Lisa from Springfield, MO, asked:
Hi Julie,
I got some sad news today from my mom. She said when she and her husband got home after a day of events, her old, blind, Miniature Pinscher, Cassy was missing.
My parents live in the country but have neighbors around them and let Cassy stay outside that day. Since she’s blind she usually doesn’t stray.
My mom and her husband looked all over and called for Cassy but didn’t find her. While searching, my mom noticed their neighbors watching them look for Cassy. She thought they were acting suspiciously. (By the way, there is a horrible history with this neighbor that involved a terrible injury to Cassy and an animal abuse law suit.)
Later, in the middle of the night, my mom said something spoke to her and said the neighbor killed Cassy.
Julie would you please connect with Cassy and tell us what happened?
My mom is so extremely sad about her dog.
Thank you!
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I’m sorry to hear about Cassy and can only imagine the grief your mother and her husband are feeling. Anyone who has ever lost a cherished pet knows how heartbreaking it can be.
In order to get some information for you, I connected with you and through you with Cassy. She is no longer alive.
She told me she wandered off to die and did not suffer.
I’ve often heard how animals are prone to hide or wander off as they’re dying and decided to investigate the reason why they do this.
There is a lot of information on this topic and the following does a good job of summarizing the pertinent information.
Wagwalking.com said, “Even though dogs are domesticated, they have natural instincts to survive in the wild. Dogs in the wild did what was necessary to protect themselves and throughout their lives they hunted, roamed, stayed in a pack, and defended themselves against predators. A dog whose body is failing him and who doesn’t have the ability to fight back, sometimes hides. His instinct is to isolate himself for protection.”
The article went on to say, “If your dog hides at the end of his life, it’s not because he didn’t love you or consider you his best friend. Even if you would have given him every comfort at the end, he was just following an instinct as a dog to hide for protection.”
Please let your mother know Cassy is still around her, just now in spirit form. If your mom thinks she momentarily sees Cassy out of the corner of her eye, thinks she hears or feels her, she is. It’ll be Cassy letting her know she’s close by.
Hope you and your mom find this information helpful and most of all comforting.