Depressed?

[puprock97]

My 12 year old niece is still grieving over the loss of her childhood dog.
A few months before she was born, my sister bought a Labrador Retriever puppy for Casey(my niece)'s half brother. After Casey was born, Sherman (the dog) became more like Casey's dog. She did everything with him. They'd cuddle, he'd sleep in her room, she talked to him, etc. Even after Casey got a puppy of her own, she still always favored Sherman. She referred to him as her best friend. She called him "Ol' man". He was put to sleep on St. Patrick's Day of 2010, and Casey was devastated. She wouldn't talk to anyone at all. She wouldn't let anyone hug her, or try to comfort her. She'd stay in her room for the majority of the day. She cried a little, but she was mainly silent. The only time we'd actually see her was when she'd come down to grab photo albums (containing pictures of Sherman) and a little bit of food. Nowadays, Casey seems better, but still not 100%. Sherman had a small, thin silver chain necklace that he wore under his collar and ever since he died, Casey wears it. She refuses to take it off. She keeps pictures of Sherman everywhere. She has a picture of him that she puts in the drawer of her desk, one that is taped to the wall of her room, one in her wallet, and one that she keeps under her pillow. She keeps his old dog bed in her room (her current dog sleeps on it.). She has Sherman's collar, tons of pictures of him with her, his old toys, and his old brush in a box in her closet. She still has times where she pulls that box out, and she just takes out the toys and the pictures and looks at them for a while. She talks about him every chance that she gets. Her mother brought up the subject of getting another dog, and during every trip we've taken to the animal shelter, she always favors dogs that resemble Sherman.
She carries these two pictures with her :
http://i54.tinypic.com/2rpu0k6.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/153afk4.jpg
Is it normal for her to still be this attached to him?

[puprock97]

She has 2 girls that she is close to, but she doesn't really open up fully to anyone anymore.

[AHP84]

Hey there. I just wanted to chime in with a similar experience I had with the loss of two of my dogs at the age of 13 due to a tragic accident. We had not had these dogs but two years, but both were desperately wanted for years before we found and adopted them into our family. Their names were Jack and Scamp--Jack was my dog and a border collie rescued from the breed's organization. Scamp belonged to my mother, whom she bought from a boder collie breeder halfway across the country. Both dogs were about the same age, and the best of friends with each other, and my mom and I loved the dogs equally (we didn't necessarily see them as "mine" and "hers;" we just referred to them that way because the dogs' bonds were that way with each of us). We adored these dogs.
We came home from running errands one day to find them lying dead in our yard in a light rainstorm. Long story short--my stepdad at the time was drunk (he was an alchololic) and the two dogs were playing together. Scamp's thin nylon collar somehow got wrapped around Jack's lower canine tooth and twisted over it, which began to strangle her while Jack's mouth bled profusely due to the tooth coming loose and him biting his tongue in panicked thrashing. My ex-stepdad thought Jack was killing Scamp, shot Jack and killed him, left Scamp tangled in Jack's mouth, and she strangled to death because he just shot the gun and walked away without bothering to check them. That's what we came home to.
I grieved the loss of those two dogs for well over a year, and by that I mean that any picture of them, any physical memory of them such as their collars, any thought of them--I'd cry. We did get two new border collie puppies two months after Jack and Scamp's death and that did help to divert the grief into two new little bundles of life without forgetting the memories of them. To this day, we still have those two "puppies," lol--they're 13 years old now. So I do think it's a good idea to let your niece find a new puppy or rescue dog that looks like Sherman. The two puppies we got after Jack and Scamp's death were the same black and white colors, so there is something to be said about helping a memory of a loved one survive through grief by adding someone new to love who bears some resemblence.

[RockRose]

I think letting her get a dog that seems very similar to Sherman would be a good idea.  I don't sense she has a lot of friend contact - does she have a couple close girlfriends?

[adgal]

I think it's probably pretty normal.  I would make sure she knows you are all there for her, but let her handle this in her own way.  I also love animals, and when I had to put my cat of 18 years down, it was almost like losing a child for me.  It took me a very long time to get over it.  I think she sounds like a sweet sensitive young lady.  I also think you are wonderful aunt for being concerned and wanting to make sure she is ok.  Just keep in mind, when we lose someone or something that precious to us, it takes time to heal.  She'll get there.  Just keep being there for her.

[puprock97]

She has a dog right now. She's had this current dog for about 3 years now. Her grandpa also has another Labrador Retriever that Casey seems to love more than anything in this world, aside from her grandpa.

[margypops]

The sooner she has another pet the better ..yes I think its normal to grieve a loss ..it takes time maybe there has been a lot of talk about in in the family that has reinforced the feelings .I do not deal with grief of losing animals well, it took me 20 years till my kitty found me to have another. I think that she could use having a new pup in her life ..

[melipops]

Hi, i think she is just grieving in her own way. We as adults probably don't feel the same but imagine if something we always had taken away from us. you might want to take her to see you Gp just to make sure there is nothing else wrong with her. Poor child. Take Care