There are a few things a parent never wants to do, and one of those is have to tell their child that a pet has died, and then clean up that deceased pet. I had the unfortunate opportunity of doing that today. This evening while I was cooking dinner, Tylar went out and feed her rabbits. When she came in she said something was wrong with Sugar. She didn't come out to eat when she put the food in their kennel. I said she was probably fine and not to worry. She was very insistant that something was wrong. I told her not to worry, that I would check it out in a bit. After more persistance I left the stove and went into the garage, with Tylar close on my heels. When I opened the top, I found Sugar dead in the kennel. I gasped and shut the top as soon as I realized what I was looking at. Without trying to make it a big deal I told Ty to get in the house. She is not a stupid child, most kids would have thought it was sleeping, but not her. She knew right away what had happened. Sugar had died. She tried not to cry, but couldn't hold it. She burst into tears and I picked her up. I was trying hard not to cry myself, trying to stay composed for her. I grabbed the phone and called JD. I told him what had happened, as Tylar went and told her brother. We had lots of tears at our house for a little bit. I had to go pick the stiff rabbit up and gently wrapped it in a bag. This was so hard. I remember her being so soft and fragile, and now she was stiff and cold and hard. I put her in a box and closed the lid. Tears filled my eyes while I did this.
We are not sure what we are going to do with the rabbit corpse. It was a really hard evening. I am not sure why she died, either. Rabbits are prone to diseases and cancers, so maybe that was the issue, and we jsut didn't know it. Dinner was full of remembrance and questions, and more tears. A quick trip to maggie moo's helped the mood, but did not take the pain away. The mood now is a bit better, as long as we don't mention it. Tylar is a very mature little girl. When people would say they were sorry, she would reply, "It's not your fault. It's just somehting that happens." I'm sure the next couple of days will have a few more tears, but it will get better.
So, if you have a pet, be sure to prepare yourself on what you will do and say when the time comes for your pet to pass.
RIP Sugar: 12/29/2008 You will be missed! (Another tear)
Tylar getting Sugar for her birthday in Nov. 2007
5 comments:
This is so sad and unexpected. I think you handled the situation so well.
How sad, Give ty a hug for me. I am very sorry.
So sorry, Sugar was the cutest bunny ever!! I think your kids have an amazing Mom that has helped them be who they are and to be able to deal with things so good! JD you are awsome too :)
oh that is so sad! I wish you could know what had happened. That is so sad.
Ditto to Jonie's comment. You did handle the situation well. I would have shed many a tear as well. Poor Tylar. It's always tough.
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