A 13-year-old dog has been grappling with heartache following the sudden loss of one of her beloved owners, and it was only at the funeral that she found a way to bid her farewell.
Meet Sadie, a charming Border Collie/Dalmatian-shepherd mix, who was granted the opportunity to attend the funeral of Julia Beaulieu’s husband. Tragically, Julia’s husband had passed away unexpectedly due to a heart attack just a few months prior, leaving their faithful dog, Sadie, in a state of mourning.
A poignant photograph taken at the funeral captures the raw and tender emotions of the moment between Sadie and Julia by the casket, a scene that speaks volumes about the profound bond they shared.
Julia Beaulieu shared her touching story with Global News, revealing that Sadie had been welcomed into their family when she was a mere 8 weeks old. The sudden loss of her husband left both Sadie and the family in shock. When the individuals came to take his body away, Sadie was there, trying to rouse him from his slumber.
As Beaulieu recalled: “Once they stopped working around him, she came and she laid with him and pushed at his hand almost as if to get him to pet her. She was daddy’s girl, she was his and he was hers”.
The loss of her beloved owner was devastating for Sadie. She would often wait by the window, anticipating her dad’s return from work, but alas, he never did. The heartache weighed heavily on her, leading to a 10-day period where she refused to eat, causing her to lose weight.
Julia Beaulieu decided to bring Sadie to her husband’s memorial service, hoping that witnessing the casket and the final farewell could bring some sense of closure to the grieving pup.
“I let her stand up and look (in the casket), and she had almost a look of shock on her face”, Beaulieu recounted. “She stood there… and was quite puzzled by it, and then she just seemed to relax and just stood there with me.”
The moment was captured in a photograph by the funeral company’s CEO and later shared with the family. Beaulieu shared that the photograph provides her with a “little comfort”, knowing that it brought some solace to Sadie. Remarkably, after the funeral, Sadie began eating again, marking a small step toward healing her wounded heart.
This touching narrative underscores the depth of the bond between humans and their beloved pets and serves as a reminder of the profound impact these animals can have on our lives, even during times of grief and loss.