Sympathy For the Bowser Bereft

Dear Dog Lady,

A woman in my office has recently lost her dog, Nikki. I’ve already said I’m sorry to her but want to reach out to her in a more significant way. Is there a dog sympathy card that might express my condolences?

Steve, Duluth, Minnesota

Steve, how thoughtful of you to understand that your grief-stricken colleague has suffered a profound loss. Often, non-dog people don’t realize the death of a dog can be just as traumatic as the passing of a human loved one.

Hallmark does have a line of pet sympathy cards. In this link, the company explains why the pet sympathy card-buyer is such an important customer: http://pressroom.hallmark.com/pet_sympathy.html Also, if you enter "pet" and "sympathy" in any Internet search engine, you will be directed to a wealth of sites offering comfort to the grieving human.

Dog Lady's best suggestion: Barbra Streisand recently released a collection, “The Movie Album,” which includes a poignant song, “Smile,” from Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times.” In the liner notes, Streisand writes of her melancholy mood when she recorded “Smile”:

“It’s funny how great songs somehow relate to everyday life. Two nights before I recorded this, Sammy, my sweet nine-year-old Bijon-Frise had to be put to sleep. When I stepped into the vocal booth, his brave and loyal face was very much on my mind. 'Smile, though your heart is aching.' Dog lovers will understand.”

Why not give a copy of the song, or CD, to your colleague? Perhaps she will find some comfort in the gentle message of “Smile” and in the assurance that even an insulated diva like La Streisand is not immune from the pain of a pet’s passing.

Posted by Dog Lady at October 28, 2003 10:13 AM