JC001 (08-10-2017)
When Miia was at the vet today I was thinking about how Honey and Paige didn't even seem to notice she was missing. And then I remembered how close Miia was with Daisy. Whenever Daisy was away for testing to try to find out what was wrong with her, Miia was depressed and wouldn't eat until Daisy was back home. Every evening Miia would go get Daisy's toys, one at a time and set them on the coffee table next to her, so they could play together. And when Daisy died, Miia grieved as much as we did. I remember how worried we were because she wouldn't eat and we couldn't get her to play with us. She would just get one of Daisy's toys and lay on the floor with it. It broke our hearts even more to see how much she missed Daisy. Honey is, and has always been, a kind of a loner, she doesn't cuddle with anyone and is definitely closer to us and the grandkids than Miia or Paige. Paige and Miia are a little close, but no where near the bond Miia and Daisy had. It was a special closeness, that I rarely have seen in any of my animals.
I just wondered if any of you, with multiple dogs, have had some with that special bond and if so, would you share their stories? I would just love to hear them.
JC001 (08-10-2017)
Most of my dogs just got weirded out because of change, not because they missed the other dog.
Daisy and Miia (08-10-2017)
The only really close bond we've had here was between Danny and Charlie the tuxedo kitty. They were best buds...Charlie was a huge role model for Dan as well as his constant playmate. Dan mourned Charlie's absence for about six months after he was gone....we couldn't say Charlie's name or the word cat without having Danny run through the house, looking for his brother.
Other than that, no one ever showed signs that they missed anyone else. Kiku the Akita and Brutus were buddies but Kiku was a bit of a loner when it came to the other dogs. Brutus and Hershey were best pals but Hershey also had Honey to play with (the whole reason we got Honey was to give aging Brutus a break).
I don't know what's going to happen when we lose Sunnie or Danny, but I can speculate. Danny will miss Sunnie...but probably not as much as he'd missed Charlie. Sunnie will enjoy being an only dog.
Daisy and Miia (08-10-2017), JC001 (08-10-2017)
None of mine have shown signs of missing the other dogs, but in all cases their deaths were not a surprise, so they may have been on some level expecting them to be gone. Just speculating.
The three I have now are very tightly bonded - not sure how they would be if we lost one. They’re fine being separated for a few hours at a time; and the pups are used to Chloe leaving for a few days, but a permanent absence? I have no idea.
Annette
Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009
And remembering:
Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015
And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014
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Daisy and Miia (08-10-2017)
i don't know if Rock got used to dogs coming and going when i fostered. Cedar was with me over a year.
So when Penny passed away there was no real reaction. If any, more to do with my emotions. But while sudden, he was there when she "died" the first time (odd as that is to say - I am positive her heart stopped and she came back - i have no idea how).
But he was also always independent. I will say he seems more heavily attached to ME now though, i suspect that has more to do with him being older and needing me more.
Last edited by Tanya; 08-11-2017 at 06:23 AM.
Ivy
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Daisy and Miia (08-10-2017)
We had 2 Alaskan Malamutes. They were best friends. 2 peas in a pod. Inseparable. Nikko acted more like a lab while Mia was very much an Alaskan Malamute personality. She was stoic, stand-offish, loved but did not need people.
Mia knew the moment Nikko got sick. She freaked out and went a little crazy. She was in the car while we were in with the vet putting to sleep. When we came out she howled and payed her head on my shoulder while I hugged her and cried. After that, she was a lot closer and more watchful and observant of us. She craved our attention a lot more and seemed to age. We thought she'd live forever, but she died about a year and a half after Nikko did. We had gotten Maverick. He was about 1 1/2. He loved and adored her. She was great with him, but he could never be what Nikko was to her. When she died, Maverick grieved for months. He went out constantly looking for her. When he realized she wasn't coming back I couldn't get him out of the house. Not for potty, not for walks. The only time he willingly left was to go in the car.
Now we have Maverick, who is 3, and Bear, who is 1. Maverick adores Bear. He thinks Bear is his baby. If something happened to Bear, god forbid, Maverick would grieve. Bear is smitten with Maverick, but I don't think he would grieve any more than noticing he suddenly got all the attention and toys.
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Daisy and Miia (08-10-2017)
My two now would not care. However, Sam would prefer a doggie companion. He loves puppies and other dogs. Linus would revel in getting 100% of the attention instead of just 80%.
Daisy and Miia (08-10-2017)
Nikki stayed physically close to Argos in the last month or so of his life. We now know that he had a very aggressive and fast moving cancer so I was surprised that she was pretty happy when he passed. They were littermates. Zo was very unhappy. Argos was like her dad. She would follow him around when she was a puppy and he was the only one who corrected her. When I took down his crate, Zo didn't come near me for a week. Fran was upset and seemed depressed but we found out that she had cancer shortly after he died so that may have played a part.
Noah was the only one I had that mourned the loss of another dog. He truly loved Fannie, and when she passed he mourned for months. Losing Fannine was hard enough, but watch Noah mourn was heartbreaking for me.
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