Maybe this loyal dog understands that beavers are a keystone species, who maintain what’s left of our clean, fresh water. Maybe he knows that without beavers smolt numbers for trout and salmon will plummet and there will be fewer migratory and songbirds nesting in the spring. Maybe he knows that far, far too many of this beavers’ uncles and cousins are needlessly crushed in conibear traps or strangled with snares. Maybe he is mourning the tremendous ignorance that mankind steadfastly clings to when it comes to living with beavers, who should be treated as heroic “first responders” in our dying streams.
Then again, maybe he’s just sad about his friend.
A sick-at-heart pooch is ‘mourning’ the death of a beloved but unlikely friend: A beaver named Beavis. According to YouTube user “Jack Bdead” who uploaded the video, Beavis and Bella the dog had played and lived together “for quite a while” before Beavis died last year.