This was Satin's best friend ( Major, our Mixed Lab rescue) for over 10 years.
While living in Dandridge, Tennessee, we rescued Major as an abandoned 5-6 month old puppy who had been shot, starving, and hit by a vehicle. A neighbor told us about him the day the dog warden was going to come and put him down. The poor baby had been living on his own for weeks in the lower hills near where we lived and we didn't even know it. We walked to where he was last spotted by our neighbor and found this sweet, adorable black puppy so full of love and happiness, despite all he had been through. He required vet care for his injuries, and he became a loving member of our home for 6 years prior to Satin's arrival.
You see Satin, came to us when she was 6 months old too, and I must admit she being a chow chow is unlike any other dog we ever had! Satin is not a rescue, but was purchased from a friend who discovered she was allergic to her, so she kept poor Satin in the backyard or on a back-porch all the time. We asked to purchase Satin so my friend would not sell her back to the breeder, who may just use her for breeding purposes!
When Satin came to us, our sweet goofy Major wanted to greet her with enthusiasm, but it took some adjustment, and time before the two of them bonded and became best friends. The chow in Satin made it seem that she could take or leave having a companion. But that was latter proven wrong when we lost Major to illness.
Major passed on to the rainbow bridge in 2007 (at the age of 15 yrs.), leaving Satin devastated. She would not eat a bite of food for well over a week, and laid around as if she was ill. They say dogs are just animals without much feeling , understanding, or much remembrance. I feel Satin proved this theory to to be false.
Almost a year after Major's passing, my husband, myself, and Satin were on a drive for leisure purposes and drove by a field with a black lab and it's owner/companion. The lab looked exactly like our own Major we had lost the previous year. I casually mentioned to my husband as we drove by how it looked like Goofer/Major. To our astonishment, Satin noticed too!! Satin jumped to an alert state! Put her paws on the window (which she never does), and began crying a cry we had never herd her make before! She kept looking at this dog (that resembled her long lost companion) and looking back and forth at us in sheer panic! She seemed to be asking asking why we would not STOP and get him! We just kept driving until the dog was out of sight, even though Satin didn't take her eyes off it until it was gone.
What do you do? We told her, "all gone" and tried to act casual thinking that would take her mind off of this other dog. But for a few more days after that she seemed to revert back to a mourning state and had very active dreams with whimpers, and cries. She also didn't eat again for a few days no matter what we offered her :-(
So let this be a lesson to you all!
They are not stupid!
They do remember!
And don't let anyone ever tell you any different! They Do LOVE!
