At funeral, dog mourns the death of Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan

[Jolie Rouge]

Claudine Zap | The Lookout – 22 hrs ago

Jon Tumilson, a Navy SEAL, was one of 30 Americans killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 6 when a rocket-propelled grenade took out a U.S. Chinook helicopter. He was mourned at a service in Rockford, Iowa, attended by 1,500 family members, friends--and Hawkeye, Tumilson's dog.

The Labrador retriever was such an important part of Tumilson's life that the friends and family of the San Diego resident called the dog his "son."

When Tumilson's friend Scott Nichols walked to the front of the room to speak, Hawkeye followed, Today.com reports. "As Nichols prepared to memorialize his friend, Hawkeye dutifully laid down near the casket," Scott Stump writes.

A video clip of the mourning dog can be seen here. KIMT-TV of Mason City, Iowa, covered the funeral.

The photo on the right was taken by Tumilson's cousin, Lisa Pembleton, and posted on Facebook. Pembleton wrote on her Facebook page, "To say that he was an amazing man doesn't do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family, and friends is immeasurable."

[Advertisement]

[Jolie Rouge]

The phenomenon of grieving dogs: The ultimate loyalty
The Week – 4 hrs ago

http://news.yahoo.com/phenomenon-gri...070000244.html

Living up to the title of man's best friend, these dogs face danger and death to stay near the ones they love

In the face of disaster, danger, and death, some dogs live up to their reputations as man's best friend with heart-wrenching acts of loyalty. Just last week, Hawkeye, a chocolate-colored Labrador retriever, lay down with a heavy sigh next to the casket of his Navy SEAL owner and would not be moved. "Dogs go through grief, just as we do," said Sarah Wilson, an animal behavior expert, in People. "It's all a part of being attached and loved." Here are 10 dogs whose courageous and loyal actions say more than words:

1) Hawkeye: Loyal to the end

The chocolate Lab's owner — 35-year-old Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson — died in the August 6 helicopter crash that killed 38 American servicemen. Roughly 1,500 mourners came out to a local high school gym in Iowa to pay their respects, and all eyes were on the heartbreaking display of devotion as Hawkeye, unwilling to leave the side of Tumilson's casket, seemed to grieve for his fallen friend. (Watch the video here. http//www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/3Fid=7378247n )

2) Kirby: Going the distance

In early August 2011, Kirby, a small black dog whose owner recently died, went missing from his new home. The little pup was found soon after, sitting by his owner's grave, having walked miles to find it.

3) Unknown: Standing guard

After Japan's devastating earthquake in March 2011, reporters videotaped a shaking, mud-splattered spaniel sitting next to another dog, which is lying, hardly moving, next to him. The healthier dog refuses to leave his friend and stands guard, sometimes pacing. The dogs were eventually rescued and taken to medics. The video received 10 million hits on YouTube with comments from dog lovers pouring in: "That dog is a better person than most humans," wrote one. "Loyalty is the best word to use when you describe a dog. Truly, man's best friend is a well-deserved title," wrote another.

4) Leao: Keeping vigil

In January 2011, floods and landslides ravaged Brazil, outside Rio de Janeiro. One of the most "gut-wrenching" photos to emerge from the tragedy showed a mixed-breed dog, Leao, lying patiently by the fresh grave of his owner. While news of the fatal landslides spread, it was the image of this lonely, grief-stricken dog that really put a "face on just what a tragedy the country [was] facing," said Sasha Brown-Worsham at The Stir.

5) Spot: Faithfully waiting

While Wayne Giroux was working away at his lawnmower repair shop, his dog, Spot, waited faithfully for his return every day at the same street corner near their home in Lone Oak, Texas. After Giroux was killed by a drunk driver in June 2010, Spot continued to wait for him. Five months later, the dog still waited, and Giroux's son, Paul, said he didn't think the dog would ever give up.

6) Zelda: Looking for her boy

Joshua Reed rescued a sweet, rust-colored dog named Zelda from the road after she was hit by a car. From that moment on, the two were inseparable, said Marci Reed, Joshua's mother. In 2009, just three years after their chance meeting, 15-year-old Joshua was killed in an ATV accident. Months later, the dog could be seen roaming the Indiana farm roads near the family's home. "She's without her boy," said Marci Reed, "She just sniffs all over looking for her boy."

7) Clara: Struggling to comprehend

After actress Brittany Murphy died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in December 2009, her Maltese, Clara, was visibly devastated. "One of the saddest things is that Clara has looked everywhere for Brittany and can't find her," said Simon Monjack, Murphy's husband, in People.

8) Unknown: Dodging traffic

This "rather unbelievable" video that surfaced in December 2008 showed one dog's heroism in the face of danger — and oncoming traffic. After a dog is hit by a car on a freeway, another dog dodges cars and drags his severely injured friend off the highway to safety.

9) Cash: Starving to protect

Jake Baysinger, a 25-year-old Colorado man, had been missing for months in 2008 when, in August, his German Shepherd, Cash, was found roaming the Colorado plains. The dog led searchers to Baysinger's body. He had reportedly committed suicide, and Cash stayed by his side for six weeks. The dog was badly dehydrated and very thin, and authorities said it was a miracle the animal survived. But his presence prevented Baysinger's body from being attacked by coyotes.

10) Squeak: Refusing to leave

In March 2002, a 51-year-old farmer named Terry Ford was brutally killed in Zimbabwe. Sitting beside the mutilated corpse was the man's devoted dog, a 14-year-old Jack Russell Terrior named Squeak. It took family members an hour to coax the dog away: "He was crying when the body was found and he is still crying now," said one friend of the family.

[3lilpigs]

The video I saw was of the dog on the floor just laying there. It was about 3 seconds of footage, repeated for about 2 mins. Looked like the dog was having a seizure the way the video was edited.

I know dogs sense these types of things, and it's really sad to see. Wonder why no one video taped the dog walking in behind the friend, and then up to the casket?