[amylynn3]

We just lost our family dog, and I just don't really know what to say to the kids about it. Our son is 3.5 and our daughter is 2. I am more concerned about finding the right words for our son. Our dog died suddenly and it wasn't expected, so we haven't had time to prepare. What would you do or say?

[cmfayz]

I'm so sorry for your loss. You must be in shock. We recently had to put one of our cats to sleep. My kids are about the same age as yours. I told them that Vinnie was very sick and that he died. Matthew (3.5) wanted to see him and didn't understand where he was. I think death is a hard concept for kids that age. You might want to have some sort of "funeral" for closure for the kids.

[Ms.Judi]

I am so sorry. The loss of a pet is so hard-especially when it is unexpected.

[tooskis]

I'm so sorry for your loss. We dread the day since our son is so attached to both of our dogs. I don't really have any wisdom on this topic but let us know how it goes. The only thing I remember being told was never say to children that the animal was put to sleep. For obvious reasons, that verbiage can be very traumatic for kids.

[amylynn3]

Thank you for your advice...we decided to keep it very simple. We told our children that Cooper got sick and went to heaven to be with our other dog that we lost less than a year ago (completely different circumstances). Our son seemed ok with the explanation and hasn't asked any questions. We also explained that Cooper would not be coming home and that we have all of our memories and photos to talk about and look at.T

his was VERY sudden and very quick. We took our dog to the vet because he was suddenly displaying some concerning symptoms. We were not prepared to hear what we found out. We found out that he had an inoperable and untreatable tumor on his heart. The vet did what they could to make him comfortable, we brought him home and he passed away naturally in our backyard. My husband took him to the vet at 9 pm and he passed at 5 am...we only had 8 hours to absorb everything and say goodbye to our wonderful dog. Our children were asleep through the entire process. This is very emotional and I know time will heal the wounds. Then, we have all the wonderful memories.

If you are interested...I have a post on my blog about Cooper with photos.

[shanpine]

Cynthia Rylant has an AWESOME book called Dog Heaven. Read it to the kids....it helps so many little ones feel good about their lost beloved pets!

[havensd]

So sorry for the loss of your pet.
Our dog recently got sick and died suddenly as well. Our daughter is 3.5 and our son is 21 months. We kept it simple with our daughter. We told her that "Fritz" got sick and died and went to go live with Jesus in Heaven, and now he's not sick anymore. She seems to understand that. Although I'm pretty sure she thinks he just lives with a person named Jesus, instead of living with us. At any rate, she does know that he's not coming back and that he's fine now. Our son is still too young to really even notice, so that's one less talk we had to have.

[UVAwahoo93]

I just went to your site. He is BEAUTIFUL!!! May he rest in peace and I am thinking of you and your family...
Carrie

[amyfk]

I second the "Dog Heaven" book suggestion. Books can often explain things to kids and make the job easier for us adults to bring up a difficult topic. Very sorry for the loss of your furbaby.
Amy K, NJ

[jennsult]

I could have written this post myself. We also just had to put one of our beloved dogs to sleep suddenly. She was only 7. Diagnosed with cancer and within a week she had to be put to sleep. It was with out a doubt the hardest thing I've ever had to do. For days my daughter walked around looking for her "gigi". Broke my heart.

[amylynn3]

jennsuit...it has been so heartbreaking. I am sorry for your family's loss as well. I hope all of you can find peace in due time. Our pup was only 7 also. My son keeps telling me that he wants Cooper to come back from heaven because he misses him...sweet and heartbreaking.

[kandesmurphy]

Another good book is The Tenth Good Thing About Barney, I believe it is about a hamster but it is a child working on thinking of good things about their pet instead of thinking of how much they will miss it.

Sorry for your loss.

Kathy