She Grieves

We visited a town in a nearby state this weekend and spent most of a day browsing through an enormous arts & crafts festival. We were walking in an alley when we saw a handsome German Shepherd tethered to a long leash in a yard. We stopped and spoke to the dog, at which point her owner saw us from her back door and came out to say hello.

The lady was about my age and had a strong speech impediment. She also had a sweet and guileless personality. She explained that the dog’s name is Mollie, and that she was until recently a K-9 officer in the local police department. Her human partner was killed in the line of duty, and Mollie refused to eat and was grieving herself to death until the lady adopted her.

Mollie had a fine, sharp bark and active, intelligent eyes. She truly was a friendly dog. And I’m pleased that she and the lady found each other.

On the drive home, I found myself thinking about the nature of grieving in animals. I’ve been interested in this all my life, and the interest was piqued after I read a book called When Elephants Weep. My question, which the book was unable to answer, is this: do animals forget their grief when something comes along to distract or replace the grief, for example Mollie’s new owner? Or do they share our ability to think back on and revisit times of mourning even when current circumstances are sunnier? I look forward to learning the answer to this question someday on the other side of this earthly life.

~ S.K. Orr