Puppy Journey: Renpet's Story (Pt. 2)

The death of a friend is never something that you think about. To watch your dog, cat, bird, etc...go through the grieving process after losing their best friend is even worse. You have no idea what is actually going through their head. All you can see is that he or she has not been acting the same and may even be shedding a few tears. Sometimes we can forget that they are well aware of the things that are happening around them.

This Thanksgiving, Renpet lost her best friend Maxwell, the Yorkie Terrier. Maxwell was the first dog she ever met when I brought her home. He was a delight and an all-around fun little guy. I remember before I got Renpet he was found running through our yard and my brother brought him in the house thinking that he was a lost dog. Little did he know that this was our neighbor's newest addition to their home. He actually ended up there because I'm guessing his daughter was not able to keep him. When I took Renpet for her first walk, my neighbor happened to come outside and Maxwell immediately ran up to her and began sniffing her.

At first, I was afraid because I wasn’t sure what he would do to her because she was so small. Plus, he was so much bigger and stronger than my two-month-old puppy. Fast forward to a month and some more playtime later, he ran into our house only because our door was wide open. They played with each other and then his owner came to get him. I remember when Maxwell somehow got away and Renpet and I went looking for him. We searched everywhere for him calling out his name hoping that he would come running to us. Turns out he was in a house that we’d passed by while on our search. Thanks to my brother he was returned home safe and sound.

Their relationship was absolutely adorable. Anytime they saw each other one would run up to the other. We noticed about a couple of weeks ago that his original owner, my neighbor’s daughter, picked him up and brought him back a couple of days later. We were wondering why she only kept him for a little while. It turns out they took him to the doctor multiple times. Fast forward to Thanksgiving, Renpet was acting weird when we returned from our family dinner. I thought maybe she was just a little antsy and a little bit tired. Now we know that somehow, she knew that her best friend was no longer with us. When we took her outside, all she wanted to was go to my neighbor's backyard and we weren’t sure why.

Today, we learned that Maxwell had passed away. I was woken up to my dad and my neighbor talking and my neighbor yelled, “Hey what are you doing in my backyard boy!” I'm not sure why my neighbor still thinks my dog is a boy, but that’s okay. He definitely wasn’t upset, but that’s when he informed my dad that Maxwell had died and he was buried in the backyard.

My dog was going to her best friends' burial site and mourning him. I’ve been wondering why she has been so sad looking and extra cuddly the past few days. Today was the worst. I actually witnessed my dog crying with tears down her face. She's even making whining noises that sounds like she is crying. It's so sad that I have to watch my 11-month-old go through the grieving process. All I can do is hold her and tell her that it will be okay and she will find another friend soon. R.I.P Maxwell, you will truly be missed.