Police Dog Shows Animals Grieve Too

Last week we shared an article about author Barbara J. King. Barbara is a professor of anthropology and a commentator on NPR’s science blog, 13.7. And her book, How Animals Grieve, makes a powerful case for the presence of love, affection and grief in animals — from a house cat mourning her lost sister to elephants who pay respects to the bones of their matriarchs.

This past weekend the above photo was shared across the web and social medias. The image provides more proof that grief is the most universal language spoken, even across species.

From Yahoo News:

More than 1,000 people—including hundreds of fellow police officers from surrounding states—turned out at a funeral in rural Kentucky late last week to pay their respects to Jason Ellis, a 33-year-old K-9 officer gunned down last month in what authorities believe was an ambush.

Fido, Ellis’ police dog, was there, too, placing his paw on the closed casket—a moment captured in a heartbreaking image by photographer Jonathan Palmer.

Fido was not with Ellis on May 25 when he was shot multiple times while collecting debris on a highway off-ramp in Bardstown, Ky., a close-knit community of about 12,000 located 40 miles southeast of Louisville. Ellis’ slaying remains unsolved.

Dozens of fellow K-9 officers attended the funeral and, according to the Herald Leader, their dogs could be heard barking from their cruisers:

Hundreds of officers snapped to attention when the honor guard was called; the 60 or so police dogs at the ceremony barked with the sound of the guards’ 21-gun salute.

 

Photo: Fido rests his paw on the casket of Jason Ellis in Bardstown, Ky., May 30, 2013. (Jonathan Palmer)