I’ll tell you what happened when my Schnauzer passed....They had a rubber tug toy that they used to play with together. It was sort of the outline of a bow tie.
The larger, younger dog would approach the sleeping Schnauzer and whack him with the end of the toy until he woke up and grabbed the other end, and then they’d chase around trying to pull it away from each other.
When Wolfie, the Schnauzer, did not come home from the vet and the Golden puppy saw my husband holding his empty collar, she let out the most pitiful wail. She was about 6 months old at the time. And she refused to ever pick up her favorite rubber tug toy again the rest of her life. (15 1/2 years)
That is one of the saddest stories I have heard in a long time.
We had a basset whose older companion was put to sleep. He started wailing when his buddy was euthanized even though he was in another room. It was absolutely heartbreaking.
These wonderful creatures are of more worth than most people I know.
That just breaks my heart. I had read that if you show the dead dog to his companion and let them sniff, then they know that they are gone. We did that with our first pair. Maybe if kept him from waiting for her to walk in the door. Can’t stand it that your dog actually cried for him and never picked up that toy again. That is just heart wrenching.
damn blurry sceen...
That happened to me, too. I had a Papillon-Pomeranian mix brother and sister (Wicket and Willy). When I came home from the vet without Wicket but with her collar, Willy let out that horrible howl, too! I never heard such a terrible sound and had no idea he could even make such a sound. Hope I never hear it again!