[frogger]

My sister lost her dog to a car accident. Damion was a 3yr old German Shepard who was hit by a small truck a week ago this past Friday. We live with her and her man (we being me and my hubby) and would like to get our own dog. We have asked her if she was alright with us getting a dog and she said yes but to wait, she's not ready to have another dog in the house. But how long do you wait? I have been to the local humane shelter quite a few times already and did find a pup that I loved but saw it yesterday in the arms of a new owner at the pet store. I want to get another dog asap as I have all the time in the world to bond and train, but I also want to give her time to heal.

Please help if you can.

[Dakota Spirit]

This is a bit of an odd situation being as you are waiting for your own healing process but instead someone else who lives in the house.

Have you tried having a very low key conversation with her recently? It may be painful for her to discuss it but that is really the only way you are going to get a clear idea as to when you have the 'all clear' for dog shopping. Being as this is also her house, you have to make sure that she is completely ok with the decision first.

Also remember that it has only been a week. I imagine your sister is still very sad.

[RonE]

My wife adored our big lab and when we put him down, at age 14, she was not at all anxious to get another dog.

It was time (about two months later) when SHE spotted a dog she thought we should go meet. Her name was Hurricane Esther.

And when my daughter emailed me to tell me about a chocolate lab pup she thought we should see (named Molly) I told her to talk to her mother and see if she could arrange a meeting.

Things go smoother when you can make the other person think it's her idea.

[SpeckledBlue]

Lets see i waited about over a month before i got my 2nd blue-heeler.After my first one passed away-over the summer.I cryed and cryed-That dog did everything with me.My grandperants got a call about some heeler pups that the Amish had that were pretty.Well,i was not really looking for a puppy-and i did not go down there with them-they ended up geting a blue-colored female..she came from a litter of 9.At first i did not know about this-but after i saw her i fell in love.I still miss my first dog-wished i still had her,but i know things happend for a resaon.

[doxies13isenough]

Everyone is different. For Me it was about a month. We had two dachshunds one was 13 and the other 4. Well I knew it was time but I was still devastated when Ms GIGI passed. I was really missing her, and had no thoughts of getting another dog. Scooter made my mind up for me. He was mourning her even more than I was he would do nothing but look for her. I had to do something. So a friend of mine had a litter of Dachshunds I went with a heavy heart and came home with a joyful healing heart. Scooter was so happy. This was three years ago I still get teary when I think and talk about GIGI but it taught me we still have to go on living.

[cvcraven]

I'm struggling with this right now. I lost my dog last week and I was pretty much like "uh uh, not going to happen" I just didn't think I could handle the hurt again. The thing is, I miss the companionship so much! I miss having something beside me on the couch to hug & pet ( my kids are past the stage where they want Mommy to hug on them). I miss having someone to talk to.. You know? Also, I worry that if I wait to long, I won't get another. Does that make sense?

[digits mama]

Thats really the one thing that proves to me that God really thought it out before he created mankind. He allows us to heal and deal with pets. Life is full of obstacles and boundaries. We suffer through the best and worst of emotions. We have leaps of faith from time to time. Whether we lose a pet or a freind. Its all the same really. But the one gift we have is the ability to love and to share that love. You can love another dog or human. Its a matter of choice. Death is immenient. But you still have the choice to do it again. Having a pet benifits me becasue I have those hugs and that companionship I thrive for. Having pets is miracle grow for the soul.

[Mdawn]

I think its a personal choice and varies from person to person. We lost our Basset Hound mix October 25 and we have no plans to get another dog any time soon. We have 2 other dogs though besides him and I really just want to spend this time working with my 2 other dogs as both are still very young. If I felt like I had the time and money to devote to a new dog at this point, I would get one right now.

However, about 5 years ago though we had a cat named Hank that we had PTS due to stomach cancer. He was our only cat at the time. We really had to force ourselves to wait to get another. Really we wanted to get another right away because we just missed Hank and we were still very grief stricken and weren't handling his absence very well. However, I didn't think that this was a good point to bring in another cat until I settled to the fact this Hank himself wasn't here anymore. Meaning I didn't want to get another cat and expect it to act like Hank and I didn't want to treat the new cat like I treated Hank. I knew that just having lost him that I would probably do that. It wasn't fair to our future new cat. So after about 2 or 3 months of living without a cat, we decided that we were finally ready for a new one. I really think that I made the best decision for myself and Max (new cat) by waiting. By that point I was past the worst part of the grief and Max helped me with the rest.

So really I think that it depends on the person and the circumstances at the time.

[erikh06]

When my dog Missy died, it was less than a week before I decided adopting a new dog would be the best thing for me. Sady helped me though that difficult time.

Now that my new dog Sady is dieing of cancer and doesn't have long, I'm forced to think about this again. What am I going to do this time? I really don't know... all I know is that without a buddy I'm very alone. The past 24 hours or so Sady has been away from me at the vet, and it's been the lonelyest 24 hours or my life.

I don't like thinking about getting another after... so soon, and while Sady is still with me... I'm not even going to make arrangements for a little while because other than it really hurting me, I don't think it's fair to her to plan for after her death while she is still alive...

[lovemygreys]

The grieving process is very personal and varies from person to person. It could be days or years.

Also, PLEASE don't buy your dog from a pet store. Rescue from the shelter but do NOT buy from a pet store.

[WAgal]

We had to have our only dog put down in August due to old age. Scout was a blacl lab. It's just my husband and I bumbling around our house and we felt so empty and lost. A couple months later I started looking at shelters, etc. online. I think Scout would be happy that we got a new pup, this time a female yellow lab.

You can never replace a dog. I still think about Scout everyday.

You are in a tricky situation living with another couple. Is it actaully her/their home? If it is, she probably has the right to decide if she wants another dog or not. Hopefully the 2 of you can work something out.

[Anela]

I agree that each case is different.

When I lost my 14 year old dog last January, I was left with two others.

Things were a mess and getting worse by the day. I started looking about one month after the event, but was told by my vet to wait at least 3 months to allow old dogs sent to completely leave the house.

I did this, took my time looking, and brought home a 4 month old pup,

Anela

[FilleBelle]

With both of my pets who have passed, I have felt ready within weeks to bring a new furry friend into the house. I live with family, too, though and it took my father almost three years to be ready for another dog after our last one died.