I have a neighbor who had the same dog for many, many years. Her name was Daisy and she was a huge beast of a dog (some sort of labrador mix) who was very loving and gentle. Daisy grew to be about 15 years old. Over the years, she became best friends with my dog, Sheldon. Daisy and Sheldon played together all day, every day. Then one day, it occurred to me that Sheldon hadn’t been leaving every morning. And I noticed him sleeping a lot more. I thought he was sick at first, but then I got a call from my neighbor telling me that Daisy had died a few days before. I suddenly knew that Sheldon was depressed and mourning the loss of his beloved long-time best friend. It was really eye-opening to me to realize that dogs can grieve the loss of their canine BFFs the same way that humans do. This story below illustrates perfectly that love that two precious dogs can have for each other. We don’t know if it’s a true story, but it’s been making the rounds on social media and via email, and we wanted to pass it along.
Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together.
Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses.
One evening, Brownie’s family noticed that Brownie hadn’t returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day, and, despite their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing.
Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie’s house alone, barking, whining, and generally pestering Brownie’s human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog.
Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take no for an answer. Ted, Brownie’s owner, was steadily harassed by the furious, adamant little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently, then darting back and forth to a nearby empty lot, as if to say, Follow me! It’s urgent!
Eventually, Ted followed the frantic Spotty across the empty lot, as Spotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a fence, past clumps of trees, to a desolate spot a half-mile from the house.
There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive — one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leg-hold trap. Horrified, Ted wished he’d taken Spotty’s earlier appeals seriously.
Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable…
Spotty had done more than simply lead Brownie’s human to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps, which were identified as the remains of every meal Spotty had been fed that week!
Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single-minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort! Spotty had stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators, snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up.
Brownie’s leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered.
For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses.
The unconditional love dogs give is simply inspiring.
