When A Pet Dies, Children Feel The Pain

My seven-year-old niece had a twelve-year-old dog named Jake. He died last week and she wanted to have funeral. She told my sister, her mom that she wanted all the aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews to come up north to her house for a funeral. My sister tried very hard and finally made her understand that this was not possible.

She accepted the fact that we could not attend the funeral, but asked us all to say good-bye to Jake from where we live. We all did as she asked. I sent her a sympathy card I found after an hour of looking. There are not many cards for one to send to someone, especially a child when they lose their beloved pet.

It hurt her that her dog died and I wanted to send her a card so she new I was thinking about her and Jake. Maybe the card companies should think about kids and their pets when they make sympathy cards. It has to be kind, yet something they can relate to as well. When a pet dies, kids have a hard time no matter what type of pet it is.

Jake had a private funeral. He is now in heaven with his other dog and cat cousins. I said this to her in a card and I know she smiled.