Is there any old good threads on how to prepare kids for a pet to be put down?

[tryin-to-FROG]

We aren't going to talk about the details with them, just that the dog was old and sick and died. It is my moms dog and she is old and she injured her back and now lost control of her bowels etc so will most likely be put down ext week, but my kids LOVE the dog and so it will be sad for them. I am thinking maybe today of telling them that she is very sick and may die and so if they want to go spend some special time with her they can.... any other ideas? I am sure this thing has to have been discussed before here....

[Amber]

I'm sorry that you are having to navigate these tricky waters with your kiddos :hugheart

Since the kids are close to your mom's dog I think giving them a chance to love on her one last time is a great idea. I don't know if I would tell my kids that she might die soon or not :think I would probably tell them that the dog is old and sick so we are going to go over and love on her a bit and not mention the dieing soon part. I would tell them after she passed.

If you parents are going to bury her the kids my like to be a part of that for closure. Sometimes it can be helpful for them to draw a picture of their favorite memory with the dog and/or take some time to tell stories about her.

[Macky]

My mother didn't tell me the day she put down our beloved Tessie (while I was at school) and I'm hurt and angry about it to this day. I think it's absolutely necessary to tell the kids that this will be their last visit with a dog that they love so much. It's going to be HARD. There's going to be tears all 'round. They might even try to negotiate for her life. :cry It's so necessary, though. I'm so sorry for you all. :hugheart

[3PeasInAPod]

We put our dog to sleep in Aug. I had multiple conversations with my ds about it. I told him exactly what was happening & how our dog needed to be at peace and rest, so we were going to take him to the vet & he will gently put him to sleep & he will then be in heaven with God & able to run around freely & not be in pain.
We cried hard together a few times. My son talked to our dog a few times before the date & told him how much he meant to him, loved him, etc. We also wrote him a letter & read it to him. We laminated it & my son painted a cross b/c we buried our dog on our property.
I'm very glad we were so honest & involved our son even in the morbid thoughts of death & burial. He had time to process it & he actually enjoyed the memorial we did for him in our yard.
I know this isn't your family dog, but I think it's best to be direct & honest & let the kids have a chance to say goodbye to your mom's dog. Then be ready to answer questions about death, heaven, etc.

Our neighbor's dog died recently also & my son talks about how they're up in heaven playing together! He still talk a lot about it & I am glad he can continue processing it if need be.

[Allison]

I'm sorry. :hugheart

I can only give you my personal experience, there is no one right way to handle it.

Our 11 year old Golden was slowly showing her age but it was never anything serious. One morning she was clearly very sick so I rushed her to the vet alone. She was diagnosed with cancer and after going over the options we decided to put her down that day.

That gave me NO time to really prepare my children.

I left her at the vet, they made her comfortable and I went home to tell the boys what was going to happen. (They were 8, 6 and 4.)

I explained that she had cancer and explained how euthanasia works, what the steps are, how it would look and why we decided on it.

The vet left it up to us about whether or not they would be in the room and they chose to be there.

We had her cremated (but only my oldest has ever seen the ashes, we don't display them.) My six year old wanted to talk about the euthanasia process quite a bit and my eight year old needed a good cry that afternoon.

I bought a small stuffed golden retriever that we keep on a shelf in our living room and my youngest will sometimes take it down, pet it and tell "Abby" that he misses her. He also likes to let our other dog sniff her "so that she won't forget her." :heart

In your case, I'd explain what is coming and let them have some quality time with her before.

:hugheart

[Macky]

I bought a small stuffed golden retriever that we keep on a shelf in our living room and my youngest will sometimes take it down, pet it and tell "Abby" that he misses her. He also likes to let our other dog sniff her "so that she won't forget her." :heart

That's really awesome. :rockon We have a little trinket box; I put a photo of every pet we've lost in there.