10 Mar 10 Helping A Dog Move On Through Its Owner’s Death
As a huge movie buff, one of my all-time favorite teen flicks being “Clueless” starring Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, who later went on to “Friends” and other movies, and Brittarny Murphy. So I was stunned last December, when the news broke about Brittany Murphy’s sudden death. Animal Chiropractic
While they laid her to rest, following her funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California, my heart went out to her mother and her husband, Simon Monjack. The 32-year old actress had a heart attack, which caused her death at their shared home with her husband in LA on December 20, 2009, as stated by the news reports.
As I clicked through her husband’s web site I saw breathtaking photos that Simon had taken of Brittany. It is such a loss for someone that beautiful and talented to be taken too soon.
What truly broke my heart was when I learned of Brittany’s female Maltese named Clara aside from the tragic loss of her family and fans. I am such an animal lover that I cried when I read online at People magazine’s web site that Brittany’s husband said that the dog was experiencing a change in behavior since Brittany’s death.
Simon Monjack was quoted in People magazine, saying, “One of the saddest things is that Clara has looked everywhere for Brittany and can’t find her,” and “Clara, she looked in every place Brittany could be, she couldn’t understand why Brittany was not in bed or in the bathroom, and she looked in every inch of the house.” Identifying Clara as “a humongous personality in a tiny package,” Brittany named her after the silent film star Clara Bow. She is treated not as a pet but as a family member.
Though I had never really given much thought, this tragic turn of events make me wonder how pets react to their owner’s death. Do pets know how to mourn? If so, how do survivors handle the pet’s physical and emotional health during the mourning period?
My pet’s veterinarian, Dr.Ava Frick, is a specialist in pet behavior. In fact, she has been using Alpha Stim technology treatments on one of my dogs due to problems with his excessive barking and showing aggression toward my other two dogs.
Dr. Frick and I talked about Clara and pets’ ability to mourn during our next appointment. She said that it is common for a dog to go through a mourning period after the loss of a human or animal companion. Symptoms are actually displayed for days or even weeks with decreased appetite, lethargy, and changes in the dog’s behavior.
She said that it is important to keep a dog in its normal routine in such cases. Exercise can do wonders to relieve stress for pets as with humans who are going through issues. Also, having acquaintance with familiar people and meeting new friendly faces can impove the pet’s mood.
It is a wise decision to seek for professional advice if the pet’s mourning period seems to continue longer than expected. Your veterinarian can identify Physiologic abnormalities, which might be contributing to the dog’s depression.
Alpha Stim – is often recommended for those dogs that are depressed, which is very interesting to note. Animal Pain Relief
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