Expert: Have4Paws - 8/4/2009

Question
I have/had two Beagles from the same litter (11 years old) Mona & Lisa) until last month when I had one put down with heart failure (Mona).  I brought my other beagle (Lisa) with when I did this because they said you should let them smell the animal before and after it dies.  My question is odd I guess - Will Lisa eventually forget about Mona?  I look at her and she looks sad to me at times.  I don't plan on getting another pet for awhile but I want her to be ok without a mate.  Thank you.

Answer
Sorry for the delay in answering your question. In all honesty this hit a bit too close to home and I wasnt ready to answer it when I first read it. I just had to put my female Sashi to sleep aged 15 a few weeks back and she had been the other half of a pair as well, we lost my male about 18 months earlier at the age of 15 as well. These two were  18 months apart,grew up together and spent all their lives together and left us 18 months apart... It was hard on my female when he died as she was already quite old and somewhat slowed down from age but she really slowed down alot more, got deafer and harder for her to see yet still took over as Alpha despite all this and ruled the roost till the end. My third older dog who is 11 seemed bummed about losing the male back then but when the female took over as Alpha he withdrew more and when she passed he seemed actually relieved. I don't know how to explain it but that was my take. My other two now, a poodle 5 who I got a year ago and another male beagle who I got a few months after the other male died both seemed out of sorts for a couple weeks and like they were waiting for her to walk back in the door. I let them smell her collar when we came home without her and they were wagging their tails while the 11 year male ran in my room and under the bed. Both the younger ones will still wag their tails if I let them sniff it and the other will still run.

Telling you all this because it is obvious that they all react differently. It has taken some time for the new Alpha to sort out and it is my male beagle now but even with 3 males they get along quite well without the female. There is no pat answer I can give you for this, you will just have to feel it out. She may or may not miss her, dogs live in the moment, they do not have long term memory like we do. If she seems sad she may be but it isnt consciously her sitting there thinking of her best friend, it is may be "I am bored, there is no one to hang out with." We have a tendency to project our own human feelings onto our dogs (I am great at that even when I know better).. More important is that you allow Yourself to grieve for your dog/baby ....... she was a major part of your life for a long time and every bit as important as a human and the loss is just as profound.

I hope this is helpful to you, feel free to check back anytime