I learned yesterday that a terrible tragedy happened for one of our hospice families. Their boxer mix, Petey, slipped out the front door, ran onto a busy street (with the kids chasing him) and was hit by a car and killed. The kids witnessed it all and are devastated. Our patient is their father, a man in his early 40's. When I called the home to offer my condolences, I asked if they would be interested in having Petey cremated at our expense. The patient sounded relieved. He told me that his daughter had asked about having Petey cremated, but because they couldn't afford it, they had tried to bury him in the back yard instead. I called a wonderful local pet cremation business called Companions Forever and told them about the situation. Tina graciously agreed to go out and help the family recover Petey's body for cremation. Later that day, she told me that the kids had buried him with a picture they had drawn and his favorite toy.
Imagine being in grade school, trying to understand and live with the fact that your dad is dying. Life at school is pretty normal, but when you get home, you remember that it's really not normal at all. One of the few things that kids can count on in this kind of situation is the family pet. Pets provide comfort and companionship for kids when life feels upside down and things are too hard to comprehend. They have time to listen, time to play and they are often are a best friend for grieving kids. For these kids to have had the experience of watching their beloved dog die so traumatically is heartbreaking for us as a staff. One of our staff members, Kristin, created this beautiful condolence card with a dog angel on the front of it and a "rainbow bridge" painting of dogs in heaven inside. We all signed it yesterday. I will be taking Petey's cremains to them this afternoon and talking with them a little bit about their grief.
