<p>We recently Netflixed (is that a verb?) the movie 8 Below, which is based on a real life story. It’s about eight sled dogs in the Antarctic that had to be left behind in the face of a brutal storm and how they survived for six months on their own. Their trainer never gave up on them and vice versa. The bond and loyalty you see between some people and their animals is incredible. S will definitely be missed by our dog next year. This week, with both kids gone for the summer, you can already see how he misses them!</p>
<p>This is by far the best and most interesting thread I’ve encountered on CC.</p>
<p>My dog was never that attached to me, so my departure for college was met with nothing but ambivalence from him. However, long periods without my parents proved difficult for doggy. He stopped eating, and was quite listless. The solution to doggy’s depression was simple, and can be found in the refrigerated foods section at your local grocery store. Scrambled eggs with a touch of ketchup perked him right up.</p>
<p>Though not generally too “catty,” our dog had an impressive ability to hold grudges. He would give mom the cold paw for several days after returning from her adventures, and on one occassion, he backed away and growled when mom went for the belly rub. Ouch!!!</p>
<p>Anyway good food, lots of exercise, and ample attention should help to reduce some of the withdrawal anxiety accompanying the loss of a beloved master/mistress.</p>
<p>My family is getting a new puppy the week before i leave. i’m so worried that he won’t know who i am and brush me off when i get back for fall break.</p>
<p>dadguy,</p>
<p>Great suggestions. Any more?</p>
<p>Seriously, our younger kids (the two dogs) adapted quite well to our D’s departure. </p>
<p>Speaking about dogs, keep in mind that they are the ultimate suck ups. (I get lessons for work from them, but have yet to master the whole body butt wag…) Given that everything they do ultimately revolves around meeting their needs (you think dog training is for the dog? right. It’s the dog teaching us how to communicate…), I’ve found they’re pretty good at finding the right buttons to push for whomever they think will be the easiest touch. And, of course, their new target will love it.</p>
<p>CMB720, I got a puppy while my kids were at college and it took about 5 minutes for the dog to decide they were the most wonderful people ever when they came home, so don’t worry. Just come in with treats in your pockets!</p>
<p>Im surprised it took 5 minutes DMD
my dog is attached to whomever looks like a likely candidate to throw a tennis ball.</p>
<p>We got a little pug puppy this year while my brother was at college and gave doggy one of his old shoes so he would leave ours alone. When my brother came home the first time since we got the dog, doggy nearly had a heart attack because he was sooo excited that the giant shoe was home! Our dog loves absolutely everyone, though. </p>
<p>I doubt that he’ll care too much when I leave since he’s most attached to my mom and dad (I’m just the one that plays with him and rubs his belly when he’s bored), but I’ll probably bring back a little toy or treat every now and then just in case he’s mad at me.</p>
<p>My cat likes me most, then my mom, then my grandmother. She doesn’t like my dad much. My grandmother won’t be here when I leave for college, and my mother is always working…how do I get her to like my dad? And will she still like me after I come home again?</p>
<p>Sweet/sad post.</p>
<p>Everytime our dogs see us packing for any kind of trip they get noticably “sad”. When the kids leave for college they fret for the day and then return to their routines. When the kids come home for breaks, they will either turn their backs (first years) and refuse to come see or as they do now just express their happiness their boy or girl is home as the dogs have learned their “owners” are only gone for limited times. </p>
<p>For the kids it is hard as well. They go away with plenty of pictures and they get updates on the dogs along with the rest of the family.</p>
<p>Do you really think animals become that emotionally attached?</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - I love animals, and I have had about 7 different kinds over the years from cats to rats. I’ve just never seen them as showing that kind of attachment. Certainly they might dislay some sadness if their owner left them, but I wouldn’t think it would actually be debilitating as long as someone else is capable of taking care of them well during your absence.</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s more of an issue of the owner letting go and being apart from their pets more than it really is for the pets themselves?</p>
<p>I had a Caique (species of parrot) in the shop that was very attached to some of the older girls that had helped with his baby feedings. He sulked when they left for college, although he was attached to me and some of the other staff – but the funniest thing was the attitude he displayed when they came home for the holidays. This darling bird who had never bitten anyone, bit his favorite person hard enough to make her bleed. </p>
<p>Just because our animals don’t communicate in English words – don’t assume they don’t have emotions. A lot of the acting out they they do is emotion-based.</p>
<p>We have 3 cats and they all love my son, but Diana adores him. Whenever he’d go out anywhere Diana would sit by the door and cry. I was really worried she would never adjust to his being away. I’d tell her little lies, like he went to get a pack of gum or to buy a newspaper. She was inconsolable. Finally I took to carrying her around with me like a baby. She’s better now, but when he comes home it happens all over again. Animals do have emotions, they get attached, they pine for their human. I leave some of his clothes here and there, she likes to sleep on one of his sweatshirts in the den where they hang out. They say you’ve never been loved until you’ve been loved by a Birman. They get very attached to one person. Poor baby, I really feel for her.</p>
<p>Absolutely…dogs and cats can become emotionally attached. I do believe it has a lot to do with their home and their people.</p>
<p>We once had four lovely indoor cats…all strays or “discards”. They were the most loyal band of kitties imaginable. After I was hospitalized for major surgery, then rehospitalized for a related emergency, our guys (actually 3 girls and a guy) stood watch over me as I recouperated. One would guard the window, one would lay on the bed with me, and the other two would flank the doorway. They would stay there all day long (with minor potty breaks) every day until I was able to get around on my own.</p>
<p>Also, our current dog…a year old rescue one we’ve had only 3 months is so attached that she will either wail, stare out the window, or sit attentively by the door until her beloved one returns.</p>
<p>It is truly amazing how “tuned in” these furry little people are. That’s one of the many reasons that pet ownership (I prefer to call it stewardship) is so very rewarding.</p>
<p>When our only child leaves for college, we intend to take our dog on the trip so that she can see where he will be. When he calls home, I’ll have him talk to her so that she can hear his voice. And, as others have said, we’ll leave some well worn clothing around for her to snuggle with. I know it will be a traumatic time for her, but we will help fill the void with lots of walks, play, and cuddling.</p>
<p>Now I know this may sound heartless but, IT’S A CAT. IT will adjust.
And I am someone who has always owned cats and have had many with various personalities.They all like whoever feeds them.</p>
<p>There is another, somewhat related, issue worth thinking about.</p>
<p>Not only can there be problems when a young person goes off to college leaving a pet behind, there can also be problems if the family acquires a new pet during the student’s absence.</p>
<p>While I was at college, my family acquired a Doberman Pinscher puppy. When I came home for breaks, the dog never accepted me as a family member. It would growl when I approached it, and it never let me touch it. As far as the dog was concerned, I was a visitor and not to be trusted.</p>
<p>Because the dog was young and playful (= destructive), my parents left it to sleep in our relatively indestructible kitchen at night, with a gate across the doorway so that it couldn’t get to the other, less dogproof parts of the house. This meant that I couldn’t get snacks at night – the dog wouldn’t let me into the kitchen! From the dog’s point of view, I suppose this made sense. It was just protecting its territory against an intruder. But from my point of view, it was a real nuisance.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m glad our doggy loves absolutely everyone. I’d hate to have to tip-toe around the house because of him.</p>
<p>Here’s my story:</p>
<p>When I left for college, my golden retriever was ten and a half. She started to slow down when I left and lost the ability to jump onto beds and whatnot. Arthritis crept up over the first month I was gone just like that. When I moved back in after three horrible months at my first school, my dog seemed to be ready to go. However, she perked back up over time and once Christmas (her least favorite time and also my most stressful time) had passed, she started to get better. The arthritis isn’t as bad, and while she still can’t jump, at least I don’t have to drag her up the stairs like I did around Christmas. The lethargy she had when I was gone has also passed. Today she is a healthy dog and I hope there’s a few good years left in this old puppy.</p>
<p>I should point out that without me around, there was nobody home with her between 8:00 AM and 6:30 PM. With me at HS, it was nobody between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM, meaning she could eat earlier and had someone around for a lot longer. At college (the one I go to now that I commute to), she sees a lot of me since I always come home to eat. This semester I have all AM classes so in case something happens I’ll be around for her in the afternoon…you can never be too safe with ancient dogs.</p>
<p>Okay, if you think you dog won’t miss you, well, then you don’t really know your dog, or spend much time with it or care much about it</p>
<p>True pet lovers understand that pets have attachments, loyalties, and love, whatever the sceptics think</p>
<p>Cats are odd creatures, but they are loyal as well</p>
<p>Vacationing Woman Thinks Cats Miss Her
January 24, 2001 | Issue 3702 </p>
<p>VERO BEACH, FLAnnette Davrian, a 45-year-old Cedar Rapids, IA, bank teller, is spending her vacation time in a delusional haze this week, somehow managing to convince herself that her cats actually miss her. </p>
<p>Enlarge Image</p>
<p>Annette Davrian with cats Buttons and Bonkers.
“Buttons is so sensitive, I just know she’s scared and frightened without her Mommy by her side,” Davrian told uninterested relatives Monday, just hours after arriving in Florida. “And Bonkers gets so cranky when he doesn’t get his morning treats. I hope they’ll be able to handle this emotionally. I’ve always gone to great lengths to assure them that they’re loved, but they’ve never been left alone this long before. If they think I’ve abandoned them, I’d never be able to forgive myself.” </p>
<p>Animal behaviorists agree that cats are incapable of feeling sadness over an owner’s absence, asserting that their only reaction to such an event would be a brief adjustment period to claim household territory previously thought to be the owner’s. </p>
<p>Davrian, who has lived alone since the death of her mother nine years ago, has considered cutting her vacation short because of the cats’ nonexistent longing for her to return. </p>
<p>“Those poor, precious kitties,” she told a man in an elevator. “I’m all they’ve got in this world. What will they do without me?” </p>
<p>According to coworker Phil Gross, Davrian began worrying about her cats’ imaginary sadness over her Florida trip nearly three weeks before leaving. On Jan. 8, Davrian expressed concern to Gross that the cats might not sufficiently “bond” with a stranger entrusted with their care. Based on this worry alone, she delayed her trip for two weeks, paying a large rescheduling fee for her plane ticket. </p>
<p>“She asked me to look after the cats while she was gone,” neighbor Janet Pullman said. “I said sure, figuring I’d just have to feed them. Turns out, she wanted me to go in there three times a day and stay at least 20 minutes each time so the cats would feel ‘adequately socialized.’ Then she hands me a list of things to do that’s, like, 40 items long.” </p>
<p>Pullman admitted that she has not followed the elaborate instructions, merely filling up the cats’ food and water bowls when they are empty. </p>
<p>“I just dump some Purina in the bowl, and I’m gone,” Pullman said. “And do the cats give a ****? No, they do not. Why? Because they’re cats.” </p>
<p>Hoping to ease the pain and loneliness of her asocial, predatory pets, Davrian has left numerous long messages on her answering machine, claiming that the cats will appreciate hearing her voice. She also wrapped one of her sweaters around a pillow before leaving so Buttons and Bonkers would ‘have a bit of me to snuggle with,’ unaware that the cats’ motivation for ‘snuggling’ is to maintain body temperature, not to feel emotionally connected to their food provider. </p>
<p>As a supplement to the answering-machine messages, Davrian left the clock radio playing in the bathroom “to keep the little ones company.” Though the cats could not care less about the radio, the same cannot be said of neighbor Bob Franz, 49, whose bathroom shares a heating vent with Davrian’s. </p>
<p>“I once heard [Davrian] say that [Bonkers] will get lonely without a human voice around to make him feel reassured,” Franz said. “But the thing just sits in the window and watches birds all day, just the way it did before she left, and just the way it’ll keep on doing after she gets back, every day until one of the two of them dies. Meantime, the damn radio yabbers on all day and night. That radio’s probably more aware that the woman’s gone than Bonkers.” </p>
<p>The Florida excursion is not the first time Davrian has ruined her leisure time fretting about the cats. Since 1996, she has failed to enjoy 219 activities or excursions, including two trips to Lake Winnepesaukee, a visit to a local botanical garden, 23 movies, and three dinnerseach of which she spent worrying about being “out of phone contact in case something goes wrong.” </p>
<p>Davrian could not be reached for additional comment, as she had just cut short a sailing trip in order to, as brother-in-law Don Koechley said, “make sure the damn cats are okay.”</p>
<p><a href=“The Onion | America's Finest News Source.”>The Onion | America's Finest News Source.;
<p>I sure don’t think much of those “animal behaviorists”. When my father died, his cat ran to the window every evening at 5:30 (when he used to come home), sat and howled mournfully. This went on for about 6 months. She (the cat) also would spend the days curled up on my father’s shoes in his closet, purring as if consoling herself. The cat previously had never spent any time in the closet. Sure seemed to us like she grieved.</p>