Dogs grieve. Tommy will be watched over by the whole town now. Lump in the throat time.

We now know pets miss us as much as we miss them.

St. Francis of Assisi would smile at this.

The late Supreme Court Justice, Learned Hand, once said "Dogs give us more loyalty than we deserve".

Conditioned reflex. Tommy is responding to Cardinal Pavlov in the absence of orders. If you don´t read the story, you won´t know that he´s responding to a ringing bell.

If you like this story you should see "Hachi" (2009) with Richard Gere.

Nonsense, #5. I did read the story, and have shepherds of my own. They are remarkable dogs. And, #6, Hachi is one of my favorite films!

Our pets miss us when we just go to the grocery store.

It is so nice to read a sweet story like this, amidst all of the upsetting Obama stories! Thanks for posting.

Our family had a terrier mix, Fritz, (our German grandma named him). A little black and white mutt, he was fiercely protective of us. Dad was the alpha male in the house and when he wrestled with my brothers, Fritz was on his side, nipping at the boys. But if Dad admonished one of us girls, Fritz would get between us. Fritz hated being left behind. Once we had a neighbor look after him while we were out of town for a couple of days. Fritz wouldn´t let him in the house to feed him. When we got home Fritzy was standing on the kitchen table - something he had never done before - looking out the window. Another time we left him with relatives when we went on vacation. As soon as he could escape from their house he took off in the direction our car had gone. I don´t see anything Pavlovian here.
Ramona (the Pest)

Pets do love us, I am very sure of that and it´s not just a conditioned response.

Cats also. When my mother was ill, at my house, she and a cat I had recently taken in spent a lot of time together. After she died, the cat left home. One year later I found the cat at my door. I let it in and it went from room to room looking for my mother. Not finding her, the cat went to the door, I let it out and never saw it again.

I have a family of ten rescued Huskies, and each of them is as important in my life as my grandkids are. They trained me to not fuss about hair all over the house, and some muddy tracks on the floor. I still miss the ones that have crossed the rainbow bridge years ago, but I know we will all be together again in the future--as will Tommy and Mrs. Lochi.

Wonderful story. I too have GSD´s, and I have no problem at all believing Tommy is missing his owner.

Geez #5, trying petting a dog once in a while...

My cat waits for me by the door every day. No matter if I am early or late, she is there waiting for me. My beloved dogs of childhood loved me - I know they did and I loved them too.

#5, you obviously didn´t grow up with dogs in your life. Most dogs are loyal to a fault and when the bond with someone it is probably the strongest cross species bond in the world. The dog may indeed by responding to the sound of the bells, but that is only because he associates them with his beloved mistress. Dogs also have no sense of time. They live in the present, so as far as Tommy is concerned, he last saw Maria just a little while ago. My wife has four little curly haired Barboncinos (Italian Poodles). When she goes out, they all wait at the gate for her to come home, even if she is gone all day. When I come home I know my wife is out because I see their four little heads ressting on the bottom rung of the gate staring out waiting for her. When she is sick, they all sleep around her bed on the floor as if they are protecting her, fierce in their loyalty, even though they only weigh about 3-4 pounds apiece.

Even if I´m only out running errands, when the cat is outside, she will deliriously roll back and forth on the sidewalk until I get out of the car. She acts thrilled to see me - but I suspect it is because I´m back & she won´t have to figure out how to get the cat food box open by herself!

If you truly want a friend, get a dog. That is all.

My goal in life - to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.

My 15 year old Belgian Shepherd is my best friend ever. Period.

I believe our pets (and all animals for that matter) get an automatic pass to Heaven when they die.

If Heaven doesn´t have all the pets we´ve had in our lifetime then I´m not so sure I´d like to go.

Following on #10´s comments regarding girls, our "No. 1 Son", half Shar Pei and half Boxer, once "defended" me (in his mind) when he was about a year old. He is very stubborn (Shar Pei). He was on our bed and wouldn´t get off to go to his crate for the night. I was under the covers, and my husband came toward him to lift him off the bed. Snickers growled, I mean really growled, and literally threw himself over me because I believe he thought my husband was coming to harm me. We laugh about it now, and it´s never happened again in the eight years we´ve had him, but it does show that if dogs really feel someone is threatening you, they will come to your defense.

Maybe he and his master are still going to church together. You just can´t see her.

23 Beautiful.
This is one of the best postings- uplifting.
My Russian Blue passed recently- he looked after me when my husband passed away until I remarried.
Our animal friends are very much part of the fabric of our lives- God Bless them.

The headline and the comments are enough for me right now to bring tears to my eyes. I love my little dogs so much and I know that love is returned. I don´t believe you will find any breathing thing on this planet that has the loyalty of your dog. Thanks for posting and for the comments. I will read the article tomorrow.