OT: Dog Advice Neede

OK, so long ago....  I had Cookie and Rufus.  Cookie was old and suffering so my sister and I did our normal doggie dispatch routine.  We took her to the vet, Candy went in with her to send her to doggie heaven and I stood in the lobby and sobbed while total strangers hugged me.  Candy came out crying, slugged me in the arm and we went to do some retail therapy.  Through the years, we've repeated this many times, but not with Peabody because his death was unexpected and in my arms on the kitchen floor. 

I ended up getting Peabody because Rufus was in serious mourning for Cookie.   I got over her death and was eventually happy to have half as many dog fur dust bunnies, but Rufus never got over her death.  So here we are again with Rufus in mourning. He hadn't eaten since Saturday and I finally brought his food dish in my bedroom tonight and ordered the dog to eat, which he did.  He's not barking at the mailman and just lays around with his chin on his front paws.  He lays on Peabody's rug and sighs.  Frankly, I layed on Peabody's rug and sobbed the first couple of days and still can't bring myself to pick it up and wa****

So he's my dilemma... To new dog or not to new dog?  My first thought was to wait a while and see how I feel, but Rufus is a dog's dog and is very lonesome.  I'm now working 60 hours a week so it doesn't seem right to bring in another dog while I'm not here until 10:00 at night some nights and it doesn't seem fair to leave Rufus alone until 10:00.  I won't get a puppy because that's just not right for any of us and I have to be cautious of a full grown dog because of the cats, but WHAT TO DO???  I've even thought about farming out Rufus to The Man some days when I'm gone for long hours, but he is abnormally and psychotically attached to me so that wouldn't work. 

What do you guys think?

wow
connie my advice would be that rufus needs someone-you know that--but you bring up good points about not being home etc...


maybe rufus just needs more connie time right now?????maybe he is afraid you are going to leave too?????

wow....oh sweetheart, i feel the pain in this one......sorry no help......

Margo, you are a big help.  Just being there and feeling my pain me makes me feel better.  I really appreciate you.

Big hugs my friend.

C.

Ive ended up with many an extra animal cause of another furry freind being sad an lonely.
Can you give it another week? Maybe set a time limit like in 4 days if Rufus doens't start barking at the mailman i will go to the pound and see what they have.
Can you set up a camera to see what he's doing when your not home? I know that sounds crazy but sometimes I wonder if my animals have wild parties when I'm at work. I caome home and they are so tired. What do they do all day? Their food dishes are empty their cat boxes are full but it seems like there is an awful lot of shedded fur on their beds in the afternoon when I get home. so i think they are sleeping all day. but why would they sill be tired at night?
picture this... mom is heading out the door...charlie in her kennel lifts her head wags her tail woofs once byebye and sets the head down again. Paulie is hanging upside down in his cage flapping his wings wildly so that all the bird dust feathers and seeds are flying around the room looks like a tornadoe i****ting. lily my white ragdoll cat is flopped across the top edge of the dark color couch - best place to leave an extra dust kitty. eyes closed she does not acknowledge that mother is about to leave. Samantha my black kitty is laying next to the food dish with her paws in it scooping the dry stuff as fast as she can into her mouth with hr eyes closed puring. do they have ktty gastric bypass? she has food issues.
so then i get home and they are happy to see me for about 5 minutes charlie so she can go outside, paulie cause he gets his boiled egg (sounds kinda sick doesn't it that my bird loves bo8iled eggs??) and the catsare still in the same position that they were when i left but sammy has emptyede the food dish and now is asleep with herhead in it.
BUT the pillows are all off the couch.
AND there is rippede up magazines and newspaper all over.
PLUS charlies toys are scattere4d all over the living room and i do NOT remember leaving any in her kennel but allofa sudden she has two stuffed squeekys in there. How did they get in there?
I just wonder sometimes....who lets charlie out of the kennel?
time for work.
i'd do it connie i'd get another doggy. but take your timewith the selection,.

Sounds like a house of Party Animals!!!

If you ever decide make a secret survellance video I DEFINITELY want to see it!!! hahaha!!! 

Pammy, you crack me up.  My cat Maizie is a paper shredder and I don't get it.  Why do they do that?  OK, a bird eating boiled eggs is a little cannibalistic. I knew that the shells were good for them, but the egg itself is ooky.  That cracks me up, no pun intended. 

My sister used to have a beagle that would open the fridge door and eat EVERYTHING when she was at work.  She tried bungee cording the door shut and finally had to resort to a chain and padlock to keep Ernie from literally eating her out of house and home.  He opened the oven door and pulled out a pork roast right after she had put it in the oven one time.  You couldn't even have a pack of gum in your suitcase when you went to visit or the dog would shred your luggage.  He once ate a bag of Heshey's kisses and her yard glittered when the sun struck the foil in his poop.  I don't know how all that chocolate didn't kill the dog.  That dog really needed Overeaters Anonymous. 

Thanks for being there, Pammy.  I'm going to take my time and when the right dog comes along, I'll know it.

Hugs,
Connie

Ohh your poor baby and poor you....you mention you have cats...does Rufus like the cats? Dogs are normally pack animals...they need the interaction...if Rufus gets along with the cats , and likes them, Ide let him go through his morning period..may take a week or two before hes back to normal, then he may start to interact more with the cats and become buddies. If not ...you might want to consider another dog...but seriously I wouldnt rush into it..Ide give Rufus alittle more time to see if he breaks out of his depression. Just give the poor boy some extra lovin right now.

I agree with Kim, I think both you and Rufus (and the kitties) need some time to adjust together.  Give yourselves a month or two and see how you (and Rufus) feel then. When my Sophie died, my cat, Ginger, was beside herself; she sat at the side of the road for hours the first two weeks waiting for Sophie to come home. She's fine now and my cuddlebug. But I think you need a bit of time, my friend. Hugs, Maureen

Aw Connie, I hate you two are going through this!  I sorta agree with pammie and Reenie... maybe give it a while, besides, if you get a new dog right away it may be a shock for him?  I'm not a big animal expert but we got a pal for my cat motts. of course that was a big mistake because when that cat ran away my motts became a different cat... peeing on everything and its been a year and he still does it.  driving us crazy...we actually pondered getting him another friend...but we're not sure we would have TWO cats peeing on everything...so we decided against it. give it a little time then if he is still absolutely bummed then maybe i would think about getting him a pal. dogs are a bit different since they are pack animals...not that cats dont like the company they do... im starting to ramble because my brain is fried from working all week and its friday and late. so i'm not even sure this post is making sense...SO ending point... hang in there...give it a little time to think on and love ya tons!!!!!! big huge hugs for the both of you!!!!!