OMG! this jsut makes me cry. i cnat imagine being healthy and having to go through something like that. I am so sorry. I dont know what to say just know that reading this makes me so sad and even though i dont know you my heart aches for you and your family. there is nothing that i cans say to make you feel better and i know you will never feel better. iit is my nature to try and fix things but i cnat fix this one and i am so sorry i cant. . the dog! I hope that dog get steak for a while. its amazing how dogs just knw things and know what to do. the dog protected her til the very end. it shows how much she loved your mom and that had to be because yor mom loved her too. and i see that you got the love of animals form your mom. and that is yours to keep forever. treasure that. How is the dog doing? i know that dogs mourn too. my queensland heelr ws killed by some asshole that ried to break into our house. and his companion, sage, a border colie has been mourning since it happened in June. she wont go outside anymore and she used to ba an outside dog. she lays around all day. wont play, has become grouchy with the other dogs and jsut looks so sad. we try to give her as much attention as possible but you can tell that she just wants to be left alone sometimes. i wish i could send the dog some hugs and lots of petting and kisses. Your Mom spent her last minutes with someone she loved . we never plan nor want our loved ones to die. as this was unexpected i cnat imagine how hard this was for you and your family. i still have my Mom. she ahs beast cancer so i know she will not be around foever but she is still here and at least we have that seed planted that we will lose her someday, you dint . it sounds like your mom was healthy and sitll taking walks with the dogs. please accept my condolences, thoug i know that is never going to be enough.

From what I understand, old Ruby wasn't doing very well right after my mom died; she had quit eating. I am not sure if she is doing any better now (every time I talk to my sister Deanna, who is down there, we have to talk about other things). Poor old dog was trying to protect my mom even though she has almost no teeth.
I was told by several people that dogs and cats don't feel emotion because they are too mentally limited. That is crap. Anyone who has seen a momma dog with her pups knows that dogs can feel. Anyone who has seen how happy a dog is when his human companion comes home knows that dogs can feel. Cats are a bit harder, but they too show that they love their human companions with their purring (and Squeak shows how devoted she is to Alyssa...even though Alyssa hasn't been here for a month, Squeak still lies in front of Alyssa's bedroom door, waiting for her).
I feel very sorry for Ruby right now. She was a good and faithful companion to my mom, and I know she misses her.

Hll yea, dogs can feel emotions. or at least my dogs can. My Sage is still in mourning, her buddy Dallas died in June. She is sad and lethargic all the time. she sleeps all the time and you can tell by he expression that she is sad. Anakin , one of our min pins is a worry wart. anytime anyone is sick he sits beside them and licks them and cuddles next to them and sometimes he whines. my Ruger Dog, the big Dobie also shows emtions. he hates me leaving the room and if he cant be ear me he cries out. even howls sometimes when i leave the house. and when i had the flu in December he was right there beside me all the time. even had to bring his food to my bed.