Ridge Runner Chronicles: Will Your Dog Miss You if You Die First?
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By Bill Hoagland
When I had to put Willie, my Labrador retriever, down late last year, I missed him more than I thought I would. Getting a new puppy since then has helped immensely but I know lots of dog owners who never do get over the loss of a favorite dog even if they get a new one. But what about the reverse of this situation? Do dogs miss their human caregivers if the caregiver dies first? Some dog “experts” say dogs generally do not grieve the loss of a human companion because, unlike humans, they don’t have the mental ability to comprehend that there has been a permanent end to this relationship.
Personally, regardless of what the “experts” say, I prefer to believe that many dogs do miss their caregivers at least for a period of time and that some dogs grieve the death of their human caregiver for the rest of their own lives. Here are some true stories about dogs who lost their “best friend” to the grim reaper; let’s see what you think.
Hachiko was a Japanese Akita dog that was adopted in 1923 as a puppy by Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor at Tokyo University. Every day, for the next year and a half, Hachiko walked with Professor Ueno to the Shibuya Railway Station, where Ueno took the train to work. After Professor Ueno boarded the train, Hachiko would return home but every evening, Hachiko would walk back to the train station and wait for Ueno to get off the train so that they could walked home together. In 1925, Professor Ueno died unexpectedly at work. After Ueno’s death, Hachiko, who still lived at Ueno’s house, would walk by himself to the Shimbuya Railway Station every evening to wait for Professor Ueno to get off that train and every evening, once it got dark, Hachiko walked back home by himself. This journey, believe it or not, took place every day for the next nine and a half years. Hachiko eventually became a national symbol of loyalty and appropriately, at some point, a bronze statute was erected at the Shimbuya Railway Station, depicting Hachiko sitting there waiting for his best friend. As recently as November 10, 2023, a large crowd of pet lovers celebrated Hachiko’s 100th birthday at the statute; his display of loyalty has never been forgotten by the Japanese people and rightly so.
Capitan was a German Shepard owned by Miguel Guzman, a man who lived in Argentina. Guzman died and was buried in a local cemetery. At the time of Guzman’s funeral, Capitan did not attend the burial but a week after Guzman’s death, Capitan ran away from home. A week later, he was found at Guzman’s grave, guarding it. Several attempts were made by Guzman’s family to take Capitan back home but he always returned to the grave and insisted on staying next to it every night. At that point, the family gave up on their attempts to keep him at home. From then on, he lived at the cemetery and was fed by workers there for the next six years. And every night at roughly 6:00, after patrolling the cemetery grounds during the day, Capitan would lie on top of Guzman’s grave for the rest of the evening. (Yes, there are photographs of Capitan next to the grave.)
Hawkeye was a Labrador retriever owned and trained by Jon Tumilson, a US Navy SEAL; it is said that Tumilson and Hawkeye were together every day before Tumilson’s deployment to Afghanistan, where he was later killed in a helicopter crash. His funeral service was held in a high school gymnasium in Rockford, Iowa. More than 1,500 mourners attended that funeral. According to Barbara J. King in her book, “How Animals Grieve”, at the service, Hawkeye led the Tumilson family to the front of the crowd, where they were seated. Then, when a friend stood to give the eulogy, Hawkeye walked to the casket and laid down in front of it until the conclusion of the service. Pure coincidence? Maybe, but maybe not; who can say for sure?
These stories are strangely comforting, aren’t they? Maybe that’s because it is proof that our love for our pets can be truly reciprocal.
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– Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].
