Question:
I read with interest your column about the stray dog Rags that wandered into a family's home and bonded with the man who had been diagnosed with leukemia. It brought back a memory of our dog, also named Rags.
I don't remember how our Rags came into our lives, but he bonded with my dad. Dad was a policeman and worked irregular hours, but, somehow, Rags knew when dad was due home and he would find his place just to the side of our driveway and patiently wait for his master. At some point, Dad wasn't feeling well and went to the hospital. The doctors found serious heart problems, and he was told that he had three months to live. Rags never left his side. One afternoon, Dad suddenly died of a heart attack. During the subsequent funeral preparation, the funeral and the difficult period of adjustment the family experienced afterward, Rags sat at his spot by the side of the driveway, waiting for his master. Before our eyes, Rags deteriorated -- refusing to eat and wanting only to lie in his spot. The time came when my mother humanely agreed to have him put to sleep. He was such a special little dog that we've never forgotten him.The thing that touched me so from the reader's letter was the fact that she lives in Stratford, Conn. My family lived in Stratford with our beloved dog. I can't help but wonder, is it possible?
E.A.C., Shelton, CT Apr 04, 2010
Answer:
Your description of your Rags' devotion to your father, his ability to predict when the man would be home and his profound mourning/depression when his beloved human companion died are lessons for us all.
Rags demonstrated the extraordinary emotional intelligence, awareness and vulnerability to the trauma of loss shared by many members of this noble species. Dogs suffering from severe mourning/depression (an affliction of body and spirit) can experience a terminal cascade of physiological and psychological events that can be difficult to reverse. This "giving up the ghost" or losing the will to live can be ameliorated in some cases by taking the dog out of his home environment to visit familiar happy-memory haunts, friendly neighbors and dogs' homes as well as securing professional veterinary care to address depression, anorexia and other medical problems that can develop in old dogs suffering like your Rags.
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