We have had some devastating news recently in our family. One of our beloved dogs, the girl I raised from birth, has cancer. She’s 10 years old, and I knew it was coming. It doesn’t make it any easier though when the vet confirms it.
Bailey has been the one constant in my life for the last ten years; she’s gotten me through some of the most difficult times in my life. I am still trying to process imagining a life without her.
Unfortunately, I’m not new to this type of scenario. Two years ago we had to put down two of our dogs; one for seizures/brain tumor, and the other from old age. When we put those two down, my son was only 2 years old, my middle child was a newborn, and my third didn’t even exist yet.
My son knew that Fenway wasn’t there anymore, but he never really understood it. With Bailey, it’s different. Bailey has been there for him. She’s his best pup and he adores her.
I’m doing the best I can trying to explain to them that Bailey is sick and may not be with us for much longer, but how do you talk to young kids about a dog who is terminally ill? They are family, so it is like talking about a family member’s death.
I started to prepare my son and tried to explain that Bailey is sick. He asked me if Fenway gave Bailey his sick, so I had to then explain that there are many different kinds of sicknesses. He understands that Bailey is going to Heaven to be with Fenway and Mack, but the concept of Heaven is so abstract. To him, he understands that Bailey will be gone soon.
Every small conversation I have with them just makes it so clear how pure a child’s heart is. I don’t ever want my kids, my son in particular, to lose his pure heart. He may be sensitive but that is a part of what makes him so empathetic. Kids are so much wiser than we give them credit for.
Keep us in your thoughts as we try to navigate this new terrain with littles. Our goal is to raise our kids to be a part of the solution in our world, not part of the problem. We want them to understand that things like your beloved long time companion passing happens, and to feel those emotions but more importantly treat moments like these with the utmost compassion.
