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.

Snake Bites and Dogs

Dogs are naturally curious creatures, so poking around a venomous snake is definitely inviting trouble.  In some areas of the U.S., lessons on how to "Snake Train" your dog are being offered.  For a complete article on the Art of snake training, please visit HOW SNAKE TRAINING YOUR DOG WORKS .  Rattle snakes are by nature very shy, but will strike when threatened.  A sniffing dog, or one that pokes at a snake is surely going to be bitten by the snake.  That goes for people too.  Don't poke a stick at a snake, as it makes him angry and he will strike.


After the event of the Cholla cactus, I thought life would be much easier having learned about those nasty plants.  However, I would soon learn about minding my own business when it comes to other desert critters - like venomous snakes!  Yikes!

Smokey and Jodi wanted to add some flowering plants to the back yard which was completely brown stones and dirt.  One Saturday, as they were bringing in a handful of plants, Smokey stopped short in his tracks and Jodi almost ran into his back.  Because the back gate was open to allow them to come in and out easily with their plants, we dogs were inside watching through the big sliding glass doors.

"Smokey!  For Pete's sake!  I almost ran right into you," said Jodi.  Why are you stopping?"

In a softer, quieter tone, almost a whisper, Smokey said, "Look down just in front of me and don't move."

Jodi poked her head around Smokey's shoulder and almost let out a shriek, but held it back in fear of what was curled up right in front of them.  You guessed it.  A great big old rattle snake, and he was shaking his rattles in warning.  Smokey told Jodi to slowly back up and be quiet about it.  So both of them slowly moved out of the way of the reptile, and went back out through the gate with their plants in hand.

The first thing that came out of Jodi's mouth was, "Go back in there and kill that snake! He'll surely bite the dogs, and little Pug cold be killed!"  Of course, Smokey wasn't going to do any such thing.  He had had enough killing during his years in the Vietnam war, and usually tried to save all creatures.  Plus, he knew that rattle snakes were a protected species in Arizona.  There was a time when they were overly hunted for their meat and hides, thus the AZ law.

Knowing that he couldn't just leave the snake in the yard, he found a rake, went back out to where the snake was laying all curled up, and gently picked it up with the rake removing him outside of the walled fence in back yard.  The creature wasn't very happy about this and was writhing all over the rake.  We saw what was going on from inside and all three of us began to bark.

With the snake safely outside of the 6 foot walled fence, Jodi and Smokey continued bringing the new plants into the yard while we watched.  After they were done and the backyard gate was closed, Jodi opened the sliding glass door so we could go out and play while they planted their new plants.

The next morning while we were outside doing our "business", Jodi was skimming the pool for leaves and any other debris that might have fallen into the pool.  There, caught in the filter system, was our rattle snake. He had found his way back into the yard and had somehow ended up in the pool.  He was not alive to Jodi's relief.  Smokey came out, got him out of the filter and removed him to the outside of the wall.

We still didn't know what all the commotion was all about the day before, but it was then and there that Jodi and Smokey decided that all three of us dogs, Star, Cinders and me should go for snake training, especially if were were going to co-habitate with the desert wildlife.  That's where I would really learn what rattle snakes are all about! See SNAKE TRAINING .

If you live in an area where there is an abundance of venomous snakes, you may want to consider looking into the possibility of having your animals trained to stay away from them.

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.