Don’t let your beloved dog or cat simply disappear from your child’s life without knowing what happened.
Our cat was struck and killed by a car and she died at the vet’s office. Our son didn’t get to say goodbye. This may sound ghoulish, but the vet offered to keep her body and let him see her.
When we walked into the office, there she was, comfortably curled up in grand kitty fashion. No sign of trauma. Very peaceful. The vet explained that kitty was old and probably had a seizure and couldn’t get out of the way. Very comforting.
We honored her by collecting cat food and taking it to the local shelter. We came home with a dog.
This was a chance to introduce our 9-year old son to death. We gave him our beliefs about how life and death works. It comforted him. We didn’t leave him alone to figure it out for himself. Be ready to explain so that your child can accept and move on. It will happen when you least expect it.
Claudia
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