ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with reflections on dogs. Their correspondence provides us with a glimpse into the ways they were comforted by their dogs during this extremely difficult period of their lives. The chapter focuses on the unique ways dogs have of befriending us and why losing them is so painful. It presents some thoughts about losing own dogs, one in childhood and the other as an adult. The chapter provides a clinical example of a more complicated bereavement. Sigmund Freud's friendship with Marie Bonaparte had many facets. She was his analysand, his friend, as well as a financial benefactor. Their shared love of dogs can only have strengthened the sense of simpatico that existed between them. Research confirms that relationships with dogs can have a salutary effect on our health and ability to self-regulate. The chapter concludes with some observations about the void that is left when a dog dies.
