular morning, she couldn't seem to get up.  And she wasn't able to hold herself until we all went outside.  This was a big warning signal, as Cinders was always very persnickety and perfect in her bathroom manners in the house.

Star, my 2nd mother, a German Shepherd, and protector also seemed to know that something was wrong.  She walked over to Cinders and began to lick her and try to clean her up.  I didn't know what to think about any of this.

Smokey and Jodi called the vet and she said to bring Cinders in right away, so off they went.  Even Coco cat knew something was wrong and kept going over to Star and winding herself around her legs.  Then she was up in the window watching and waiting for Smokey, Jodi, and Cinders to come home.  Coco cat could tell when Smokey and Jodi were coming back way before we dogs even heard them.

When they all returned home, Cinders had been given some medicine and was wearing a small T-shirt to help keep her extra warm.  It was very obvious to me that she wasn't feeling well at all, so I just gave her a little lick on the head and left her alone.  Sometimes, I can be overly playful and maybe a tad obnoxious.  I'm still a puppy and just love to play.

A day or so went by, and it seemed that Cinders wasn't getting any better and she was passing blood.  I knew that wasn't good, so I began to worry.  I could see that both Smokey and Jodi were very concerned in the way they talked and handled Cinders.  Dogs can sense fear and worry.

They called the vet again and went back to her office.  It seemed that Cinder's auto-immune system wasn't working properly and the only thing left they could do was to try a blood transfusion, but the vet said there was only a 50/50 chance that it would work.

So Jodi and Smokey came home without Cinders that afternoon as they decided to try the blood transfusion.  At first the vet thought it was working and called us to say Cinders was doing better that evening.  But at 4:00 am the next morning, Jodi got a call that it didn't take and that Cinders had passed peacefully away.  I'm sure that she went to dogie heaven because Jodi and Smokey really loved her.  And as I think about it, Cinders really was a very good and smart girl.

I thought about all of the stories that Jodi and Smokey were talking about Cinders when she used to go out in their fishing boat with them, and how excited she would get when they got a fish on the line.  Yes, it seemsed that Cinders had been a very special dog indeed!

When Smokey left Cinders to get the blood transfusion, he came home with the T-shirt that Cinders had been wearing and put it in the laundry to be washed.  But faithful Star kept going into the laundry basket and taking it out.  She was carrying it around everywhere.  The entire household was very sad, and so was I.  I could feel the sadness all around me and Jodi kept crying all the time. 

Jodi let Star keep Cinder's T-shirt as the vet told us that Star was really morning the loss of her longtime companion.  You see, Star thought of Cinders as her mother since Cinders was the older dog and had raised Star - kind of the boss in charge of all of us except for Coco cat who bosses everyone!

It was definitely a sad time in my life, but both Jodi and Smokey constantly comforted us with lots of soft words and cuddles.  I didn't realize it at first, but I really missed Cinders.  I grew even closer to Smokey and Star.  Of course Jodi too, but Smokey was my very special human.  I had experienced the loss of a family companion and would remember this feeling forever.  I was sad, very, very sad.

 

Remembering Cinders with me and Star...

 

 

 

Animals don't always understand death, but they do grieve - so let them and be there for each other.

Cactus Attacks Pug Dog

One day, not too long after we had moved in to the new house, Smokey and Jodi decided we would have a walk-about in the desert.  Now mind you, this is all natural desert, brown and dry.  You know that "dry heat" thing.  It wasn't hot yet, so off we went, Smokey, Jodi, Star, Cinders and me.

There are lots of creepy critters in the desert, but I found it all a big adventure.  At least I knew I would be safe with big Star to protect me, or so I thought.  At least we didn't encounter any slithering snakes!

We were following a natural path, but I decided to venture off a bit and check out something that looked interesting off the trail.  It was big, hairy, had lots of legs, and was moving.  Before I knew it, I was attacked by a big plant with sharp barbs all over it which were now all over my nose and face!  By the way, that hairy crawling thing was a tarantula spider.  Glad I didn't get too close to that thing!

I let out a big yelp and Smokey pulled me back towards him, not coming towards me.  I had been attacked by a Jumping Cholla Cactus!

We left immediately and were off to the vet's in two seconds flat!  Jodi was all upset, and Smokey tried to keep us both calm.  What we learned from our vet is that a jumping cholla cactus has a very shallow root system and it runs along just beneath the ground's surface.  So when I stepped on the root system, the plant threw barbs at me.  Kind of like the Venus Fly Trap idea, only in reverse.

I was in such pain and crying through the entire procedure as the vet gently removed each barb from my nose and face.  Those barbs, incidentally, have a little hook on the end, so it's not an easy thing to pull them out.  What did we know?  We were new to that area, but we learned a good lesson very fast.

Golfers have to beware of the jumping cholla on the golf courses of Arizona.  So, if you're ever out there, golfers - BEWARE!  That's not the only thing to be on the lookout for on Arizona golf courses, but that's another story.

Here are some other types of cactus that grow in the Southwest:

 

This giant is a Saguaro cactus and can grow

very large and tall as you can see.  Birds love to nest in them.

This one is a Prickly Pear Cactus just getting ready to flower. 

People take the meat of this cactus and make jams and jellies out of it.

The Agave Cactus is one that is used to make the ever popular Agave nectar which is a lot like bee honey.

Moving Day With Your Dog

Pets like routine, and when everything in the house begins to become disorganized to them as in when boxes are everywhere, and strange people are in the house, they become nervous and worried.  It would be helpful to your pet if you are able to bring him to the new location and let him become a little familiar with his new surroundings before you move.  He will want to go outside and mark this territory, and don't be surprised if your house trained pet even decides to mark a spot on the new carpet.  They are laying claim to this space, and it's not unusual.

There are several suggestions regarding what you can do with your pet on the actual moving day:  You can  put him in his trusted crate where he feels safe;  close him in a room that is quiet at the time with his toys;  put him in Doggie Day Care for the day; or leave him with a known friend where he will feel safe and not anxious.

Smokey came home one day and told Jodi that the papers on the new house had passed and we were moving.  I had no idea what that meant.  All I knew was that Smokey and Jodi were taking us for a ride that day to see a new place and they seemed very excited.

I happily jumped into the car with Star and Cinders and we went for our ride.  I loved riding in the car, as it usually meant going to the park or some new place where I would be sure to have fun.  We stopped at a new house and all went in to this empty building.  We all ran curiously through the rooms checking out all the new smells.  Then Jodi opened the door to the fenced back yard and we all ran out there to explore this new space.  No grass, only dirt, but so many new smells!

As soon as we were outside, we all began to mark our territory.  I, being the only boy, had to be sure I left my scent all over the place, so I would recognize it if we ever came back there.  And.... I wanted to block out Star's scent and Cinder's scent, so I was sure to mark right on top of their scent also.  Even though my name is Jessie, Jodi laughed and called me, "Two Drop Tony," as I was running out of urine and only had a few drops left for the last few spots.

Wow!  This looked like it was going to be a fun place to come and play.  Lots of new nooks and crannies to explore, and a few new critters in the yard.  Very interesting.....

The next day, Smokey took us to our favorite Doggie Day Care center where we got to go for a visit every now and then.  We loved it there because there were so many new canine friends to play with. 
Little did we know that while we were playing at Doggie Day Care, our entire home and everything in it was being relocated to the northern part of the town called Pinnacle Peak which was up about 3,000 feet from sea level.

In this part of town, the homes didn't have grass for yards, but instead kept the terrain natural to conserve water.  Everything up there blended in with the landscape.  All of the homes also had 6 foot block walls with one side in the back made out of iron bars so you could see through half-way up from the block.  This type of fence served two purposes:  1) for privacy, and 2) to keep out the wild animals that lived up there such as coyotes and Javelina wild pigs.  It did not keep out the venomous snakes which I would soon learn.

At the end of the day, Jodi came to pick us up from Doggie Day Care and took us back to that new place we had visited the day before.  Only this time, I found my crate, toys and food dish were there also.  It was a little confusing at first, but after a while, we figured out that this was going to be our new home.  Both Star and Cinders had been through this before, but this was my first time.  I slept with Star that night, and she told me not to worry - that everything would be just fine.  I soon fell asleep dreaming of all of those new nooks and crannies that had to be searched really well.  Tomorrow.

Taking Your Dog in the Car

Tip:  Don't make trips to the veterinarian the only time you take your dog for a ride in the car.  If they don't enjoy going there, they will associate the car with the vet.  Begin with short trips and make them fun for your pet.  Don't leave him alone in the car on those early trips, or he will think that every time he goes in the car, you will abandon him.  Allow your pet to associate the rides in the car with good things. And NEVER leave your dog in the car on hot days.

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I just loved going for rides in the car with Smokey and Jodi.  Of course, the best times were when all three of us dogs went for a ride over to the dog park.  It was fenced in so we could run around all over the place and not get into any trouble.

I had a friend named Baily who would often be at the dog park.  He was also a Pug just like me, only I was a little bit bigger than he was.  We chased our balls, the birds and anything else we could find while Smokey and Jodi kept a watchful eye on all of us.

Star also stayed close to us, so no bullies would come over and pick on us.  She was the best German Shepherd in the world! 

One time we were chasing our balls at the park and mine landed in the little pond that was over where the ducks liked to play.  I was a little bit afraid to run in there and get it, since Smokey wasn't already swimming in there.  And those ducks might fly at me - I definitely did not like that!  Would you believe that grumpy, grouchy Cinders ran in there like a bullet, swam out to the ball and brought it back.  Of course, since she had done such a big favor for me, I had to let her run around with my ball for a little bit.  She is so possessive.  She always thinks everything is hers!  Of course, when Jodi pulled a new toy and tossed it, Cinders dropped the ball and went after that.  That Jodi is pretty smart!

I loved going for rides in the car.  You just never know what exciting place you would see next. 

Life is good......