Feeling The Loss

Page 3

My old gal Diamond Lil went into the death arch one sunny afternoon with renal failure. She had a 4-month-old little boy at her side at the time. As she lay in an open three-sided stall, there appeared no hope for her recovery. Euthanization was strongly advised. Her son was beside himself…he raced back and forth between herd members and his mother all the while humming in high pitched distress. As members of the herd began to approach the stall, he stretched himself tall. With determination and pronounced authority, he stood guard at the open end of the stall allowing only one llama in at a time and fiercely challenging any other who would violate his apparent rule. He made distinctions as to which he would allow to enter while quite literally chasing others away. At only 4 months old, he had clearly taken charge. It was his mom and the herd abided by his actions. Unbelievably, his mother survived and at 24 years of age with “bad kidneys” is, at this very moment, kushed with the rest chewing her cud!

A Dog and His Friend The Horse

A good friend told me the story recently of her very old horse that had to be euthanized. Her horse and her dog were the best of buddies and had shared their daily lives together for a good many years. As always seems to be the case, one day the horse “just went down.” She had seemed fine… she was active… had been eating well. The vet was immediately called and upon examination determined there was very little hope. All systems were rapidly failing and given her advanced age, euthanization was the kinder choice. Her dog was present throughout the entire ordeal sitting quietly at the side of her horse. Her horse was euthanized, the vet left and a large hole was prepared for burial. Still, the dog would not leave the body of his long time friend. They decided to wait for burial – at least for a time. They felt witness to true feelings within their dog and chose to support and honor their perceptions by just allowing their dog some time. This was a situation, however, which did need tending to before long. Would their dog ever get up?

My friends went into the house. They were in mourning, too. After eating some lunch, they peered out the window. Their dog was still lying right next to the horse. What should they do? They felt within the urge to complete this tragic day... to bury their beloved horse. Should they just go out and get this “over?” With kindness and insight, my friends chose to wait just a bit longer. Two hours had passed when suddenly their dog got up and simply walked away. It was now time to bury their horse.

Animals Need Time To Grieve Too!

Though there is no way of knowing what view our animals have upon death, it seems clear it has an impact in their lives. What mother does not care about the birth and life of her child? What social animal – human or otherwise – does not miss the camaraderie of a friend or the comfort and security of their mother’s attention? We have learned much regarding our own feelings from witnessing the behaviors of the animals. I would submit that though we do not think we see a reaction to death in their world, we cannot be confident none is occurring. I encourage each of us to be mindful of the highs and lows in the life of every living creature. If it is at all possible, give those animals in our life the opportunity to “move through” these events on their own terms. Honor, respect and support the likelihood that they, too, can feel loss within their world. We spend thousands of hours and dollars on their physical health. Surely we can afford a little time for their mental health. What is the rush, anyhow?

Previous page ....1  2  3

Life is like an earthen pot: only when it is shattered, does it manifest it's emptiness.

     Hung Tzu-ch'eng

Return to top of page