Best Dog Ever!

I'm sure you are tired of my posts about the importance of kids having animals. This post is very different. We found out in May that our beloved dog had advanced cancer that we couldn't treat. We did everything we could to make him comfortable in his last few months.

He may be taller than her, but he still let her dress him up in costumes. Our kids had no concept of death and Rocky was always with us, so we knew this would be difficult. After much research, we decided to just answer their questions directly and with appropriate concrete language. Saying things like the dog has "passed away" or that he is "in a better place" or that we "put him to sleep" doesn't make any sense to a toddler.

We did change our language about when we took Rocky to the doctor. We stopped referring to him as sick because we didn't want them to think every time someone gets sick that they die. They did see the many pills we were giving him every day and knew we were trying to make him feel better. They also couldn't miss the many vet appointments. They knew something was wrong, but didn't realize how bad it was. They did like that toward the end Rocky wore a diaper at night just like they do. It's good to find a silver lining. haha

 When the time finally arrived we had someone come stay with the kids while we took Rocky to the vet. My husband and I were with him and needed the time to compose ourselves before going home to explain it to the kids. When we walked in the door, the first thing sweet daughter said was "Where is Rocky?" We sat down on their level and told them that Rocky had died. We explained that he wasn't hurting any more and we wouldn't see him again. They ask many questions, but did seem to get it eventually. We answered their questions and we talk about Rocky any time they bring him up.

People want to know how long it takes for them to forget or stop asking. I'm writing this blog post a year later and can't answer it yet. They still remember Rocky and talk about him. If someone asks if we have a dog, sweet daughter will say, "Rocky died." She says it very matter of factly and even knows to give me a hug after (I tend to get upset still). In fact this week, we were doing dictation about car rides and she said her favorite person to ride in a car with was Rocky when we went to Oklahoma. That was literally a year ago and she still remembers.

Sweet son also remembers Rocky, but in a more concrete way. When he sees a big dog he will run up to it and say it's nice like Rocky. If a dog licks his face he will say it's like Rocky, etc.