The tribulation of Trixie the Doberman (don't worry, she's been adopted)

Spoiler alert: If you watch this, you will bawl your face off. Or maybe just tear up a little. 

The low down is that Trixie the Doberman's owner died 30 days ago (give or take, at this point) of natural causes, and she stayed curled up on the couch with him. She almost died herself, but neighbors called the police when they noticed the mail piling up. As is typically the case with stories like this, there were many offers to adopt her, but according to the above newscast, a vet tech fell in love with her and was bringing her home the next day.

Trixie is a sweet looking red girl, shaking very hard in the video. I wonder if part of this is because she was confronted by a camera. It could also be the shock of the shelter environment, which seemed very barky at the time, and is a whole lot of people when you've been with your dearly departed owner for a month.

I'm happy to hear that Trixie is going to a new and loving home, and I hope that she learns to love her vet tech as much as she did her previous owner. I hope she's never in a situation like that ever again, as it's a terrible thing for anybody to go through. In part, it's made me think of a post KB did a little while ago on Romping and Rolling in the Rockies, entitled "Do Dogs Understand Death?" My comment on the topic is currently thus:

I definitely read your post with interest, but I haven't really experienced dogs around death, so I don't really have a formed opinion on what they understand. Really, I don't understand death either, so I can't blame them if they don't.
I will say that Elka seemed particularly sad the first (and so far only) time that she killed a moth. She was following it and sniffing at it, and smooshed it against the glass of the front door. She then brought it to me and looked at me with big liquid eyes, like "Why won't it fly?" It was like a Disney movie.

Dog attends Mass after losing his owner

I saw the "loyal dog" headline on the Yahoo news feed, and of course I clicked it.

Evidently the dog, Tommy, was allowed to attend Mass with his owner, Maria Margherita Lochi, in Italy. He's always been well behaved, and has continued to come to the church when he hears the bell ring for Mass. I guess he just sits to the side of the altar, and at the end, he's let out again.

(Nikonarte Fotografia/Daily Mail)

Maria adopted Tommy as a stray, according to Yahoo, who seems to have gotten it from The Daily News, and it seems like her community as a whole has continued to care for him, which makes me happy.

Books about dog behavior and training say again and again that dogs crave routine. We humans do as well, of course, and if Ms. Lochi attended Mass every day, then both the routine and the ritual were very important to her, and as a result important to Tommy.

I'm glad that the pastor there was willing to allow Tommy's presence in the first place, but has also allowed Tommy's continued presence. There's a lot of talk bandied about regarding dogs' capacity for both memory and emotions, interesting things to think about in general but also in regards to Tommy's situation. He certainly didn't sit at the altar when he attended Mass with his owner; is he sitting where her coffin was during her funeral? Does he go to Mass and wait because that's where he last sensed her? 

I believe firmly in a dog's capacity for emotions, but death is impenetrable to some of us humans. Does Tommy know his owner is gone? Does going to Mass help him remember her, even if he isn't hoping for her to come through the door? I wonder where he spends the rest of his day, and if it's further pilgrimages of the life he spent with her. 

It's a sad story, and a sweet one. Do dogs go to Heaven? Tommy seems to be observing all of the Holy Days of Obligation, so I would certainly hope so.