PET loss is an event that most pet owners must experience at one time or the other because of pets' relatively shorter life span compared to ours.For example, you can hardly have a particular pet continuously for 20years without encountering the pain of pet loss.So, it becomes a phenomenon that we must know how to manage.By nature, the reactions of men to situations are diverse; even when such situations are strikingly similar. This is because of our different perceptions on issues.Pet loss, especially, could spark different reactions in different people.The objects of my discussion today, are the children. How do they cope with pet loss' How can they be consoled' What story can you tell them to assuage their hurt'This issue always evokes painful emotions in me due to the very difficult encounters I have had with children who had suffered pet loss.To most of them, it was their first loss of something very dear to them and at such times, like I have found out, adults around them had always failed to provide the succour they needed.A lot of people dwell on the ridiculous, or use religious consolatory tactics; which in these cases may not be very appropriate.You couldn't be telling a child that his dog has gone to be with Jesus. That will be preposterous.As difficult as the task of telling a youngster about the death of a pet, it is usually good to be upfront with the issue right from when the pet was acquired.Your child must know that, like everything that has breath, his pet will die someday and that death could come in a variety of ways. Again that the death of a pet does not mean the end of all thingsI share the sentiments expressed by Mary Montgomery in her book, Good bye my friend when she wrote that, it is better to be honest with children rather than deceive them in matters concerning pet loss, no matter how well-meaning you try to be with them.She counselled further that when helping children cope with pet loss, it is useful to know how they perceive death at various ages.Toddlers understand death as a temporary separation; the pet is gone for a while but will be back.Up to age five, children view death as reversible; they play dead for a time and pop back to life. Not until about age six do children sense the permanence of death.Telling children that a pet has been put to sleep can be harmful. They may not want to go to bed and fall asleep for fear that they too might die.Often the death of a pet is a child's first experience of loss and grief. Children need to know that it is normal to feel sad and cry.They should also be encouraged to share their feelings so that worries and anxieties are brought out in the open.Many adults as well as children take comfort in having a simple burial ceremony at which they say their good byes and join in prayer, if praying is their custom.Generally, it is not advisable to get another pet immediately. Replacing a pet too quickly can give children the idea that losing something you love is of no great importance and that loyalty can be easily transferred.When children are given time to grieve a loss, they learn that although losing something you love is painful, sorrow passes and joy again becomes a part of their lives.
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