I had two 7 month old puppies and one just died today of parvo, we buried him deep in the backyard. We know it is highly contagious so we didn't let her see him dead because she would've gone and sniffed him. I feel terrible and I'm wondering if I made a mistake by not letting her see him. I just don't want her to get sick too. She's been sniffing around the house and has her tail tucked in, should I be worried?
2 Answers
Practically, entirely unemotionally... the risk of getting parvo and having a second puppy die isn't worth the closure.
As someone who's had dogs in his life that experienced loss if she remembers him, she'll get over it. I've known dogs that lost their owners - and while they were very hopeful their owners would come back, led reasonably long and happy lives. Litters of puppies are often separated (though one of the neat 'local' things that happens is since we're a small country, owners arrange meetups or playdates between siblings), and they manage.
It is difficult but she'll get over it, and IMO reducing exposure to a potential illness is the right thing to do
answered Nov 21, 2023 at 0:15
I honestly don't think animals have much understanding that death is permanent, so I don't think showing them the body brings any kind of closure. They will miss their companion, certainly, but their understanding is limited to "Friend isn't here. Back soon?" They don't need to know more than that, and I don't think most can know much more than that.
"Grandma can't visit. She's in heaven now." "Maybe next week? Maybe we can visit her?"
