It’s a terrible moment, one you knew was coming…but hoped it was waaaay in the future… the family pet drops dead. GAH.

It happened to our poor ole fluffball, P. J, named rather poignantly after my late sister, and unfortunately it happened overnight, so fast, and we can only imagine that he was poisoned somehow.. very sad. I really thought I was going to have time to take him to the vet, but he never made it, so now on top of the grief I am racked with guilt.

So the kids were VERY sad about it, obviously, as he was their fat cuddly fur brother and he’d been in their life as long as they could remember.

So how can you help your children cope with loss of a family pet? 

Well, this is what I decided to do, and it DID make them feel supported. It gave them a space for their grief. SO my advice is to write a letter or a poem to their dear friend, and then bury a copy of it with them. You can also draw a card or an image, and choose a blanket or toy to put with them in the grave. 

We wrapped him in a favourite blanket of his, my older son made the gravestone from a rock in the garden, and we chose a type of bush to plant on top. 

Between the tears we wrote this poem together, and I illustrated it with a few sketches I already had of our squishy friend. We read it at the funeral ( To bury an animal legally it has to be 60 cm deep. / That took some digging!!) 

I hope you feel inspired, and a little more prepared for the inevitable event! And if you need some help with a picture or a rhyme then get in touch!

Live well Peeps!