Well, I think he's figured that Doggy Daddy's out of the woods for the worst part and settled back to some sort of normalcy.. so he's having his turn.
My wife says that he won't come running to the gate when we come home on our bicycles,or come to her when she calls him. He's also showing classics signs of missing Ellie-Mae.. sleeping on her bed.
I did have all her things on it under my bed,but we gave the cover a wash,so I left the things nearby.
The poor little guy. I'm going back to work tomorrow,so I'll be dropping him off at Mum-inlaws on my way. She has a couple of dogs and cats.Although, Mr Brown has always been a bit of loner,except for Ellie-Mae, I'm hoping he'll settle into some sort of routine..
We want to get him a new companion,but also don't want to rush into it. I'm waiting for the right one.
My wife frets about the ones we see in the shelters etc.. but I say we have 33000 abandoned dogs every year.. we can't have all of them and we need to make sure we pick the right one for Mr Brown,Us and the property and it wouldn't be fair on the animal that does come home with us,if it's rushed on guilt alone.

In this photo we have(l-R) Ellie-mae, Mr Brown (aka Leroy), and Finn,who now lives in New Zealand in Lord Of The Rings country. He's Labrador, Dingo cross. Heart of gold,as well as coat. We were puppy sitting while the move was being organised. Lotsa fun for all the family that was !!

After we put Jemima to sleep, Checkers moped around the house for a least 1 1/2 months. He clung to me where he has always been more of my husband's cat. He sat with me at nights, kept on looking around the house to see where she was, etc.

Remaining pets do grieve. Mr.Brown will come around when he's ready. I think sometimes it's harder on us than on them as we can do very little except be there for our remaing pets.

The picture of your buddy loves are very attractive, I bet you and your family have endless , funny and heart filled stories to share of your life together. This is so important to talk about Ellie Mae and a wonderful idea to come back to this site as often as you wish to do just that. We here have struggled through those dark days with the loss of your loved ones. However....bleak it may seem at this time, please come back and tell us all about your lovies. This place is filled with soul supporting poeple and many of which you may learn and form life long friendships.
I wish you peace as you travel through this difficult journey and a special kind of loving joy when you bring home that special baby......who is waiting for special folks like yourself to provide a warm safe home, food and the best endless love that is shared by each other. Take your time.........that precious pup has already picked you both out and will be there when you are ready.
My thoughts and well wishes are with you.
Sincerely and with huge huges.......

~Litebrez!

Please let us know how you are doing......becausem we care!

Well, Mr Brown, did his old "happy dance" when we got home tonight. He steps on the spot with his front legs and mouth smiling.
We have this game of rubbing his middle and firing him off down the hallway..he charges away and slides to turn and runs back .. We've made a big deal of coming home this week. During the day he stays with my inlaws and wander down and pick him up that evening.

But here's something I've kinda figured.

His moods co-incide with various stages of Ellie's proceedures with cremation etc.

Ellie was cremated on the weekend (we didn't know this at the time) and his behaviour changed. Once they had decided what day her ashes will be brought home, he started to improve.
They're arriving tomorrow and he's much chirpier. I've asked my wife,who'll be home, to take careful note of everything that happens.
I want to see if he's more animated in the lead up...

kind regards,

Doggy Daddy.

They definitely go through stages of grieving. My second dog, Falkor went into a total slump. He couldn't handle Luba being gone, and me being so sad.
I could not get him to play with any of the toys that Luba had touched, and he did the opposite of lying on her bed, he went around it in a wide circle, cringing away from it.

Also, Luba used to go to work with me (Falkor's arthritis prevented this, as I walked to work and he needed to have total rest anyways). When I got back from work without Luba, he'd walk past me out the door, and look way down the street to see if she was coming. It was heartbreaking.

I went and bought him a bunch of new toys that didn't have her scent, and he played with those happily enough.

Off topic: we are hoping to move to NZ in about 5 years or so, are you from there? We are in Canada, but my spouse is an NZ citizen. So, hopefully we'll be able to get me into Frodo-country without too much trouble...

What a handsome crew. You can tell they all have their unique personalities. Gorgeous dogs.