A Death In The Neighbourhood Family

Yesterday, as I was on my way to get groceries, I received some very sad news. Our next door neighbours' had to put their beautiful German Shepherd to sleep. Their dog had been ill with cancer for quite a while, but to my knowledge, she seemed to be getting a little better because of chemotherapy. Now, I'm not much of a neighbourhood fraternizer, mostly because I feel like I'm socially awkward and shy when it comes to people I'm not close with, but I was under the impression that the pup was on the up and up. Obviously not.

Sasha (the dog) had taken a turn for the worse this past week, and her family members thought it was best to end the suffering and send her off to a better place. We are all VERY sad about the news. Sasha was a fantastic dog. She would sit outside on the front grass most days just to keep an eye on the neighbourhood. She never strayed and was never a nuisance. She was always so sweet and friendly and she was an especially wonderful friend to my toddler. She was very patient with him, even when he was "petting her" (aka - thumping her on her back with great strength), pulling her ears or chasing her around the yard.

So, the family dilemma became, how to tell our little guy that his buddy Sasha had passed away. Our neighbours were so considerate that they took me aside and wanted to know what we were going to say, so that they could reiterate the same information to him if he ever asked. Not really sure how to break the news myself, I checked a couple of books to see what they recommended. Most books advise to keep it simple and tell the truth. Don't say things like "the dog has been put to sleep" or "the dog has gone away" because it might scare the child into believing that anyone may go to sleep or even make a trip to the grocery store without ever coming back. They also cautioned that children at this age don't really understand the idea of permanence, so they may ask where the dog is often. This might pose to be a painful reminder to my neighbours, but we're very lucky that they're both extremely understanding people.

What my husband and I ended up doing was telling our son that Sasha was very sick and died. We told him that she had gone to heaven, which is up in the sky, but that she was not coming back. He asked a couple of questions and we answered to the best of our abilities, but the explanation seemed to be enough. He did, however, ask where Sasha was a couple of times, after the fact, but we echoed that Sasha had gone to heaven, which is a better place, but she will not be coming back. I'm hoping that this explanation, though seemingly very blunt for a 2 year old, will help him grasp the concept of death, without sugar coating it.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the Moores. We know how much Sasha meant to you (as she meant a great deal to us, too!) and we hope that knowing that she's in a better place eases the pain, even a little bit. We will all miss her, but we know that she will still be keeping her watchful eye on the neighbourhood.