Dog Receives Closure After Grieving the Loss of Her Owner

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Everyone who has ever had a dog knows the close bond the two of you share. Humans are empathetic and have a range of emotions. Dogs share this trait with humans and sometimes, they express themselves far better than we ever could; even in times of grief.

A dog parent quickly becomes that dog’s whole world. Therefore, if that pet parent were to pass away, it makes sense that the dog would grieve.

Sadie’s Grief
This was the case with Sadie, the thirteen-year-old Border collie/Dalmatian/shepherd mix who suddenly lost her owner.
Sadie’s pet parent, since she was eight weeks old, Andy Beaulieu died suddenly of a heart attack.

“Once they [Paramedics] stopped working around him, she came, and she laid with him and pushed at his hand almost as if to get him to pet her,” Beaulieu’s wife, Julia said, “She was daddy’s girl…she was his and he was hers.”

For the next ten days, between Mr. Beaulieu’s death and the services, Sadie continued to show signs of grief. She stopped eating and ended up losing ten pounds.

However, despite her signs of grief, she continued to wait for his truck to pull into the driveway every day at the time Beaulieu was due home from work.
Every day, Sadie remained hopeful that her dog daddy would come home.

Closure
Watching this, while dealing with her own grief, Julia knew that her late husband’s best friend needed to have closure.

So, after all of Beaulieu’s human friends and relatives had paid their respects, Julia brought Sadie into the services.

The two that were closest to Beaulieu calmly walked up to the casket.
Once they were close enough, as though Sadie knew exactly what this meant, she carefully put two paws up on the casket and peered inside. After a moment, she calmly stepped down and walked out of the service.

Acceptance
Once Sadie returned home, it appeared she finally understood that her dog dad was truly gone.

Famished from refusing to eat for over a week, Beaulieu’s loyal companion ate two bowls of food and returned to her daily routine.

While neither Sadie or Julie will ever forget their time they had with Beaulieu, they are working toward rebuilding their lives, together.

To close, this heartwarming story is becoming more common. More people are requesting their pets be part of their service, should they pass away. Some pet owners are even stating their wishes in their will.