Spoilers:
We find out that the dog is dead for sure in chapter 5, although the dog probably died in chapter 2.
Additionally, this dog is murdered, but it happens off-screen (off-page). The owner is left in suspense as to the dog's fate for most of the book, and continues looking for him for a couple chapters after he disappears.
Spoilers********* See above
The protagonist finds the bones of her dog several years after the dog has died. The remains are not graphically described.
Spoilers: ***********************************
One character's mother abandons them as an infant, leaving them to be brought up in the care of a wealthy man who is perhaps their father, but will not own them. *Spoilers again******
The protagonist finds out that the person she thought was her uncle is actually her father. This man still wants to be in her life, but is often away on long sea voyages since he is a captain, so to give her a sense of normality (among other things), he gives her to his brother and his brothers' wife to raise.
We find out that the dog is dead for sure in chapter 5, although the dog probably died in chapter 2.
Additionally, this dog is murdered, but it happens off-screen (off-page). The owner is left in suspense as to the dog's fate for most of the book, and continues looking for him for a couple chapters after he disappears.