My 12 year old daughter was on a walk yesterday with grandma and her baby brother on the sidewalk across the street from the neighborhood park. They were walking our Labrador dog on a leash. Well, apparently an unleashed Shiba Inu that was romping in the park caught sight of our dog and dashed across the street to greet..well, the other dog was immediately run over and killed about twelve feet in front of my daughter, in her full sight. Even worse, the people driving didn't even stop. My daughter is a major dog fanatic anyway..but apparently she collapsed in tears to the ground and my mom couldn't move her for 20 minutes. She cried all evening when I came home from work and is inconsolable. I have never seen her this emotional. Now, this morning she looks like she is in shock..no eating, very pale..barely talking. I feel very bad for the doggy, but am extremely worried for my daughter..any advice? Anyone with a similar experience with tips to share? She has never been like this.
2006-11-21 05:00:55 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Adolescent
Explain about death and what happens. Perhaps offer some way of her expressing her feelings for this animal (i.e. throwing some flowers into the sea/river, donating money to an animal shelter, donating time to animal shelter).
Its a hard one, as the pet was not her own and it was such a traumatic thing to witness. Talking it through with her is the best bet. If she believes in heaven, mention that the dog will now be there. That he is not in pain and died instantly. He will be happy now in heaven with all the other dogs.
I hope this helps somewhat. I am sure it will take a lot of time to get over this but with patience and love, she will do it.
2006-11-21 05:09:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
this is terrible and it is understandable that she is traumatised - I likely would be too and I am 34 years old! I am sure you have already talked to her about death ? Avoid all the cliches about death and the "its just a dog" trains of thought. Obviously your daughter is very sensitive and she will interpret these as the person saying them as uncaring.
Try asking her if she would like to do something in memory of the dog - make a donation to the local SPCA perhaps, this will help other animals be protected from being loose on the street and getting hit by cars. It might help her feel better knowing she can help other animals somehow....
Good luck.
2006-11-21 06:50:46 · answer #2 · answered by family_matters 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She will eventually except it. Our family dog was run over when I was about three. We where walking home from the store and I had a bad feeling. I kept asking my mom if she wanted me to carry him and she said no. A man driving as elcamino ran him over as he ran across the street to bark at our neighbors dog. The man was very sorry and gave us a purple afghan to bury him in. We had to borrow our neighbors shovel. It was one of the worst experiences in my life.
Another family dog ran away and I did not eat for days.
I am sorry she had to witness that, even more so about the people not stopping. She should start to feel better in a few weeks. You should talk to her about how she feels. You should also tell her about how wrong, careless, and irresponsible it was of the driver not to stop. It are moments like these that make me want to lose my faith in humanity. You daughter might feel the same.
2006-11-21 05:36:42 · answer #3 · answered by dumbblond 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
my grandmas cat died a few years ago when i was about 11 and my mom told me they put her to sleep and i ran out side and rode my bike in a circle for about an hour (which was hard because the bike was very small i still cry about it every once in a while because i grow up with the cat they got her about not even a year after i was born Im sorry time helps take her to a consoler ;..(
2006-11-21 07:22:47 · answer #4 · answered by Stephanie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Talk to her about what she is feeling. . her pain, her fears. Let her know that it is ok to be sad. If things don't seem to start returning to normal in a couple days, speak with her school counselor or call her doctor. Best of luck and so sorry to hear about the trauma!
2006-11-21 05:05:05 · answer #5 · answered by wyllow 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Mayb d best ting 2 do is 2 just simply explain dat d dog is gone 2 heaven (if u believe in dat)!!!U may want 2 tel her dat d ppl in d car dat didnt stop were nt nice ppl n dat if u saw a hurt animal dat u wud stop n help!!!She wil probably stil b sad bt u just hav 2 b dar n support her bt nt nsound lik ur babying her!!!!Good luk!!!
2006-11-21 05:28:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
she just going thought shock tell me if you saw something get killed right in front of you how would you feel i mean wouldn't you have nightmares about it! it sound terrible. plus your daughter seems to be a very extremely loving person which would have a lot to do with it.
2006-11-21 07:33:17 · answer #7 · answered by DarkDejection(JF) 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Explain to her that he is in doggy heaven now, and he felt no pain. Have her draw a picture of him frolicking in the clouds with other dogs. That is so sad, I hope she will be okay.
2006-11-21 05:05:58 · answer #8 · answered by ANGEL 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm so sorry she had to witness that. I'm sure it was very hard on her.
Does she believe in God? Would it help her to pray for the dog?
Have you talked to her about how the dog isn't in pain anymore?
When we lost a dog growing up, I always dug this poem out of the place my mom kept it tucked in our family Bible.
2006-11-21 05:05:32 · answer #9 · answered by momma2mingbu 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋