Help! Sad ? need quick answer

[5gifts]

If anyone knows a dogs mind....If one dog dies....is it better for her best doggie buddy to be allowed to see the body & know she's gone. Or just lay here sad this morning, wondering where she went - but obviously knowing somethings up? Would it have been better 12 hours ago when she was just lifeless - but still warm & seeming just like herself....but asleep I thought about it then but too wrapped up in my kids emotions

What about now....before we bury her....cold and with all the senses of death ..... I'm just a mess & can't think straight. But He - the buddy - is very worried and sad...but will seeing a dead body of his friend let him understant....or send him over the doggie deep end. Is it more mentally stable for a dog to 'know' or just to wonder..gee, where'd she go...and bring home a new freind? Or will seeing cause unneccesary anxiety or a newfound uncertainty/fear?

any BTDT?? Thank you....

[sagewinna]

I would think that maybe he's sad because he senses the family emotions... IME dogs are very in the moment. We just had to euthanize one of our dogs, this week, and the other 2 don't seem to have much of a reaction to it. They have all been together for a long time, too. I'm sorry for your loss.

[tug]

when we had our suffering 12-year old dog euthanized (at home) a few months ago, we brought in both of our others to see her. i do think that dog's can love and feel sad and i feel that they understand death, particularly by smell. one of our dogs was pretty freaked out the rest of that day and very quiet the next. the other, younger dog (just over a year old) had very littel reaction. but i still think it was the right thing to do. like it explained the family's sadness and let the dog know what happenned...or something.

[Lynn08]

I was very dear friends with an elderly gentleman who died (in the hospital - heart gave out) a few years back. His dog was completely distraught and cried by the door waiting for her friend to come home. The night before the funeral, the family took the dog to "visit" with this gentleman, and even though he had been "prepared for burial", the dog still recognized him and the situation. After that, she was sad, but no longer distraught and within a few days in her new home she was back to her old self.

I think animals need the same kind of closure that people do.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[5gifts]

Thank you so much. The hole is ready & she's being put in. I think I'll take him out on a leash with us. I just HATE that she's gone....

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by 5gifts

Thank you so much. The hole is ready & she's being put in. I think I'll take him out on a leash with us. I just HATE that she's gone....

So sorry for your loss, you must be in shock.

[Lillitu]

i have had animals die in a household of others both ways: where the survivors didn't see it happen and never saw the body subsequently and circumstances where the animals saw the body or i deliberately showed it to them.

in each circumstance, i say having the survivor see the body and make their peace with it is the best route. i would do it again if it happens again.

in my experience, many times when the survivors don't know, their grieving period is longer, coupled with anxiousness of not knowing if their friend is dead, missing, or hurt somewhere. it is better to know and make your peace without your friend.

[Sailor]

I would let her see as well. When we had to put a dog to sleep, we did it at home with the vet, and the other dogs were there.

I've never done it any other way. So, I can't really say if it makes a huge difference to the companion dog.