Animal death and dc

GirlStylist · July 2010

How did you deal with it with dc ?

Our dalmation dog passed away this evening. When Dh left with Roxy we gave Cam the option to say bye to her. We told him " Roxy is sick and needs to go to the doggie doctor. If she is REALLY sick they may keep her for quite some time ".......................

When I left to meet dh at the vet, he said " say hi to roxy for me " .

We had to put her down Sad Cam absolutely loves her. So what do we tell him tomorrow ? THat she is staying at a doggie house at the doctor to make her feel better and she might not come home ?

You know how many questions 3 year olds ask.................... I can't imagine not bursting into tears every time he will ask a question.

mrscerruti2be · July 2010

I just wanted to offer my condolences to you and your family. We lost our dog today too. Our 2nd dog in two months. I am super thankful that Crash doesn't seem to understand and I would find it so difficult if we had to explain it. I hope someone here has the right words for you. I am so very sorry for your loss.

tri-reader · July 2010

I"m so sorry to hear about your dog. I have no advice, but good luck!

caseyleigh77 · July 2010

So sorry M! I would probably say that the doggie needed to stay with the doctor so he/she could continue to take good care of it. Other than that..no advice here.

Ang&Garrett · July 2010

Oh man I am so so sorry. I vividly remember coming home when I was 5 and our cat had been hit by a car and was in front of our house. I cried and cried and my parents had no choice but to talk about death with me. I know when we have to cross that bridge I will be honest with the boys. At 3 I'm not sure how much the wrap their mind around it. So hard. I think you will know what is best for you and for Cam. I'm so sorry. Animals really become a part of the family and it's hard to loose them.

tri_bride05 · July 2010

I'm so sorry for your loss. We had to put our cat down in January. I think it's important to be honest and explain in the simplest terms possible. We told M that kitty was very very old and very very sick and her body stopped working. That the kitty doctor didn't have medicine that could fix her. I cried when I told him that day and every day when he asked about her for the next few weeks then finally became numb to the question. When I cried I told him I was sad because I missed kitty. He didn't understand why she couldn't come home and seemed to think I could go get her if I wanted to. He still talks about her regularly. Big hugs and good luck talking to Cam.

WineCountryWife · July 2010

I am so so sorry for your loss. Huge hugs. A pet is part of the family, and at 3, he understand so much more than you might give him credit for. My policy is to always tell the truth. Death is sad, but it is a part of life, no matter if we don't want it to be. Be honest about what happened, and be open with your grieving, it will help him learn that its okay to cry about things he's sad about. He needs to be able to grieve too, because no matter what, your dog isn't going to come back and if he was that beloved he isn't going to forget about him.

Lots of thoughts and prayers for you and your family.

altreu · July 2010

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I have not had to cross that bridge yet, although I can tell you my experiences growing up. We always had a lot of animals, and when I was about 4 my dog was hit by a car and died. My parents were honest with me and explained death as best they could. I don't think I understood the concept too well, but I did get that the dog was not coming back. It made me incredibly sad, but I think that it gave me a chance to be sad and then eventually move on.

SweetieP · July 2010

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'd probably keep it simple but I would probably steer clear of he's too sick to come home...I've heard that kids will then think that getting sick is scary. I'd probably say that he was an old dog and that he died. That he won't be coming home anymore. And then maybe make a picture of him to hang on the fridge. (maybe not that same moment but in the near future). I think it's okay to cry in front of him and to be sad.

Smuches4u · July 2010

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Be honest. Don't be afraid to be sad about it or even cry. Tell him that Roxy was really sick, her body stopped working, she died & won't be coming home. Assure him that it's okay to be upset about it, and reinforce that you know how much he loved her.

Depending on how he takes the news, you might want to suggest having a memorial for Roxy. Something we did for our dog as a kid, was painted a large river rock in memorium for our pet & it stayed in his favorite spot in the yard.

I'm so sorry.

bubbs147 · July 2010

So so sorry for your loss. Luckily for us, DD was under a year when we had to put our Sophie down. But our friends (who were incredibly close to her) had a 3+ year old, and they were completely honest with her. Explained that she was sick, went to Heaven, is no longer here. They cried through the whole explanation. So sorry...

StefandTodd · July 2010

I'm so sorry for your loss, Mel.

Could you tell him that when dogs get very old, like sweet Roxie was, that they go to live in another place...we're only lucky enough to have them live with us for a short time...but then they live somewhere else where we can't visit until we get very, very old ourselves? Or something like that? I would think, like Donna said, saying Roxie is sick could make sick more scary, but Roxie lived a long, happy life and is young again in her new world. I'm so so sorry.

torylynn1 · July 2010

I'm still pretty much a lurker here, but I wanted to let you know how sorry I am for you and Mrs. C. I lost my dog last August and it still makes me cry thinking about it. I don't have kids so I don't have any experience with this, but I think being honest about the situation, but don't give details is the best idea. One thing that helps me is to remember the funny and annoying things my stubborn girl did and then I can laugh at them...Hopefully that helps with your tough situation.

Hugs to all of you.

halfmoon · July 2010

I am so sorry for your loss. I am dreadng the day I will have to deal with this. I think I would just try to be as honest as I could, understanding he is so young and probably can't quite grasp the concept. Best of luck.

2bearichards · July 2010

I am here kind of late, but wanted to tell you what we did.

First of all, hugs again, I am so sorry!

Our dog of 11 years passed away suddenly about a year and a half ago, it was soooooooo incredibly hard (he was my dog first, so I took it a little harder than the rest). We were and still are very honest with Peyton about what happened to him, we told him Bailey was very very sick and very old and he died and went to heaven. We tell Peyton when he is very very old, he will get to see Bailey in heaven. We still talk about Bailey all the time and Peyton asks about him too.

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