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Filed under: PetsSitting there quietly mourning the passing of our family cat, who'd been put to sleep by a visiting vet an hour before, I knew that the hard part was not yet over. In a few minutes, my husband would pull up with our car full of happy kids, and we'd have to gently break the news to them that we'd lost a cherished pet. It was the first time either of them had lost someone they loved, and I definitely wasn't confident in how to handle what came next.There is a lot of good information out there on the web (believe me, I've read them all in the last week) for parents who are dealing with the death of a family pet. In general, they advise the parents be as honest with their kids as possible and, even though it's terribly difficult, let their child go the natural process of grief. What this means is that trying to lessen their grief by telling them Fido "went to sleep" or "went away," will only confuse them and cause them more alarm. It also means, as tempting as it may be to take everyone's mind of things, it's usually not appropriate to run out and get a replacement pet right away.Continue reading When the family pet dies Permalink | Email this | Comments

Posted on Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EST at http://www.parentdish.com/2008/08/03/whe...-pet-dies/
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