Sad question

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hunter-27

Passed Away Aug 14, 2013
In Memoriam
Joined
Oct 17, 2007
Messages
4,608
Location
Chadron, Ne, USA.
Sad day in Nebraska. Question? How does one explain to a three year old how his "puppy" got sick and died? Had to have my 11 year old English Springer put down today. He was me son's best buddy. It is taking more out of him than I thought. Any Ideas?


Landon
 
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Landon,
Sorry about the news. I lost my beagle about a year ago and had tears welling at odd hours for several days. I still miss her. Must be even worse for a child. Good luck.
 
Landon,
Sorry about the news. I lost my beagle about a year ago and had tears welling at odd hours for several days. I still miss her. Must be even worse for a child. Good luck.

And - check your e-mail.
 
Landon,

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I know the feeling of losing a companion. I can't imagine how your son must feel. Time will help.
 
Did your son see the dog getting sick?? Our Husky (Timber); had to be put down suddenly; but we had a few months before where we noticed he was not doing well. The dog had a seizure in the vet's office when he was in for a checkup and it was decided then to put him down. Since the kids saw him getting sick; we explained to them that Timber didn't hurt anymore and he is in the big yard in Heaven to do what ever he wants. The kids also made a memory book; they put pictures of Timber and them in there and wrote about the picture. But within a week they were asking when are we going to get another dog. Within a month we found a new puppy. The kids still talk about Timber and we miss him; but the new puppy (now 3 years old) fills that empty feeling.
 
When our kids were little, we just explained it to them the best that we could by telling them that he was sick and in pain and he was not going to get any better. So, to help him stop hurting we put him to sleep forever.
 
doggy heaven. that worked for me when i was a young un. :) sorry to hear about the loss, it's a lot harder losing a dog than you ever think it'll be.
 
When my daughter was three we had to put down one of our dogs. I had had her for about 6 years and was a great dog. She had suddenly stared having fits of violence and attacking our smaller dog. She was our daughter’s best friend. We got the book Dog Heaven and read it with her (several times, she loved the book) and it helped the whole family deal with the loss. You can find it at Amazon if you can't find it locally. http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Heaven-Cy...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214539959&sr=8-1 (It's been five years and I still got misty eyed typing this.)
 
I am really sorry about you dog. I just had to put our 14 year old Tibetan down last week. My 14 year old daughter has been taking it really hard and I find myself crying at odd moments. I think that the best way is to just tell your son that his puppy and friend got sick and is in heaven. Don't tell him that the dog was put to sleep. This will really scare him, because he won't understand what that means and could scare him about sleeping. I'm a pediatric RN and have had patient's whose parent's used this phrase and then the child wouldn't go to sleep.
 
Agreed. Explain that the dog passed away, but not that you had it put down. Your three year old will not be able to process that information and might get kind of stressed about the next time that he catches the flu.
 
Sorry about the loss of your dog, It's amazing how much they can be interwoven in our lives, I raise German Shepard's, and it saddens me to hear that one of my dogs has died. I'm not sure what I'll do when my girl passes, I pretty much hope I'll go first. that way I can meet her at the rainbow bridge.
I might suggest a new puppy, there is an abundance of them needing rescue.
 
I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

I had to put both of my dogs down in a six week span so I know what you are going through.
I also agree with many others here that you should go to the local shelter and adopt another one. Rescue dogs are usually very good and your son will have a new friend to grow up with.
 
I recently went through the same problem. I wound up with 2 rescue puppies to fill the void. They need a home as much as you need a dog.

Scott, the Monroe SPCA is having a serious legal problem and has to get rid of a lot of dogs if you are looking for one. I took one from them last Dec. and she is a sweetheart.
 
Sorry to hear about your loss, it must be very hard. We expected our oldest dog to be put to sleep twice already within the last year. Thank Dog he bounced back in both cases and is still with us. But we just got last week another puppy (as we had planned to get when his time had come).
Get a new dog asap!! Get a rescue dog - our three dachshunds are all rescued! Even this 12 week old puppy was saved from auctioning him and his brother off to puppy mills. He is a pure bred smooth red mini and is in superb condition - and already rules the house. Even our old BooBoo has a bit more bounce since we have the puppy.
 
Thank you all for the kind words and advice. We are looking into a new puppy to fill the void. Time may heal all, but some things take longer than others. Thanks again.
 
Another puppy is a good idea, but let him grieve the loss of his friend. It is healthy for him to grieve and for young children to experience loss with pets. If you replace the lost pet too quickly it gives the message that the other dog or anyone can be easily replaced. Experienceing the emotions are a healthy way for young children to learn. As parents we can't always make things better and take away all of the pain of life. You may be amazed by your child's ability to process at his level and going slow will allow him time to move at his pace, which may be different then yours.
 
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