Explaining to Child

S/he went off for an adventure and got lost. You don't know if you will be able to find him/her or if s/he will be able to find his or her way home, and you hope s/he is okay. Emphasize to your daughter that this is why it is so important that your daughter stay near you and Daddy when you're out, and never go anywhere with anyone without asking your or Daddy first. (The "don't talk to strangers" rule doesn't work; they think of strangers as scary-looking people; dangerous people will not act scary but friendly or pretend to know their parents. Meanwhile, if your daughter gets lost and needs help, she needs to know the safest people to talk to - moms and dads with kids.)

Hope you find your dog!

L.

Tell her the truth. Our dog ran away a few weeks ago and my 5 and 3 year old helped us look for the dog. They yelled his name and asked people if they had seen him. We told them that if we did not find him than that means he has found another nice family to live with and they might have a dog to be friends with our dog. We were lucky the police dept. found him and held him at the station because it was the weekend and the pound was closed. He was gone for 1 and a half days. Call the police dept., the pound and make flyers with the dogs picture. Don't give up, as you said the dog ran away yesterday so there is still hope. You and your family will be in our prayers.-----A.
The 1st responce you recived is great and I will use that talk with my children too! Thanks Liev!

I would just talk her the true that bingo runaway and that you will do everything to get him back. Have her go will you to put up flier and to the vets and animals shelter to see if you can found him. Then you may have a big problem on your hands but she will know how much you work to take care of something that mean a lot to you all.

I totally agree with Liev. (again!!)

I'm sorry to hear about your dog :( But since he/she just ran away yesterday, maybe give it a couple weeks for the dog to come back. I personally think you should just tell her the truth, she may get over faster than you are anticipating. I hope you do find your dog however!

Hi R.-- I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. I know that he or she was a very special part of your family. One suggestion would be to go through the process with your daughter of posting LOST DOG signs and helping her to try to locate the dog.

If you can't find your dog, I would suggest that you go through a mourning process with her. If you have any pictures of your dog with your family, you could make a scrapbook and have a little memorial for your dog, maybe even marking a special place in your your or home to dedicate.

I also create personalized DVD's with pictures and music and you might consider creating one for your pet's memorial. This tends to help the family get closure.

My website is www.stcmemoriesfriends.ning.com and you can find samples. So sorry for your loss and be blessed!

L.

I agree with the response you have recieved....some dogs run off when they know they will die, and don't want the family to get hurt by it. This happened when I was a child, and we missed our dog, but knew when she didn't retrun home, that she left to die...she was old and we had her from a puppy...we never located her body, but knew that thats what had happened.
I also will talk to my daughters about who to talk to if ever lost....Moms and Dads with Children. Never thought of that. Thanks Levi.

I just wanted to say I'm glad you found your dog!! :)