Yes, I feel that they can. My beagle (who passed away at the beginning of this year) found our puppy ( a couple of years ago) that had been bitten by a snake. We buried the puppy in our yard and she would go out there every day and just sit there daily where we buried him till we moved. He was her baby. When Bailey passed this year (cancer) I took her to have her put down and was such a wreck I forgot about Diesel. He has had a really hard time with her being gone...some aggression issues...carrying her stuff around crying (I threw it all away). I know losing Bailey broke my heart but it broke D-bo's too! That is a great idea to have them be there when the other passes...I would have thought people were crazy if I read this without witnessing how upset our doggies get when they lose their best buddy...now not so much!