Hi,
I wasn't sure how best to title this thread.
This morning my little Shih Tzu Dolly died. She had a bad heart, had lost her eye before we got her but had recently gone blind in less than 2 weeks, she she found that very hard to cope with. She has been ill for the last few days and I was dreading taking her to the vets this morning as I knew they would suggest putting her to sleep and I dreading making that decision. As it happened 10 minutes before I was due to go to the vets, her breathing slowed till it stopped so the decision was taken from me by Dolly herself.

My question is I have another Shih Tzu Jazz whom we have had from a puppy, she is 8 now and has been with Dolly all her life, they did everything together, in fact Jazz even tried to help Dolly get up and walk this morning, she was trying to push her with her nose . Jazz seems very subdued and is wandering around sniffing and looking for her friend, is there anything we can do to help Jazz or should we just carry on as normal?

Thanks

Dolly
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/916/p1000060ee6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

aw, bless her, she was lovely

i had the same problem when my 2nd dog died, poor old penny was lost without him, we just carried on as normal and gave her more cuddles and fuss than normal, its natural for them to miss their life friends, but like humans, they'll get over it eventually

How sad .. and I send my sympathy to you ... I agree with pinklady, that your other little dog should be given lots of cuddles .. she is bound to miss her little friend.

Let us know how she (and you) gets on.

Saffy x

So sorry to read abut how you lost Dolly, she looks so sweet.
I think what others have said is good, but try to keep to Jazz's normal routine too with a bit more attention for her so that she is not lonely.
Jazz will naturally pine for a while for her friend but it should calm down after a week or so, they do say it helps them to grieve and get over their friends death better if you allow them to say goodbye, I'm not sure how true that is though when one of my girls long gone saw her friend it was heart wrenching she was so distressed I don't think that I would do it again personally :sad:
I really hope that you and Jazz soon feel better ((HUGZ))

Thank you for your kind words. I keep expecting her to trot through the door it's very strange.
One other question, Dolly and Jazz used to share a bed but Jazz has refused to go near the bed all day, so do you think I should wash the bed to remove Dolly's scent? I wasn't going to because I thought her scent would comfort Jazz but now I don't know what to do.
Thanks :(

Thank you for your kind words. I keep expecting her to trot through the door it's very strange.
One other question, Dolly and Jazz used to share a bed but Jazz has refused to go near the bed all day, so do you think I should wash the bed to remove Dolly's scent? I wasn't going to because I thought her scent would comfort Jazz but now I don't know what to do.
Thanks :(

my dog wouldnt go near the bed she shared, ... wouldnt touch the food bowl either, i had to get new ones. Washing it is worh a try, but be prepared to folk out for a new one

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I have two Shih-tzus and I can't imagine how terrible it would feel to lose one of them. Either one would be heartbroken without the other.

If you want some shih-tzu company for your little one then my two would love to meet up with him.

Don't wash Dolly's scent away, let Jazz realise what has happened in his own time xx

aww Dolly was a little sweetheart, wasn't she? I am sorry to hear she's passed over hte bridge - but at least she went in her own time and with dignity. I know it will feel strange without her, but time is a great healer and you will always have your wonderful memories and lovely photos to keep her close to your heart.

It is quite normal for dogs to grieve when their close friends die, but I would go with the suggestions already made- try to keep Jazz's routine as close to normal as possible (although if you feel the need to cry,by all means give Jazz a hug whilst you're doing it!) I dont think removing Dolly's scent entirely is good idea, it will be comforting for Jazz to still smell her friend, even though she is no longer there.

xK
PS To this day, I still expect certain of my long-lost pets to come trotting through the door- totally irrational, but something of a comfort- I actually feel as if theyve been reincarnated into the cats we currently own.

I really don't know the answer to that one, mine never slept in that bed anyway, poor Jazz I feel so sorry for her its all so confusing for a dog.
I feel for you too caz7 its very hurtful to lose a well loved animal and it takes time for the hurt to go, but it does time heals... as much of a cliché as it sounds.

So sorry for your loss but as others have said she went on her terms and with dignity and in a place she knew.
I hope in time you and Jazz will begin to come to terms with what has happened. Remeber the good times you all had together, thinking of you Helenxxx

awww, am so so sorry, she was beautiful, i have shih tzu's myself run free dolly at rainbow bridge, sending lots of love to Jazz, i like that name.

Jazz eventually ventured into her bed but as I expected we had a very unsettled night with her. They both always slept in the kitchen together so I had a lot of scratching and barking but I didn't get up to let her out, I think it was best to keep that part of her routine the same even though that was the first time ever she'd slept alone. She eventually settled down though so fingers crossed it will all go ok.

Thanks again everyone for your kind words, before I had dogs myself I used to wonder why people got so upset when they lost their pet but losing one myself I now realise they ARE part of your family. They accept you for all you do and who you are without question and are always they for you with a wagging tail.

Just so you can see, below is a photo of Dolly and Jazz together, they look like a couple of 'book ends' obviously Dolly is the one with just the one eye.
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/6210/dsc00072fb5.jpg

what a lovely photo of them together. Jazz will be lost for a while it takes time, its so heartbreaking.

This is really sad, I'm sure you are both missing her very much.
You are bound to feel lost,
give Jazz some extra cuddles I'm sure she will help you feel better as well

Dogs do grieve as we do and I do feel it is good for them to see their companion dead. It may sound graphic, but they need to know they have gone and not coming back.

I have done this with my animals, dogs, cats and horses as they have either died at home or been pts at home. I took this decision when one of my horses continually called for his companion, I had no choice as my horse had died under anesthetic, it went on for days, every time he heard a horsebox he thought he was coming back and it broke my heart.

Jazz will get better with time it is particularly hard on them when they have no other dogs in the pack. They must be allowed to deal with it in their own way, which is different to humans, we must remember that they are animals and they think and feel differently to we do.

I agree that I would not remove the scent just yet.

Hugs to you all and special hugs for Jazz.:love:

Jazz was there when Dolly died although my daughter was holding her but when we knew Dolly had gone I let Jazz sniff round her body and she did that a few times so hopefully that will have helped.

oh im so sorry Caz7, i agree leave dollys scent and with time this will lessen and Jazz will slowley adjust. i have always had multiple dogs so never had one left alone so cant advice, Hugs to you though and run free dolly. anna.x.

sorry to hear of your loss

Hi,
Well it's now well over a week since my little dog Dolly died and I thought I'd let you know how we are doing without her.
Jazz is still not herself but I would expect that, she barked and scratched at the door really badly for the first few nights but we didn't change her routine, we thought it was best. On about the third day my daughter put a tedding in her bed with her and that seemed to help a bit, maybe it was the feeling of having someone else sharing her bed that helped, even if it was only a teddy. Jazz has started to return to her usual giddy self a little now but still stays close to any of the family if we're about.
As for the rest of the family, well we still expect to see Dolly trotting around the house and I guess that's something that will only get easier with time. I have a digital photo frame and there are lots of picture of both dogs on it so every now and then Dolly's little face pops up on the screen and I just smile and remember how she was. :)

Thanks for the update Caz. Glad to hear that Jazz is coping a bit better, things will start to get much better from now on, as she is obviously showing signs of improving.

My heart goes out to you, as I lost my wonderful Gem in October and I still cry often. My son who is nearly three mentions her quite a bit, which reduces me to a blubbering wreck in secret. Time does heal and I smile when I think of Gem and remember the good times, she was a fantastic dog. I have pics all around the house of all the dogs and also as my screen saver so she is never far away lol.

I wish I could give you a big hug, as I know how you are feeling right now.

(((cyber hugs instead))))

It's good to hear that Jazz is starting to pick herself up again. I know that people say it's thinking of them with too many human emotions to say that animals grieve, but there is most definitely a knowledge that something is wrong and that something is missing.

I remember when I had my first cat Tizzy and Merlin was still small. Merlin had to stay in at the vets overnight when she was spayed because she pulled her stitches out and had to have another anaesthetic to restitch the wound, and that night Tizzy nearly drove herself (and me) mad with looking for her. She walked round the house calling for Merlin, she had me open every door in the house so she could check that Merlin wasn't behind it, she even went outdoors to call for her (which is no mean feat bearing in mind that she was agoraphobic). In the end, at about 3am I shut her in the kitchen and went upstairs to sleep with ear plugs in as she went spare looking for the kitten that she knew should be there and taking it out on me because I took her kitten away.

From that moment on I knew that Tizzy would never have coped with either of the younger cats dying before she did and the it was not important to me whether it would be grief or some undefined animal emotion that she was feeling- she was in deep distress and there was nothing I could do to stop it and make her any more calm.