Moose our purebred Collie needed to be put down

Going Through Life Choices With Your Pets

A beloved family dog has reached a point in its life when living would be too painful for the animal.  What should you do?  The children are growing up with the pet and you’ve come to love them as part of your family.  You begin to think you should never have taken a dog into your family…too much pain for all of you.  Life is full of change…and change we will.  Leaving this world is inevitable, no one gets out alive.  This ‘time of change’ can be a preliminary step to your children understanding the ‘life process’. 

Someone writes on Facebook that they will need to ‘put down’ their dog.  Their children will miss him terribly. 

Suggestions to Help with Putting Your Pet Down and Remembering Them

 They asked for suggestions :

“Such a sad thing. Can you get photos of each child with the dog..hugging, loving on it before tomorrow?  Can you put the dog’s paw into clay to save its print before you put it down?

Cut a piece of the dog’s fur to keep; put it with a picture of the dog.

Make a small booklet of fun you had with the dog with the pictures, it’s fur and dog tags.

Then have your children draw pictures for the booklet and write a wonderful thing they remember about the dog.

Give the children a few days before starting this if necessary.  Let them grieve and don’t be surprised when it comes in waves of tears.  Cry together with your arms around them.

You might even want to do a short video of them writing, coloring and talking about things they remember about the dog.  Have cookies out for them to enjoy while doing this. One of them may want to take over the book and keep writing in it. It would be a well loved memory for years to come.”

My Personal Feelings About Pets Were Contradictory

I personally do not like going through the loss of pets….does anyone?  I’ve tried being detached from them to no avail. They give so much and require so little in return.  We adopted a kitten to grow up and be a mouser at our home.  I told a friend, “I don’t want a relationship, just a mouser.”  The cat is still with us….an intertwined in our lives.  Do I regret that I now have a ‘cat friend’ and not just a mouser?  No, she’s made our lives richer.  How will I handle her leaving this life?  I’ll grieve, remember, talk about her, look at photos and be glad we built our life her. 

Talking with others, through their grief came a question familiar to those who have lost a special pet: Should they get another pet? And when?

“It is healthy to have a transition period. In grieving, we’re taking time to honor the pet we lost. Grief is so miserable,” a veterinarian told me.

What About Your Next Pet

Zoe, similar coloring but a Collie/Border Collie cross.

When you get your next pet, give them their own name and not the name of the deceased pet.  Are you trying to replace the pet with one that looks, sounds and behaves the same way?  It won’t work.  Each animal has its own personality.  You can pick the same dog breed and somewhat expect that breeds behavior traits, but they’ll never be the same as your last pet.  Let the new pet surprise you with their unique personality and a new relationship. 

We now have Zoe, a Collie/Border Collie cross.  What a difference in personality!  The first year was the most difficult and we almost gave up on her.  Once we were past the first year of  ’emotional immaturity’ in a Border Collie and two obedience classes later we have a smart responsive dog. 

A Serious Recommendation!!

I highly recommend obedience classes where you learn to communicate with your dog.  I’d never done it before…man, what I was missing!!

Any more suggestions regarding the loss of a pet or the search for a new pet?