Annie and Whitey are the dogs who belonged to late photographer Robert Bunch. Courtesy photo.
What happens when Ladybird outlives Hank Hill?
Pets are part of our families, and when their humans pass away, they also mourn and have to adjust to a new family structure.
“They can grieve as much as we can,” said Dr. Virginia Ellsworth, owner of East Dallas Veterinary Clinic. “There are animals who will stop eating. They’ll sit by the door waiting for them to come home. There’s a lot of different ways that that happens, and so, yeah, they feel it, too, and they usually need a little extra love to get the pet through that situation, too.”
When local photographer Robert Bunch died from cancer in April, one of his friends discovered that two of Bunch’s dogs were being boarded at the East Dallas Veterinary Clinic. The clinic’s staff has been trying to find homes for these dogs.
A handful of Ellsworth’s long-term clients who don’t have someone to look after their pets after they pass away have made plans for the clinic to manage that.
But the local vet isn’t the end all, be all. The Texas A&M Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center is for pets whose owners have passed away, or are in a retirement home or hospital. People can enroll their dogs or cats in the College Station center, which is near the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science’s teaching hospital. But this way isn’t cheap — you have to be willing to fork over at least $75,000.
There’s also Pet Peace of Mind, Ellsworth said, which is a national program that aims to keep pets and their humans together while the owner is in hospice care. This organization can also find new homes for orphaned pets when necessary. But Pets Peace of Mind only works with certain hospice programs. For Dallasites, that would be Good Shepherd Hospice.
Pet owners of a specific breed may also be able to find help among certain rescue groups, Ellsworth said.
And, of course, there’s the old fashioned way — finding someone in your family or a close friend to take care of your pet after you die, which Ellsworth said is what most people do.
“Many times, other family members will see this as a way to keep their loved one’s memory with them by keeping their pet,” she said.
Grieving pets may need to be around other people and get special attention, maybe through play or their favorite activities, Ellsworth said. If the pet is not eating, they may need appetite stimulants.
Ellsworth recommended that people put the plan for their pets into their last wills to help the family have a clear understanding of what needs to happen. And it doesn’t hurt to build a long-term relationship with your local, independent veterinarian, who can help you establish those plans.
