Do you believe pets grieve?

[RickinNYC]

I firmly believe pets grieve. The 2 Labs in the below pic, Katie and Molly, were as close as sisters; Molly had her own pillow to sleep on, but she seemed to sense when Katie's time was drawing near and started sleeping right next to her, sometimes half on top of her. After Katie passed away in June, Molly wasn't the same, moping around, not eating much, not really interested in anything. Even now, she has little phases where she'll get kind of mopey for seemingly no reason. Thankfully, my parents' other dog, a Shih Tzu, doesn't let her stay down for too long.

Now that photo is a great memory for you to hold onto.

 

[Sparx]

When we put Annabelle down a few years ago, missy (they're both cats) walked around the house meowing quietly for days. It didn't help that I was bursting into tears every time I walked by something that smelled like Annabelle.

She stopped a little while after we got another cat. But, if someone leaves for a few days, she walks around the house looking for them. I think she's scared that they won't come back either.

 

[L107ANGEL]

We had to put our Lab down on Wednesday and I know for a fact our other dog is grieving, its heartbreaking

 

[LiteBrite]

I am going through this right now. I have a blue crowned conure, who is having a hard time with the passing of dh. The two of them were pals. My dh worked from home so they were all ways together.

Everytime I walk in the door, he looks past me to see if my dh is coming in behind me. It breaks my heart every single time. I have taken him through the house several time so that he knows his dad isn't here. He doesn't eat as much as he use to, although it's getting better.

Animals do grieve for their friends, whether animal or human.

We had to put our Lab down on Wednesday and I know for a fact our other dog is grieving, its heartbreaking

Big hugs to both of you, Evil Genius and Angel.

 

[esoumyekcim]

Absolutely.

When we first moved here, we had two cats and added a third. One of the cats had to be put to sleep after she began to have, well..the best way to put it I suppose is 'anger management issues'. After B was put down, R (who'd been with B since R was 6 wks old and B was about 6 mos old) went arouond the house looking for her, crying and trying to find her. It took her a long time to realize her friend was gone.
A few years later, B2 (our third cat) had to be taken to the humane society because she and R started not getting along. I was pregnant at the time and I didn't want to risk having a baby around 2 cats who were constantly trying to annihilate each other. R honestly seemed relieved that B2 was gone.

Now R just tries to avoid DS and though she's whacked him on the hand a few times, he still doesn't seem to understand she doesn't like him to get too close to her. You'd think after the first couple of times she scratched him, he'd get the message.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

They definitely do, for both other pets and for their people.

My parents' dog, Harry, was heartbroken when my grandfather died. He spent a few days wandering around looking for him, and wouldn't leave my grandmother's side. He started sleeping in her bedroom door, as if to keep anyone else from leaving.

Our older lab, Lady, died really suddenly this January. Our puppy, Jack, spent a couple days trying to find her. He wouldn't eat unless both of their food dishes had food in them (and then he would eat both dishes ). He was carrying around her dog collar for weeks. He just looked so sad He's starting to act more like himself again, after about 2 months.

to everyone who's lost their pets

Jen

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Absolutely.

When we first moved here, we had two cats and added a third. One of the cats had to be put to sleep after she began to have, well..the best way to put it I suppose is 'anger management issues'. After B was put down, R (who'd been with B since R was 6 wks old and B was about 6 mos old) went arouond the house looking for her, crying and trying to find her. It took her a long time to realize her friend was gone.
A few years later, B2 (our third cat) had to be taken to the humane society because she and R started not getting along. I was pregnant at the time and I didn't want to risk having a baby around 2 cats who were constantly trying to annihilate each other. R honestly seemed relieved that B2 was gone.

Now R just tries to avoid DS and though she's whacked him on the hand a few times, he still doesn't seem to understand she doesn't like him to get too close to her. You'd think after the first couple of times she scratched him, he'd get the message.

OMG! Sorry to be totally off-topic, but I would advise you to not adopt any more pets if you can't handle these issues. You are talking about normal, everyday pet owner issues.

 

[ducklite]

I absolutely believe that pets grieve. Often after an owner or other pet in the home dies the surviving pet will go into a deep depression.

Anne

 

[Disneynutbsv]

Oh yes...my greyhound died last year and my golden retreiver was just sad...he would just slump to the ground and it is like you could have heard him sigh....it was like he was depressed We eventually did get him (and us) another friend and he's doing better, he's playing with Koda now instead of just walking away from him.

 

[talicskai]

A good friend of mine was killed in a car crash November 10th and her cats have now gone to live with Sue's parents. They have a large picture board of photos that we made for the funeral home and both of the cats slept in front of it for the first two weeks. They miss her terribly. It's been four months and they are just starting to feel at home with her parents. My heart breaks for them