Leaving Your Dog Behind

When you are gone your dog misses you so much that his heart is sick. When you are gone his love for you is killing him. When you leave his life stops. He is howling, but no one can hear him.

A photo of a dark brown and white mini-Australian shepherd sitting behind a window looking out.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd is looking out the window. He is watching the neighborhood and waiting for us to come home.

“Rollo go look out the window” is what we tell our dog Rollo when we leave. He runs to the window, and he looks out the window. We used to have two other dogs, a large Leonberger dog called Bronco, and a little Pug named Daisy. Bronco and Rollo were best friends, and he loved his little sister Daisy. They both died and now Rollo is alone. Now he is alone looking out the window when we leave. However, he does not accept any other dogs so there is not much we can do.

Are you leaving your dog to face his despair all by himself?

Are you going to leave your dog at home, sitting by the window all alone waiting for you? He is looking out the window, looking for you. It is like he is in a dark train station at night. There is only emptiness. When you are gone, he is like an orphan, like a stupid lonely kid singing to himself, howling into the emptiness. He does not have a life anymore. After you leave him, he cannot dream. He feels ugly without you. He feels dirty without you. He feels sick without you. Are you abandoning him? You should be happy dogs don’t drink whiskey to comfort themselves.

I wrote the above with the song below in my mind. It is a French song called “Je suis malade…” (I am sick…) by Lara Fabian about a lover leaving his beloved. However, I think it fits the way the dogs seem to feel when you leave them. We listened to it in French class. That’s how I came across it. I am learning French as a hobby. It is the saddest song I’ve ever heard but it is also a very beautiful song, so you may want to get your tissue box out. There are English subtitles.

Sometimes you have to leave your dogs for a little bit, and it is difficult. They are not happy. We cannot get a dog sitter every time we leave for a short bit, but we try to take him with us as much as possible. We are lucky. We have found a very professional dog sitter willing to stay almost 24/7 with our Rollo when we go on vacation. She is a veterinary assistant and Rollo loves her.

French Song Lyrics for « Je suis malade »

Je ne rêve plus, je ne fume plus
Je n’ai même plus d’histoire
Je suis sale sans toi, je suis laid sans toi
Je suis comme un orphelin dans un dortoir

Je n’ai plus envie de vivre ma vie
Ma vie cesse quand tu pars
Je n’ai plus de vie et même mon lit
Se transforme en quai de gare
Quand tu t’en vas

Je suis malade, complètement malade
Comme quand ma mère sortait le soir
Et qu’elle me laissait seul avec mon désespoir

Je suis malade, parfaitement malade
T’arrives on ne sait jamais quand
Tu repars on ne sait jamais où
Et ça va faire bientôt deux ans
Que tu t’en fous

Comme à un rocher, comme à un péché
Je suis accroché à toi
Je suis fatigué, je suis épuisé
De faire semblant d’être heureux quand ils sont là

Je bois toutes les nuits, mais tous les whiskys
Pour moi ont le même goût
Et tous les bateaux portent ton drapeau
Je ne sais plus où aller, tu es partout

Je suis malade, complètement malade
Je verse mon sang dans ton corps
Et je suis comme un oiseau mort quand toi tu dors

Je suis malade, parfaitement malade
Tu m’as privé de tous mes chants
Tu m’as vidé de tous mes mots
Pourtant, moi j’avais du talent avant ta peau

Cet amour me tue, si ça continue
Je crèverai seul avec moi
Près de ma radio comme un gosse idiot
Écoutant ma propre voix qui chantera

Je suis malade, complètement malade
Comme quand ma mère sortait le soir
Et qu’elle me laissait seul avec mon désespoir

Je suis malade, c’est ça, je suis malade
Tu m’as privé de tous mes chants
Tu m’as vidé de tous mes mots
Et j’ai le cœur complètement malade
Cerné de barricades
T’entends, je suis malade

Song lyrics English Translation for “Je suis malade”

I no longer dream, I no longer smoke
I don’t even have a story anymore
I’m dirty without you, I’m ugly without you
I’m like an orphan in a dormitory

I don’t want to live my life anymore
My life ends when you leave
I no longer have a life and even my bed
Transforms into a station platform
When you leave

I’m sick, completely sick
Like when my mother went out in the evening
And she left me alone with my despair

I’m sick, perfectly sick
You arrive, we never know when
You go back, we never know where
And it will be almost two years
That you don’t care

Like a rock, like a sin
I’m clinging to you
I’m tired, I’m exhausted
To pretend to be happy when they are around

I drink every night, but all the whiskeys
To me they taste the same
And all the boats carry your flag
I don’t know where to go anymore, you are everywhere

I’m sick, completely sick
I pour my blood into your body
And I’m like a dead bird when you sleep

I’m sick, perfectly sick
You deprived me of all my songs
You emptied me of all my words
However, I had talent before your skin

This love kills me, if it continues
I will die alone with me
By my radio like a stupid kid
Listening to my own voice that will sing

I’m sick, completely sick
Like when my mother went out in the evening
And she left me alone with my despair

I’m sick, that’s it, I’m sick
You deprived me of all my songs
You emptied me of all my words
And my heart is completely sick
Surrounded by barricades
You hear, I’m sick

Comics about Dogs love for you and you leaving them

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

63 thoughts on “Leaving Your Dog Behind”

  2. Dogs are such sweeties!! Experts say dogs have the emotional intelligence of a 3 year old human, which explains a lot about their attachment issues and capacity for love. Leaving them to run errands and for work is hard. Although they can be trained to enjoy that time with enrichment toys. However what breaks my heart every single day are the owner surrenders at kill shelters (which almost all shelters are whether they state that or not). These owners say it’s not fair to leave the dog alone and lonely for 8 hours while they are at work so they surrender it. But any dog will tell you 8 hours alone on the couch or in a soft bed is a million times better than being abandoned all day and night on a cold cement floor in a shelter full of panicked and screaming dogs only to end up on the Euthanasia list within 24 hours or weeks later. Yes, dogs hate to see you leave every day. But the alternative is much worse. I wish more owners considering surrender for this reason would think this through.

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    1. The emotional intelligence of a 3 year old human. That is quite interesting. You are so right Laura. Leaving your dog at a shelter is a horrible solution and is something I will never understand. Clearly some people should not have had dogs to begin with. That’s why you have to go through an interview before being allowed to buy a Leonberger.

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      1. Exactly!!! You’re absolutely right. And I love that about most rescues. There is an interview process, references are checked, there’s a home check…..and yet…..some people still live in a fantasy world, thinking all dogs at shelters are adopted out immediately to wonderful families, so surrendering their dog is better than the dog being lonely 8 hours every day while they’re at work. The reality is nothing could be further from the truth. Boggles my mind. lol!!

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        1. Leaving them 8 hours per day is not good but obviously much better than dropping them at a shelter. I think some people just don’t want to do the right thing. Sometimes you can find relatives who are willing to take them instead.

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  3. Hello! Thanks for the follow and welcome to my blog!
    Love Leonbergers, but GSDs are my favourite breed, though any dog will always get a fuss from me (unless the teeth are gnashing viciously, I’m not daft!) Love this post and the cartoons. Hope you find something you like and leave a comment or two.

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    1. Thank you so much pensitivity101. It was via Barbara I discovered your site. I assume you mean German Shepherd with GSD. We had a German Shepherd called Baby. She was like a mother to our Leonberger Bronco when he was a puppy. In fact, I am pretty sure she thought it was her puppy. She played with him, was next to him all the time, and defended him fiercely.

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      1. Yes, German shepherd. Maya has tried to pick the occasion puppy up when introduced have licked it all over and checked out the pumbing, so her maternal instinct is pretty strong! We are hoping to let her have a litter and keep one pup. Her ‘boyfriend’ (though not the intended Daddy!) is a cockapoo called Rambo. He’s just over a year old and they adore each other.
        Maya is my third shepherd, but first GSD puppy ( we got her at 13 weeks, so missed some vital weeks as we didn’t know about her) as I love the breed. A previous vet had a Leonberger and he was a real softy…….. but huge! She was tiny, only about 5 feet and I asked if she rode him to work which made her laugh. We knew of another who was taken in to visit the residents of a retirement home. They loved him to pieces. Gentle giants.

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        1. It is great that Maya’s maternal instinct is so strong. Interesting and funny story about the vet’s Leonberger. You are right the Leonbergers are gentle giants. Sorry for the late reply. I’ve been abroad for a while.

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              1. What has pleased us is how even people who have been wary of shepherds have asked to come and say Hi when they have seen her with other people. We have a lady in the next road who had a very bad experience as a child and she physically backed up and shook when she first saw me with Maya. I understood and kept my distance making Maya sit as we chatted, and gradually her confidence has increased. Now she is happy to see Maya and will make a fuss of her, but she is still wary of other shepherds which is to be expected as she doesn’t know them. I am so pleased she’s comfortable with Maya.

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            2. I am so sorry the lady had a bad experience, but it is great that Maya is so obedient and patient. Our Bronco was the same way. He loved getting petted and he loved people but not everyone felt comfortable because of his size.

              I think it is better if people are cautious. Your Shepherd Maya is very friendly but our Rollo is not. He is an anxious dog and people just come up to him and pet him before I even notice them doing it. They think he looks cute, which in their minds means he must be friendly. They just pet him without asking me. Nothing has happened but he doesn’t like it and it make me nervous.

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              1. We always ask before we pet, and if anyone asks us if they can pet Maya, we make her sit and ensure if it’s a child, that Mum/Dad are aware and agreeable. I can understand dogs that feel uncomfortable being fussed by strangers. Kizzy was nervous (the shepherd I had when I met Hubby) and although she was pretty good with people, she wasn’t a tactile dog. My Mum was wary of shepherds until she met the one I inherited with a boyfriend. Big dogs have been given a bad press over the years, and I don’t believe in bad dogs, just bad owners, though obviously there will always be an exception.

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                1. I noticed the “reply” button was missing on our comments so extended the number of replies. I think the temperaments of dogs are inherently different, especially between different breeds. Pugs are calm, chihuahuas less so, and our Rollo’s temperament is very different from that of Bronco and there’s not much we can do about it. However, you can handle them differently. I have had good experience with Shepherds.

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                  1. The breeder we got Maya from breeds for temperament, and from the dogs we saw, it shows. Maya got to play with two ‘potential daddies’ and it was a joy to watch them.
                    All three of my shepherds have been ‘good dogs’, but far from being the same because they were shepherds.
                    When we got Barney (a border collie) we also brought home his brother, but he got so distressed when we closed the front door, we took him back. They found him a home on a working farm and he was in his element. Barney liked to curl up in front of the fire!
                    I’m not a fan of smaller dogs, though some are really cute and I have no issues with any of them. Friends on the boat had a papillon and we called him Thug as he loved everyone and you couldn’t go past their boat without him wanting some fuss. Sadly he was being treated for a crumbling spine when we sold up.
                    It’s nearly all small dogs here, shih tzus, chihuahuas, jack russells, cockapoos, and miniature poodles. Bigger dogs have been arriving so we have whippets and springer spaniels, and recently several GSDs. Maya is sociable with all of them, but the owners of the small ones tend to panic because of her size, which is understandable…….. 36kgs of GSD wanting to play with 3.6 kgs of shih tzu can be a bit daunting!

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                    1. Breeding for temperament is a good idea. That has come naturally for Leonbergers because the original breeder (Heinrich Essig, at the beginning of the 19th century) tried to create a large friendly family dog, so they were friendly and calm from the start. We like both small and big dogs. Our small dogs got along very well with Bronco our Leonberger because he was so tolerant. Our Japanese Chin jumped on Bronco’s stomach and our mini-Australian Shepherd bit his tail, even dangled in it, and walked on top of him without him complaining much.

                      It is great that Maya is also so gentle with small dogs. It is not always the case. Maya sounds like an amazing dog.

                      Border collies and Australian Shepherds are so full of energy. Our Rollo was herding me when I was in the backyard. He was running behind me and nipping my shoes as if I was a sheep. Together we got yard work done. He stopped doing it after a while.

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                    2. Maya is a great support dog for Hubby. She hasn’t got the official paperwork or training as she is a house pet, but for Hubby she is brilliant. She has this natural sense of picking up on something out of sync and recognises if someone has a disability, even if you can’t see it. She is a gem, and we are so blessed to have her.

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  5. Our two have each other but still when we leave it pains them. They are trained to enjoy some crate time with peanut butter, but that is a two hour maximum stay. We have a camera on them and you can see when the time limit is up. We hardly ever leave them alone.

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  7. We had this problem with Dennis, who had pretty bad separation anxiety and was also afraid of strangers, so we couldn’t just have somebody come and stay with him if we went away. (He never quite got over having been neglected and abandoned in the desert as a puppy.) We did manage to go away on vacation a couple of times when we had someone staying with us who Dennis knew well, but for the most part it was either stay home or bring the dog. So we stayed home.

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    1. Yes you are right. They are so happy when you come home and our Japanese Chin he used howl when we came home and it sounded just like as if he was singing. We applauded and howled even more. He was quite proud of his howling.

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  10. I mostly take Roxas with me everywhere , except during the summer ( it’s too hot for him). Otherwise yes he gets to go to drive thrus , hangs out in the car with my fiance while I shop ). He’s pretty much velcro dog . The husky isn’t as bad , she’s more cat like but she will howl when get home .

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    1. That is so nice that Roxas can come with you everywhere. Some dogs handle separation better than others. It is so cute that the huskie is howling when you come home. We used to have a Japanese Chin that did that. He was very proud of his howling.

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          1. Her howl sometimes sounds a bit more gutteral than your average wolf howl 😂 I think it had more in common with a noise from one of dark fantasy monster video games than anything canine 😂 But she’s definitely unique . I do sometimes howl along with her since I think it totally a greeting , but it just sounds so weird , like a yoddle mixed a bear .

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  11. I had a little Pomeranian named Hercules and I usually took him with me if we went out. But there are of course, times that isn’t possible. He hated when he couldn’t come along. I miss him so.

    I love the memes. They had me giggling.

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  12. We have two rescue dogs and they do not like being left at home. That first cartoon is so them! We usually take them with us or if not, make sure one of us is home with them. We even take separate vacations now! The things we do for our fur babies.

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  14. It’s tough in the dog heirarchy world, but they usually work things out on their own.

    Our mailbox is located at the end of the street. Sometimes my wife sticks our dog in his pen a minute while she’s gone. Lulu acts like my wife has been gone for hours. Pretty funny.

    We’ve been having a problem with one of the neighbors for over three weeks. Some nights, the guy leaves and leaves the dog out in a makeshift pen all night. Without exaggerating, the dog has barked more than ten hours without hardly stopping. It’s cruel to the dog, and it affects our sleeep. One night I didn’t sleep at all. I’ve called the police and animal control numerous times, but it keeps happening. (not every night because the guy keeps the dog indoors when he’s home.)

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    1. Some dogs have a lot of separation anxiety. I can understand that the problem with your neighbor is vexing. I feel sorry for the dog and you need to sleep. I wonder what can be done about it. If he is not going out every night he should be able to afford a dog sitter. The way he is doing it is cruel. It is great that you are contacting the police and animal control. Thank you for your interesting comment Pete.

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  15. How wonderful that Rollo now has someone good to look after him when you’re away! Many dogs suffer from separation anxiety. One of my best clients had a little Bichon Frisé, who would go berserk and destroy things when left alone. As a result, he spent a lot of time at my house, where there were other dogs for company. Love the cartoons! 😃 Lara Fabian is popular here in Canada as well as Europe, so I have heard that song before. La chanson est belle et tragique à la fois. 💖

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    1. Thank you so much Debbie. Bichon Frisé is such a cute looking dog. I did not know Lara Fabian was popular in Canada and that you’ve heard the song before. And you speak French too, but then Canada is partially French speaking. Louisiana is also partially French speaking, but it is a funny French. French is rare in Texas but my wife’s parents speak French fluently.

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      1. Lara Fabian is a Belgian/Italian/Canadian citizen and lives in Montreal. Her following in Quebec is huge! My French is very rusty now, but I used to speak it quite well. Not fluently, but enough to get by. I learned Parisian French in school. French-Canadian dialects, known as Québécois and Joual are hard to understand. Yes, Louisiana is different too, using Cajun French and Louisiana Creole. Bonne journée! 🙂

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        1. Wow I never knew that. I always assumed that she was from France. What we are learning is Parisian French but I am not savvy enough to pick up the difference between that French and Canadian French. Not without effort. Louisiana French, that’s easy, in fact it makes me laugh. Merci Debbie et bonne journée à toi aussi.

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  16. Chaplin: “Dennis at the couch one. He says it tasted like shoes.”Java Bean: “Ayyy, I like the taste of shoes! Hmm …”Lulu: “It seems to me the easiest thing to do is for Mama and Dada to live in a motor home and take us with them everywhere, don’t the rest of you agree?”Charlee: “Being able to travel without leaving the house sounds pretty good to me.”

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    1. That’s a great idea, Chaplin, Lulu and Charlee, travel without leaving the house, and you travel with them everywhere. Also, our dog Rollo thinks shoes taste great. Personally, I’ve never eaten shoes, not even with a sauce or spices.

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