Pets observe every change in a household, and are bound to notice the absence of a companion.They are very sensitive to our emotions too, so try to be as happy and as upbeat as possible when you are around the surviving pet to help them through the grieving process...Our pets don't like to see us being sad.
Give your surviving pet lots of attention and love to help them through this period. Spend extra time doing whatever they enjoy doing most. But at the same time it is important to stick the the routine that you had before losing their companion.
Remember that, if you are going to introduce a new pet, your surviving pets may not accept the newcomer right away, but new bonds will grow in time.
Meanwhile, the love of your surviving pets can be wonderfully healing for your own grief.
When we had to have our beautiful Jake put to sleep, we arranged for the vet to do this in our home, not just because we wanted Jake to be as peaceful and relaxed as possible during this process (He always got very anxious when visiting the vets!) But also because we thought it was important for our surviving pets to be aware of what was happening. We wanted them to be fully aware that Jake had passed away, rather than taking Jake out and then returning home without him and our cat Suzy and Border Collie, Ollie wondering where he had gone and when he was coming back home. (We did this when having our Border Collie, Moss put to sleep too)
This group is a great source of comfort if you feel that you need any extra support following the loss of your dog.
RAINBOW PETS