Hellobee Boards

We had to put our dog down suddenly and without warning last summer when my son was 4. He was at the vet with us, since we weren't anticipating this outcome. We let him say goodbye to her, but he wasn't in the room when it happened, and I'd have left him home if I'd had the chance. He wasn't actually terribly upset about it, he cried a little, but more because we were crying and he was following our cues. Immediately afterwards he didn't have any questions or mention it. Months later he started asking questions and I answered them as honestly as I could, mostly surrounding death and what happens afterwards.

I would let your LO lead the conversation. Be prepared with how you want to present death to her, but with simple answers and let her keep asking if she wants more details. I think kids are generally satisfied with basic answers. Let her know it's ok to be sad and ok to miss her pet, that you feel that way too. I'm so sorry you're going through this, losing a pet is terrible.