Those with young Kids and old pets can appreciate this

[Dawg]

This came to my puppy from a friend of his.  Very touching and will hold significant emotion to any of you with young children and old pets.  I think it lends encouragement that the world is not completely full of ignorant hostile pricks all the time.

My question for you lies at the end after you read the email.



Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She like s to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her, You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith. 

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith,' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. ;On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God



Just in case anyone out there finds themselves in a similar situation, if you had a pet die and a young child who missed them, share your story of how you handles the situation. 

As for I, my puppy is 13 and our Wheaton is 14 so he will pass one of these days soon and the plan is to immediately replace him with another puppy completing the circle of life so to say.  My puppy lost both grandpa's a few years back and it was very tough on him but he has learned how to deal with loss very well, so i don't anticipate a major meltdown when our Wheaton goes, but one never  knows.

[ShrowdedPoet]

Well, I had a cat that I got on Halloween.  He was all black and very sweet.  Got him as a kitten and named him Spirit.  Now Heather is really too young to understand death and loss. . .she just knows that the kitty kitty isn't around anymore.  Spirit was a young cat in his prime when a car went out of it's way to hit him in front of the house. . .I was in the yard.  When I saw the black cat lying in the road the first thought in my head was "That can't be Spirit!"  But he'd followed me outside so I had to be sure.  I walked out into the road and sure enough his little collar was a few feet from him torn from his neck.  I still cry sometimes about him.  When it was fresh I'd think I saw him out of the corner of my eye and turn with a smile to greet him. . .but he wasn't there. . .he was gone.  I think his death affected me more than Heather, though she still wonders sometimes where the kitty kitty went.  I tried replacing him but it didn't work.  Now I just miss him alot.

[diddywah]

That is just the sweetest thing.....having being forced to put down a 16 year companion a few years back - I remember all to well.

And when - about a week later my 3 year old Nephew asked "Is Penny still dead?" it destroyed me. I still miss that little mutt - she was such a great companion.

God Bless Penny.

God Bless Abbey.

God Bless Mr Rogers

And God Bless whoever at the postoffice sent that package to Heather!

[Dawg]

That is just the sweetest thing.....having being forced to put down a 16 year companion a few years back - I remember all to well.

And when - about a week later my 3 year old Nephew asked "Is Penny still dead?" it destroyed me. I still miss that little mutt - she was such a great companion.
God Bless Penny.
God Bless Abbey.
God Bless Mr Rogers
And God Bless whoever at the postoffice sent that package to Heather!

Thanks for sharing.

The dog we had before our current Wheaton was a Chow/Golden mix from the pound that we rescued.  Very close to us and we loved her, but she turned on a child and luckily nothing permanent but did break skin.  So we had to put her down.  Very sad for me and I felt very depressed for a long time.

We told our nieces that we took her to a farm and gave her to a farmer so she could run in the fields.  !3 years later they still wanted us to take them to the farm so they could see her.

[Sherona]

We had kept two dogs from a litter of puppies Devil Child (a dog my husband had when I first met him) one male and one female. We had the female fixed because we did not want nor could we afford vet bills for any more after these. My now-9 year old daughter was four then and named the female Brownie, and the male Nuffy (Brownie was,,well brown..and Nuffy is short for Snuffleupagus from sesame street).

That summer I had to go to Louisiana for a month before my mother moved to OK after her first heart attack to stay with her. While I was gone my husband was at work and someone shot Brownie. Remember, I live in the middle of ranch land so it is highly possible that Brownie had slipped the fence and then wandered back in. By the time my husband got home from work it was too late, and she died,

Well I toldm y then-4 year old that Brownie had gone to live with another little girl who had no dogs of her own, since my 4 yearold had two dogs still we thought it would be nice to let this other little girl have a dog.

To this day my 9 year old sometimes randomly says "I hope that girl is taking careof Brownie.."

[Caity]

Am I the only CHB here who doesn't believe in lying to children?  *laughs*