Tips on Helping Your Grieving Pet Cope

I am a Petcurean Ambassador. All opinions are my own.

In all my years of having animals, I would have never thought that a dog could mourn a duck, but it's possible. Last Friday, Aflac passed away very quickly. And since then it's been very hard on all of us. We raised Aflac from the time she was two days old and she lived in the house in a diaper. I can't begin to explain just how much I loved that duck, but my puffy red eyes could be a good indicator. I'm still in disbelief that she is gone but I'm not the only one. So is Charlie.

Charlie and Aflac were best friends which is odd for a duck and a dog. But they did everything together. Charlie would even wrestle with Aflac and she didn't mind at all. He would lick her, follow her around and even go swimming with her in the pool! They were friends until the end and that's the truth of it all. And even at the end of their friendship, Charlie wouldn't leave her side.

A few days before Aflac passed away, Charlie started spending a lot more time outside with her. And when he would come back inside, I noticed that he would have a funny smell - the smell of Aflac's nest in the backyard where she had her eggs. At first I just thought he was being a bad little dog, but after she passed I realized that he was trying to be with her eggs. That dog was protecting those little eggs the best way he knew how to. And I just can't believe it.

When we found Aflac, we found her little nest too. And next week we will have two new baby Pekin ducks to take care of. Of course that doesn't replace Aflac and it never will, but they will be very special to me.

But soon after Aflac passed, Charlie stopped eating his dog food. His food dish is full to the top right now and he's sleeping a lot. He's grieving for his best friend.

Have you ever had a pet grieve for their friend? Since I'm going through it right now, here's some helpful tips that have helped me get Charlie to feeling a bit better:

• Spend More Time With Your Pet - Don't let your pet feel like their all alone now. Spend more time with them. You can give longer walks, longer playtime, cuddling time, and even sleeping together. Charlie sleeps right in bed and I don't think he'll ever change from that.
• Don't Show Extravagant Emotions Around Them - Animals respond to human emotions so don't go overboard on emotions right now around them. It could get them more upset than they already are.
• Don't Start Giving People Food for Comfort - People food can be bad for animals so even if your pet isn't eating their own food, try to give them positive reinforcement to help them along. Pet treats are fine to give to help perk them up. 
• Keep Your Pet on Their Normal Diet - Charlie eats Petcurean Now Fresh and I don't plan on changing it to help him feel better. Petcurean Now Fresh has everything he needs already in it and it also features zero grains, gluten, wheat, beef, corn, soy, by-products or artificial preservatives. Although he is being picky right now, I know this is the best nutrition for him.