Date:  Mon Jan 13, 2003  6:16 pm
Subject:  What about the other dog?

I'd appreciate knowing what other people's experiences are with the
pets still with them, especially ones that were long time companions
of the pet gone to the bridge.

How did that pet handle losing their companion? Day of, day after,
week after?

I'm not sure how Chester is going to react to Belle not being here.
She was gone for a month for radiation, but she did come back. His
thyroid condition keeps him kind of high strung so I'm not even sure
if he'll notice.

Thanks,

Joel & Belle & Chester, this time.

Date:  Tue Jan 14, 2003  3:53 am
Subject:  Re: What about the other dog?

I am sure it depends upon the dog but a year after morgy's death,
Hammy has me house prisoner. He howls nonstop when I leave him alone
even though he has the company of two friendly kitty cats and even
though he takes xanax. Their whole social structure is changed.
On a positive note, since Morgy and Hammy were littermates, Hammy
never had the opportunity to be an only dog and get individual
attention. For the past year, that is what he has been getting and I
think on some level he needed it, especially since the two and half
years prior, so much of my attention was focussed on Morgy.
Hopefully Chester will not be as codependent as Hammy. Hammy and Morgy
always protested when I left them alone even though they had each
other, besides kitty cats.
Bobby

Date:  Tue Jan 14, 2003  9:22 am
Subject:  Re: [CanineBoneCancer] What about the other dog?

My Raisin has, at times, seemed depressed. One thing we have become more
aware of is that Raisin basically followed Tinker's lead on everything.
Tinker's reaction to other dogs, people, etc. indicated to Raisin what she
was supposed to do. WE are finding that now that Tinker is gone, Raisin is a
far different dog without Tinker to prompt her. We have altered our routines
to intentionally be more physically present with Raisin. We bought a little
TV and put it in the living room, I stay on the first floor of our house as
much as I can. Raisin has pretty severe arthritis and isn't that mobile to go
into the basement or upstairs. So we are making adjustments like that, being
as affectionate with her as we can. No doubt Raisin misses Tinker very, very
much, as we all do. Tinker's death probably disrupted her life even more than
ours. She never knew life without her big brother Tinker.

Bob

Date:  Tue Jan 14, 2003  10:00 am
Subject:  RE: [CanineBoneCancer] JOEL

Joel, I think with our gang, certain dogs have been missed more than others.  Our

situation is a little bit different in that we have 5 dogs which are divided into two

factions....Kota & Marley are together & have bonded so well that they do seem

to be disturbed when the other isn't around....with Ragsworth, Splatt & Pilot, this

isn't so much the case.....when we lost Mira, she'd been isolated from all the other

dogs & I don't know that they "had a clue" but with Thud, well, Thud was such an

institution here with us that I'm sure they weren't sure what happened.  They didn't

mourn, per se, but just seemed puzzled about where the "big guy" went......when my

first OE, Maya died quite unexpectedly, her daughter Shuffles, DID seem lost for a

short while, not knowing where "mom" was but she quickly adjusted & seemed to

enjoy being the only dog we had...of course THAT only lasted for a very short while

until we rescued Kudzu, then added Rumpus & then Ragsworth....

Belinda (Mira, Thud & Rumpus)

Date:  Tue Jan 14, 2003  7:01 pm
Subject:  For Joel

Dear Joel,

Once upon a time, I had six shar peis, three of which were puppies that I
could not part with. The alpha dog, Mai Ling, was the first one to leave
my side. She was four years old, and a beautiful apricot girl.

One August day, around midnight she passed silently away in my brother's
arms. The rest of her little family were close to her, and approached
cautiously as they heard my brother cry out her name. As it was so very
hot, we decided to place her down in the foyer where it was so cool until
early next morning, when we would deal with her leaving us. I remember
taking out the prettiest sheet I could find, and dabbing her with a little
lavender. My brother carried her in his arms, and placed her in the foyer.
I recall, lighting a tiny candle in the foyer, and kneeling down by her
side. With eyes half opened, I felt the warmth of other surrounding us. I
then noticed, five sentinels, had surrounded her body, as in silent but oh
so very eloquent tribute. Then, each approached and for a moment or two,
said their goodbyes. PuYi, Contessina, Yassmina, Sheng Sheng, Perseus Magic
remained by her side all night long. Visions of light playing with the
shadows of their outlines will always remain with me.

When the morning came, they seemed to find comfort in each other, and though
I know they missed her, they somehow realized that she had been the leader
of their pack, and now was gone. However, when they smelled one of her
items, their eyes smiled and their tails wagged furiously. Never forgotten,
and always loved by those she left behind. I can but imagine, the havoc
they are all wreaking in the playground of angels!

Holding Belle in my warmest prayers always.

Victoria

Date:  Tue Jan 14, 2003  11:03 pm
Subject:  Re: [CanineBoneCancer] What about the other dog?

Joel,

I know the feeling of wanting to stay in the present and not think of the
future, but it seems necessary at the same time to stay sane with this
cancer, if that makes sense. Our dog Coco was Sam's companion for 11 years
so she took his leaving pretty hard. I hope Chester will do better. Coco
went from being independent as a cat to following me non-stop and being
afraid to be alone. Her appetite was diminished for a couple of days after
Sam passed and then it picked again. We just had to spend a lot of time with
her until she got her confidence back but she still misses him.

I know she would probably have gone through an adjustment period, anyway,
but if I could do it over, I would have tried to keep her routine as normal
as possible. We were all grieving pretty hard and I know she picked up on
that and also we didn't go to some of the places where we used to take them
when they were together for quite awhile, because it was just too hard at
first. We did take her for walks and to the park in the days following to
get her out of the house and that seemed to help.

Your Belle is sure a wonderful girl. From your descriptions, she has that
wonderful energy and ability to be happy despite what she is going through.
You're giving her the best care and I'm sorry that she's not doing well
right now. Sam had quite a few rebounds and never when I expected. Hang in
there and give Belle my best and keep enjoying every moment like you have
been.

Laurie