70 Loss of a Dog Quotes To Comfort You During This Challenging Time

By Danielle Dahl

Writer, Ph.D Candidate and Inspirational quote curator

Published September 14, 2022

Dogs are so much more than man’s best friend.

They are family members at a minimum and to some, they are like children.

The love that we have for our dogs is such a gift, but a love as pure and special as that comes at a cost.

Every pet owner (or fur mom) knows exactly what that cost is, and it is the fact that your dog’s life should be much shorter than yours.

Just what is the lifespan of our dogs?

Keep reading through these loss of a dog quotes to find out, and see what people like Dean Koontz have to say about the fact that it is too short!

The average lifespan of a dog is 10-13 years, although some breeds live a little longer or shorter than others.

For example, the average lifespan of a Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, Dachshund, or Toy Poodle is up to 20 years!

In contrast, the French Mastiff, Great Dane, and Bernese Mountain Dog have a lifespan of 5-10 years.

Experiencing the love and joy of a dog and losing it leaves a hole in our hearts for sure.

These loss of a dog quotes explain the impact that dogs have on our lives and why it hurts so badly when they are gone.

Keep reading to learn some tips for comforting someone who has lost their dog.

Don’t forget to also check out these pet loss quotes to get you through this emotional time.

If you love this quote collection, read out our most popular quote article about short inspirational quotes for daily motivation.

If you need more inspirational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Dog passing quotes about dogs in heaven and angels

1. “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ― Will Rogers

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2. “The dog is a gentleman. I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.” ― Mark Twain

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3. “One day we will again see our animals in the eternity of Christ.” ― Pope Paul VI

4. “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

5. “You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson

6. “You’ve lost a dog but gained a guardian angel.” ― Unknown

7. “If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.” ― James Thurber

8. “Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made (man) is the most detestable.” ― Mark Twain

9. “Do dogs understand death? Do they have souls? Do they go to heaven? I have always believed so, but this [event] confirmed that all of God’s creatures, humans and animals, have a soul and that we will all be reunited in heaven.” ― Glenwood McNabb

10. “God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he’ll be there.” ― Billy Graham

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Loss of a dog quotes on why it hurts so much

11. “The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.” ― Konrad Lorenz

12. “The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest.” ― Martin Luther

13. “Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” ― Roger A. Caras

14. “The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” ― M.K. Clinton

15. “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” ― Josh Billings

16. “Dogs are always good and full of selfless love. They are undiluted vessels of joy who never, ever deserve anything bad that happens to them.” ― Steven Rowley

17. “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 who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.” ― Hermione Gingold

18. “Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.” ― Sigmund Freud

19. “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” ― Roger Caras

20. “When an eighty-five pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.” ― Kristan Higgins

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Dog death quotes about ‘the life of a dog’

21. “Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion.” ― Dean Koontz

22. “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

23. “If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.” ― Marjorie Garber

24. “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” ― Agnes Sligh Turnbull

25. “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

26. “Dogs are only in our lives for a short time, but they stay in our memories for as long as we live. It’s a small consolation, but it’s nice to know we can always visit them in our thoughts.” ― Unknown

27. “Owning a dog always ended with this sadness because dogs just don’t live as long as people do.” ― John Grogan

28. “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

29. “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

30. “Before you get a dog, you can’t quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can’t imagine living any other way.” ― Caroline Knapp

Loss of a dog quotes about what it feels like

31. “The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.” ― Ben Hur Lampman

32. “The worst thing about losing your dog is not having someone there to lick the tears away.” ― Unknown

33. “Don’t ever apologize or feel silly about crying over a dog. When you lose your best friend, you have every right to be sad about it.” ― Unknown

34. “Once you’ve had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.” ― Dean Koontz

35. “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

36. “A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life.” ― Bob Barker

37. “A dog will teach you, unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.” ― Robert Wagner

38. “Dogs, however, leave paw prints on our lives and our souls, which are as unique as fingerprints in every way.” ― Ashly Lorenzana

39. “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

40. “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

Dog died quotes and short phrases to warm your heart during this hurting time

41. “A dog wags his tail with his heart.” ― Martin Buxbaum

42. “Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.” ― Emily Dickinson

43. “Dogs leave pawprints on our hearts” ― Unknown

44. “Dogs are miracles with paws.” ― Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

45. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ― Anatole France

46. “Everything I know, I learned from dogs.” ― Nora Roberts

47. “If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am.” ― Charles Yu

48. “Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.” ― Kinky Friedman

49. “Be the person your dog thinks you are.” ― C.J. Frick

50. “The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment.” ― Robert Falcon Scott

Loss of a dog quotes to help you cope with grief

51. “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

52. “A pet is never truly forgotten until it is no longer remembered.” – Lacie Petitt

53. “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

54. “His ears were often the first thing to catch my tears.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning

55. “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

56. “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn’t ever know we had.” – Thom Jones

57. “I heard somebody define heaven once as a place where, when you get there, all the dogs you ever loved run to greet you.” – Robert B. Parker

58. No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you feel rich.” – Louis Sabin

59. “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” – Charles de Gaulle

60. “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.” – Mark Twain

Thought Provoking Loss of a Dog Quotes

61. “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” — Dean Koontz

62. Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” — George Eliot

63. “For those who love dogs, it would be the worst form of a lie to call any place where dogs were banned “Paradise. Certainly no loving God would separate people from their canine friends for eternity.” — Stanley Coren

64. “Few human beings give of themselves to another as a dog gives of itself.” — Dean Koontz

65. Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.” — Agnes Repplier

66. “Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” — Orhan Pamuk

67. “That one true heart was left behind! What feeling do we ever find, to equal among human kind , a dog’s fidelity!” — Thomas Hardy

68. “The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” — Samuel Butler

69. “Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.” — Thornton Wilder

70. “To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.” — Milan Kundera

Is there anything you can say to help a friend or family member cope with the loss of their dog?

They will grieve, just like they would any major loss, and the best thing you can do is listen and be there for them.

If you are looking for a few specific phrases to say, try something like, “You brought such joy to each other’s lives, and even though dogs don’t live very long, they live each day with nothing but love.”

Whatever you say, your friend will appreciate the sentiment.

Some of these quotes about the loss of a dog might help you come with something that really fits your friend and the relationship they had with their dog.

If you are the person going through this loss, it is ok to grieve!

Feel however you need to feel about losing your friend or family member.

They don’t mean less to us just because they have four legs instead of two.

If you are feeling some guilt, please don’t.

No matter what was going on with your pet, you wouldn’t have made a choice that didn’t honor the love you felt for them.

When you feel up to getting a new pet, go ahead and do so!

It isn’t a betrayal, and I really liked that one quote that said our hearts expand each time we get a dog.

I got our current old dog when he was 6 months old, just about a week after putting down our 13-year-old dog we had for years (she was not a puppy when we got her).

He is going on nine now and getting all grey, and slower.

I remember him when he was just a 6-month puppy and I was frustrated and grieving my poor old girl.

I hadn’t really had a puppy before and he was a lot of work, that I was not prepared for.

I found myself a week later crying in the vet’s office about all these puppy things, and I remember him saying, “Danielle, he isn’t a 13-year-old dog like Kix was… you’re going to have to train him.”

In my grief and naivete that hadn’t occurred to me!

I wouldn’t trade a single day I have had with this unruly dog, who despite thousands of dollars of training, is still quite stubborn.