Life How do I tell my kids that our dog is dead? - Page 4

**TinyEvel** · 04:20 PM

It's been a rough 12 hours.

last night our dog Josie (small Shepard mix who's been in the family 11 years) was all of a sudden extremely catatonic and panting on her side. Her head was twitching and eyes shut. We took her to the animal emergency room around midnight and admitted her. Diagnosis was that she was bleeding in her eyes and gums and her blood had only 1 percent the platelets it should have.

Without the ability to clot, she had developed internal bleeding. There was blood filling her head and causing neurological damage form pressure on her brain. Today it got worse and we made a tough, difficult decision to euthanize her.

24 hours ago she was 100 percent normal.
This has come so sudden and so difficultly. Our kids are 8 and 9 and we haven't told them. They don't even know we took her to the hospital yet, but they saw her sick last night.

I'm sure some of you have gone through pet loss with kids. Just looking for some tips. We're supposed to go get a Christmas tree tonight after school. Do I tell them first? afterward? I cannot believe we'll be able to do it without us crying. my wife for sure.

Sweet Daddy Hate · 12-04-2009, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsMan

new pets don't just replace old ones IMO

They do eventually.

KCChiefsMan · 12-04-2009, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raised On Riots

They do eventually.

not if you loved your pet they don't

Sweet Daddy Hate · 12-04-2009, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsMan

not if you loved your pet they don't

New pets make it easier to go on, that's all I'm saying. It doesn't mean the new pet will replace the memories of the old pet.

**Gonzo** · 12-04-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jidar

Send em a text message.

You asshole.
Posted via Mobile Device

Rudy tossed tigger's salad · 12-04-2009, 05:40 PM

a 17 year old cat of my parents crawled into a sewer yesterday. I hope he died immediately and he's not starving to death in the cold, because my parents didn't try to get him out. He was originally my cat but he outlived my stay

Dayze · 12-04-2009, 05:41 PM

sorry dude. that sucks.

wont' be easy, that's for sure. Hopefully everythign goes as well as it 'can' given the situation.

TheGuardian · 12-04-2009, 05:46 PM

Lots of people have already said what is right. Just tell them about what happened and explain it's the normal cycle of life.

With that said DO NOT get a new puppy until the grief has fully subsided because the new puppy will develop some bad character traits coming into a home with no pack leadership because everyone will be grieving and doting over the new puppy. Make sure and give everyone proper time to grieve and wait until that is over before getting a new dog.

**TrebMaxx** · 12-04-2009, 05:47 PM

Sorry to hear that T.E. Be upfront and tell them.

Sweet Daddy Hate · 12-04-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGuardian

Lots of people have already said what is right. Just tell them about what happened and explain it's the normal cycle of life.

With that said DO NOT get a new puppy until the grief has fully subsided because the new puppy will develop some bad character traits coming into a home with no pack leadership because everyone will be grieving and doting over the new puppy. Make sure and give everyone proper time to grieve and wait until that is over before getting a new dog.

Do not listen to the infidel; get a new dog.

CoMoChief · 12-04-2009, 05:51 PM

Whenever my schanuzer died, I was here in CoMo and my dad was in KC.

He called me out of the blue...which i didnt think was normal, he didn't sound right. I knew already what had happened. But he was afraid to tell me, and just made up something as to why he called me. I was going on a date that night.....so I guess he didn't want to put me in a bad mood.

The next day he called me, crying saying sorry he lied to me and said that he put Sparky to sleep. once he called me I started tearing up because I already knew what it was about. It's one of them things where you just know or have a feeling. I was pissed at him.....I was only an hour 1/2 away, I wish he would have told me he was going to do it and I would have driven back to KC to go with him. Oh well.

SDChiefs · 12-04-2009, 05:54 PM

Im sorry! It sucks losing a pet. I hope she didn't suffer too much. Good luck to you and your family and I hope, however you tell the kids goes according to plan.

38yrsfan · 12-04-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGuardian

Lots of people have already said what is right. Just tell them about what happened and explain it's the normal cycle of life.

With that said DO NOT get a new puppy until the grief has fully subsided because the new puppy will develop some bad character traits coming into a home with no pack leadership because everyone will be grieving and doting over the new puppy. Make sure and give everyone proper time to grieve and wait until that is over before getting a new dog.

I agree with this having experienced it both ways. A quick replacement leads to expectations of similarity and isn't fair to the new dog or respectful of the old.

Frazod · 12-04-2009, 06:03 PM

I don't think anybody is advocating getting a new dog immediately, but I think you should do it fairly soon. IMO Christmas would be perfect. It's still early in the month at this point.

sparkky · 12-04-2009, 06:22 PM

man,
I got no words of wisdom or advice. honesty, sincere talks and explanations is about all you can do.
I'm so sorry for ya man. and your kids.

**Rain Man** · 12-04-2009, 07:07 PM

Sorry to hear that, tiny. It's a rough situation. Maybe the parents around here know better than me, but my initial hunch is that they'll be more resilient than the adults. I've unfortunately lost pets over the years, but I've felt the losses much more acutely as an adult than as a kid.

12-04-2009, 03:54 PM
TinyEvel Just a li'l Evel Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bald. Goatee. Jorts. Casino cash: $2219601	How do I tell my kids that our dog is dead? It's been a rough 12 hours. last night our dog Josie (small Shepard mix who's been in the family 11 years) was all of a sudden extremely catatonic and panting on her side. Her head was twitching and eyes shut. We took her to the animal emergency room around midnight and admitted her. Diagnosis was that she was bleeding in her eyes and gums and her blood had only 1 percent the platelets it should have. Without the ability to clot, she had developed internal bleeding. There was blood filling her head and causing neurological damage form pressure on her brain. Today it got worse and we made a tough, difficult decision to euthanize her. 24 hours ago she was 100 percent normal. This has come so sudden and so difficultly. Our kids are 8 and 9 and we haven't told them. They don't even know we took her to the hospital yet, but they saw her sick last night. I'm sure some of you have gone through pet loss with kids. Just looking for some tips. We're supposed to go get a Christmas tree tonight after school. Do I tell them first? afterward? I cannot believe we'll be able to do it without us crying. my wife for sure. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by TinyEvel; 12-04-2009 at 04:20 PM..
Posts: 12,325

12-04-2009, 05:40 PM	#50
Rudy tossed tigger's salad Better than Nelson Join Date: Mar 2003 Casino cash: $10000400	a 17 year old cat of my parents crawled into a sewer yesterday. I hope he died immediately and he's not starving to death in the cold, because my parents didn't try to get him out. He was originally my cat but he outlived my stay
Posts: 17,356

12-04-2009, 05:41 PM	#51
Dayze Resident Glue Sniffer Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $1689358	sorry dude. that sucks. wont' be easy, that's for sure. Hopefully everythign goes as well as it 'can' given the situation. __________________ Life is 99% inspiration, 1% Perspiration, and 1% Attention to Detial. RIP & Godspeed: Saccoppo Lonewolf Ed Fire Me Boy
Posts: 37,463

12-04-2009, 05:46 PM	#52
TheGuardian MVP Join Date: Mar 2009 Casino cash: $6305299	Lots of people have already said what is right. Just tell them about what happened and explain it's the normal cycle of life. With that said DO NOT get a new puppy until the grief has fully subsided because the new puppy will develop some bad character traits coming into a home with no pack leadership because everyone will be grieving and doting over the new puppy. Make sure and give everyone proper time to grieve and wait until that is over before getting a new dog.
Posts: 9,564

12-04-2009, 05:47 PM	#53
TrebMaxx Supporter Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Peoples Republic of CoMo Casino cash: $-2472748	Sorry to hear that T.E. Be upfront and tell them.
Posts: 4,462

12-04-2009, 05:51 PM	#55
CoMoChief Mahomes Dynasty Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parts Unknown Casino cash: $7672254	Whenever my schanuzer died, I was here in CoMo and my dad was in KC. He called me out of the blue...which i didnt think was normal, he didn't sound right. I knew already what had happened. But he was afraid to tell me, and just made up something as to why he called me. I was going on a date that night.....so I guess he didn't want to put me in a bad mood. The next day he called me, crying saying sorry he lied to me and said that he put Sparky to sleep. once he called me I started tearing up because I already knew what it was about. It's one of them things where you just know or have a feeling. I was pissed at him.....I was only an hour 1/2 away, I wish he would have told me he was going to do it and I would have driven back to KC to go with him. Oh well.
Posts: 39,245

12-04-2009, 05:54 PM	#56
SDChiefs Veteran Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Americas Finest City Casino cash: $7990778	Im sorry! It sucks losing a pet. I hope she didn't suffer too much. Good luck to you and your family and I hope, however you tell the kids goes according to plan.
Posts: 2,321

12-04-2009, 06:03 PM	#58
Frazod Did you hear what I said? Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $-836615	I don't think anybody is advocating getting a new dog immediately, but I think you should do it fairly soon. IMO Christmas would be perfect. It's still early in the month at this point.
Posts: 121,794

12-04-2009, 06:22 PM	#59
sparkky Veteran Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Arkansas Casino cash: $10004900	man, I got no words of wisdom or advice. honesty, sincere talks and explanations is about all you can do. I'm so sorry for ya man. and your kids.
Posts: 1,090

12-04-2009, 07:07 PM	#60
Rain Man Seize life. Be an ermine. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $-732449 VARSITY	Sorry to hear that, tiny. It's a rough situation. Maybe the parents around here know better than me, but my initial hunch is that they'll be more resilient than the adults. I've unfortunately lost pets over the years, but I've felt the losses much more acutely as an adult than as a kid. __________________ Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history.
Posts: 145,562