The death of a pet is something unavoidable in life, and often a part of many children’s early experiences. It is one of life’s greatest, saddest lessons. But it helps if parents are there to communicate to the child what is going on and why, and to help them deal with these tragic events.
In this video from 2014, a little boy is with his father at the vet and are preparing to say goodbye to BaoBao, their loyal and faithful dog. The father gently explains to his son why they have to say goodbye to her, but of course it is upsetting and emotional for the little boy.
BaoBao was unfortunately involved in an accident, sustaining a crippling injury. She travelled everywhere with her dad by scooter and had travelled over 200,000 km with him in her lifetime. But on their last tour she fell off unexpectedly while they were going slowly through an intersection and she was hit by a car, resulting in a smashed pelvis.
He wrote of her last tour with him on his scooter that, “That was her life….it was what she lived for. She died doing what she loved. And that’s the most that anyone can ask for.”
Given her age (almost 17 years old) and no guarantee that the surgery would help her walk again, BaoBao’s human came to the decision to not put her through the “pain of surgeries and physical therapy”. Her hearing, sight, bladder control were already diminished because of her age, and he believed over the next year or two “she would have aged/worsened a lot”.
“So I made the call to put her down while she was still ‘herself’ and not in too much pain,” he wrote.
When the son listens to his dad explain why they have to say “goodbye” and he tells his father he will miss her, it’s hard not to break down in tears alongside of him, for you know he will never be the same again, having loved and lost his dog.
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