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Heartbroken Dog Refuses To Leave Her Human’s Casket After His Funeral

Written by: Molly Weinfurter
Molly Weinfurter is a writer for iHeartDogs, and she’s passionate about helping animals in need. She volunteers for Bailing Out Benji and a local dog rescue.Read more
| Published on September 30, 2021

Death is a difficult thing for anyone to grasp. But while humans understand the concept of death, dogs likely don’t know why humans and animals disappear. One dog called Lessie, also referred to as Lassie by some sources, didn’t know how to cope with her human’s death. She shared many years of her life with her human father, so she didn’t understand when he disappeared one day.

However, when she attended his funeral, she could tell that he was in the casket. The confused and heartbroken pup stayed by the coffin for the entire service and refused to part with it afterward.

Hearse after funeral
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The Most Devastated Family Member

Lessie’s story gained lots of attention on social media once a photo of her began circulating. It showed her sitting in the back of a vehicle right beside her dad’s casket. Even after a beautiful funeral, poor Lessie still didn’t understand he was gone. She wanted to keep sitting beside him forever.

Sweet Lessie rode in the back of the hearse all the way to the cemetery where her human was going to be buried. She’s heartbroken to go on in life without him, but it’s clear that she loved him more than he could ever know.

Dog stays by casket
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The funeral directors at Onoranze Funebri GF in Italy assured everyone that this event wasn’t staged. Lessie surprised everyone with her emotional reaction, so they let her spend as much time near the casket as possible.

Time to Say Goodbye

Sadly, that ride in the hearse was the last time Lessie got to be close to her human’s casket. But she’ll have memories of him that will live on for the rest of her life. Her story inspired many people, proving that the bond between a human and a dog is truly something magical. After all, dogs are known to be very comforting during funerals and other difficult times.

Sad black lab

“God bless this dog. They are man’s best friend and they never forget their owners even if they have been bad,” one person commented on Facebook.

Lessie is now living with some of her human’s family members so she can have some consistency. Yet, she will forever miss her dad, who was there for her through every up and down in her life. It will take her a long time to grieve and move on from this loss, but there are plenty of humans willing to love and support her every step of the way.

H/T: fascinatingthings.net
Featured Image: Facebook

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