RIP Max

One of the foster dogs in our program crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Thursday. He had separation anxiety so bad that he would have to been essentially kept comatose. The more humane choice was to help him over the Rainbow Bridge. This brings up a point to me about SA.

Max was adopted by his orginal family when he was a puppy. Max spent his whole life living with another dog and was never left alone. His doggy buddy suddenly passed away and Max's whole world tipped. He never knew what it was to be alone. Max never knew if he would be safe again, he never knew if his people were coming back because he had never been properly socialized.
Many people think that if they get a second dog, they don't have to spend time to work with them or do the same things they did with their first dog to get them used to living on their own. This is by far one of the worst things you can do. When the first dog crosses over, the second dog doesn't have any of the skills to cope on his own. This can lead to severe separation anxiety and in extreme cases can end in a situation like Max was experiencing. While dogs are pack animals, that doesn't mean that they don't need to learn how to function on their own and learn proper behaviors on their own as well.

Moral of the story: Please socialize your dogs when they're puppies. Honor Max and make sure your dog doesn't have to go through the same terror and anxiety that he did. Take the time to train your dog, it's the best investment you can make.

RIP Max