I think there is no good way to tell someone something like that. Was it sudden? Was the puppy sick before?

Aaach, such a sad situation!

No Sara, he wasn't sick before. Something happened on Sunday I presume. On Monday morning he was limping, favoring one hind leg, but eating great and seemed enrgetic and happy. By evening we could see the other back leg was sore too and decided to take him to the vet on Tue. I got up around 11 pm Mon and one front leg was "stiff" now and he was whimpering. My husband took him to the animal E.R. We got pain meds and took him to our vet Tues morning and they kept him on pain meds and steroid treatment but a "spinal injury" was what was diagnosed and he died this morning but was not in pain.
As far as my grand, she is broken hearted, but now acting fine. I told her it will come in waves and something will make her think of him and she'll feel sad or want to cry if she ever needs a hug from me or poppy cuz she's missing him, we will always have one for her. She has "stuffed" all her other losses. I want to help her through it.

Poor thing.
We had to put our shepherd down last year and we still get teary-eyed thinking of her. We had her for 14 years, which, I suppose, is pretty good for a large dog.
I wonder what happened to your poor little thing!

I'm so sorry. I understand how she feels, our dog of 18 years died recently.

I would say, if you think she is burying her feelings, just mention the puppy from time to time...a small story of something he did...and then say how much you miss him. Show your emotions so she knows it is okay not only to have them but to show them.

Some times we worry more about how hard the kids will take the death of a pet for longer than the child reacts to the death. Not that they don't mourn and not that in the future she won't miss her puppy.

My youngest has a rabbit that is 8 yrs old, (Miss S is 9 1/2), that we took to fair because the ones we were suppose to buy didn't meet breed standards. Now we worried about taking this rabbit as it would be used by both girls for 2 different shows on 2 different days, plus the fact that Miss S has always carried this rabbit around with her (this is a larger rabbit) she holds it like a baby on it's back and is snuggles up to her:)

Well we went to check on her and she was having a stroke, couldn't move her back end and was dragging herself around so we had her dismissed from the barn, the whole time I'm waiting for my hubby to bring the van around to a gate we can quietly get her out of and I'm thinking oh Miss S is going to be so upset, I even cried a little, but was trying to suck it up so I didn't add to Miss S's distress.

Well I broke the news to her, she asked if Snow was going to die and I told her the truth, that she may very well die. Miss S said "good thing we got some new rabbits at the auction" and went on her way. We had purchased a pen of 3 market rabbits that will live a happy bunny life. Snow was a market rabbit that didn't make weight.

I'm sure when Snow dies there will be tears, but I also know that Miss S will move on faster than I will.

PS,
Snow is back on all four feet and doing fine without the extra stress:)

Our cat was born just 8 months before my grandson. So they have spent their whole lifes togather. My son will be 9 soon and I think about how old that is in cat years, When we moved to our new house we couldn't take the cat with us so my daughter has her. But my gs suffered the lost just the same. My gkids have been told how important it was for us to have a pet in our time of need and when we really need them the most and when God saw how much it helped us the needed the pet to come and help him with other kids that live in heaven and our pet is now an angel pet. And takes good care of the angels.

No it sound dumb but it worked

My kids always grew up with kitties and dogs. They each always had their own dog for 4-H. My son was especially sensitive to the animals dying.

Firstly, IMO, death is a part of life, and pets are a good way for children to learn about death. I don't think we should teach it as something to be afraid of, but something to understand and to allow ourselves to feel our feelings. With older children, you could even tell them a little bit about the steps of the grief process!
As with anything in life, it can be a teaching/learning thing. The hard part of doing that is to get over or around our own feelings! ;) We are usually feeling bad as well when something like this happens, and sometimes sharing that helps. Whether we feel badly for the child, or bad about the death, we can share freely about our feelings and it gives us another opportunity to teach them!

The one piece of advice I have, and I know some people will disagree with me - get another puppy quickly. Puppies will always worm your way into your heart, even if you are missing your old friend. A new friend always helps to soften the blow. We usually got a new puppy within a week or two. As soon as we could find one that suited our needs, or better yet a shelter dog. Whatever fits your needs. My children always bonded with the new dog, I think it help them to let go of their grief!

I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy passing away. It is always rough when that happens after all they are our fur children. We lost our Lab/German to cancer a few years ago and I still miss her. She was just one of those super loving, well mannered companions that never left my side when hubs was out of town on business, she was protecting me.

We have a cat that we got as a kitten but he is now about 15 yrs old, now if your figure cat years he is reallllllly old. He has always been a house cat and very well taken care of so is in good condition but he is still old, I don't know how we will deal with it when he leaves us.

I'm glad your gc is dealing with it fairly well at least on the outside.

Thanks so much. I will post a good report that we did get a new puppy Friday night. It was a God thing.

Lady, take heart about your kitty! We've had several make it to the 18 or 19 mark, and they were outside cats! I have two that are over 14 now, one inside and one outside. You may have several good years left with your kitty! :)

So glad you got a puppy! Is everyone happy with the new addition?

We are all in love with our little 9 week old I guess you would call a mixed lab? His mom got killed recently and pop pop had decided we were not going to get another dog. I really felt like we needed to get another one to help our granddaughter get passed her puppy dying but I prayed that morning after pop announced his decision. I told God that He knew best and instead of nagging or making pop feel guilty I was trusting God to take care of things in whatever way was best. That night pop drove home with the new puppy. He had fallen for him all the way. And our little girl found her morning smile back.

grannyskeeter,

Thanks for the support, I just worry about "Dog"....yes our cat's name is dog because he has always acted like a dog not a cat! He has never been an overweight cat averaging about 10 lbs but he is losing weight, maybe that's just old age because he eats very well and is always up for a cat snackie, lol but he just looks so bony. I think it's time for a cat checkup at the vet, after all Oct is "Senior cat" month according to our vet.

Lady, I have a persian/himalayan that is about 14 and she is also dropping weight, has been for a couple of years. Try giving her some oil supplements, like a cat linatone. I give mine some canned cat food each day just for the added protein and oils.

Guess what? My outside cat that is about 14 and her momma lived to 19 is named Puppy! :) Her mom was named that also. I think some of the longevity must be inherited.