We’ve gathered a list of some of the most inspirational & touching dog loss quotes to help you through your grief.
While they can’t take away your pain, they can help you know you’re not alone.
These quotes also make beautiful additions to a sympathy card for a friend who recently lost a dog.
Let’s take a look at them, shall we?
Related: 20 Touching Pet Sympathy Messages
Top 20 Touching Dog Loss Quotes to Comfort You
Our dogs are considered to be members of our families, so when they pass away, it is truly a heartbreaking ordeal.
During this time, there is very little that can ease our grief.
However, these inspirational and touching quotes may help to put our pain into words.
1. A dog’s only fault
“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.”
-Agnes Sligh Turnbull, an American bestselling author.
2. No pretending
“Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.”
-Amy Sedaris (She is an American actress, comedian and writer).
3. An awakened soul
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
-Anatole France (He was a Nobel Prize winner, a French journalist, novelist and poet).
4. Paw prints on our lives
“People leave imprints on our lives, shaping who we become in much the same way that a symbol is pressed into the page of a book to tell you who it comes from. Dogs, however, leave paw prints on our lives and our souls, which are as unique as fingerprints in every way.”
-Ashly Lorenzana (She is an American author and freelance writer).
5. The heart of his master
“The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.”
-Ben Hur Lampman (He was an American essayist, newspaper editor, poet and short story writer).
6. Brave, beautiful lives
“Dogs die. But dogs live, too. Right up until they die, they live. They live brave, beautiful lives. They protect their families. And love us. And make our lives a little brighter. And they don’t waste time being afraid of tomorrow.”
-Dan Gemeinhart (He is a German-born author and speaker).
7. Life with a wonderful dog
“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.”
-Dean Koontz (He is an American bestselling novelist, poet, screenwriter and short story writer).
8. What dogs teach us
“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.”
– Erica Jong (She is an American novelist, poet and satirist).
9. Not just a dog
“To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those of us who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.”
-Hermione Gingold (She was an English actress).
10. Better than a lot of humans
“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”
-James Herriot (He was a British author and veterinary surgeon).
11. Quiet friends
“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.”
– John Galsworthy (He was a notable English novelist and playwright).
12. A lasting bond
“The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.”
-Konrad Lorenz (He was an Austrian ethologist, ornithologist and zoologist).
13. A true gentleman
“The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man’s.”
– Mark Twain (He was an American entrepreneur, humorist, lecturer, publisher and writer).
14. He always stays
“A good dog never dies. He always stays. He walks besides you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter’s drawing near. His head is within our hand in his old way.”
-Mary Carolyn Davies (She was an American poet).
15. All dogs go to heaven
“If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them.”
-Pam Brown (She is an Australian poet).
16. Dogs will be there before us
“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you; they will be there long before any of us.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson (He was a notable Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer).
17. Make our lives whole
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”
-Roger A. Caras (He was an American television personality, wildlife photographer, wildlife preservationist and writer).
18. Compassion to the human race
“I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?”
-Sir Walter Scott (He was a Scottish historian, novelist, playwright and poet).
19. No beginning or end
“Dogs don’t know about beginnings, and they don’t speculate on matters that occurred before their time. Dogs also don’t know—or at least don’t accept—the concept of death. With no concept of beginnings or endings dogs probably don’t know that for people having a dog as a life companion provides a streak of light between two eternities of darkness.”
-Stanley Coren (He is a Canadian neuropsychological researcher, psychology professor and writer, specializing in the history, intelligence and mental abilities of dogs).
20. Thankful for a long lease
“I guess you don’t really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease.”
– Joe Garagiola (He was a professional baseball player)
More Beautiful Pet Loss Quotes to Ease Your Pain
- If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” – Will Rogers
- “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. ” – Mark Twain
- “The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?” – Sir Walter Scott
- The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief. But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.” – Hilary Stanton Zunin
- “Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.” – Gene Hill
- “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” ― Leo Tolstoy
- “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” – Vicki Harrison
- “A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life.” — Bob Barker
- “The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” – M.K. Clinton
- “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn’t ever know we had.” – Thom Jones
No matter how many times it happens, the loss of an animal- ANY companion animal- never gets any easier. I’ve lost 5 dogs, 10 cats, two guinea pigs, and an iguana in my many years on this planet. Every single last one of those losses caused great anguish and profound sadness.
So, I know all too well that these dog loss quotes can’t take away your heartache. I hope they’ve at least given you a tiny bit of solace.
