Loss of a pet, how do I help my son?

Question

My 8 year old son treasures his 2 pet guinea pigs. Well, tonight I was cleaning their cage for him so that he could go to bed early because of school tomorrow. I let his younger brothers hold his guinea pigs while I cleaned the cage. When I got the cage cleaned out and came back for the pigs I noticed that "Blossom" wasn't moving her back legs. One of my sons told me that his brother threw her. Well, in the end, Blossom passed away. I had my 8 yr old come down and hold her and say goodbye and then we took her and buried her.

What I am asking now is, what can I do to help him deal with his grief? I also know that he is super mad at his brother for hurting her. I feel super guilty for leaving them with his brothers...it is my fault after all.

Any suggestions? Please, if you are just going to be mean, do not answer. Thanks.

Answer 1

Let him make a cross for the grave and write on it, and then suggest to him that he can put flowers on it sometimes.  I did this for my son when his rabbit died (he was about 6 at the time), and it seemed to help him.  The other thing he believed was that for every animal that dies, there will be a new star, and one of the stars up there is Hoppy.  He chose a star and looked for it sometimes.

Answer 2

We told my daughter when her cat died that he got old and tired and was in pain, so he decided to pass on live with and be with his very own mommy and daddy. That he was happy in kitty land, playing in big fields and chasing mice.

A little different circumstance, though, than yours.

It helps my daughter and once every few months (after 2 years) she will still cry silently and say she misses him and when will he be back? I tell her she'll see him when she's very very old and ready to pass on herself and since that will be so long from now- she still has him in her heart and memories.

We adopted 2 kitties when her cat passed on and said that since we had the room now, the kitties would appreciate if she would take care of them. Not replace her cat but that they needed her, too. That helped so much.

Answer 3

well I really think you should let him cope with this by himself 8 year olds cope with grief way differently then we do they tend to forget sooner or later but it's going to hurt

Answer 4

Its a tough call.  My daughter is 10 and has 2 hamsters.  She really loves them, they are her best friends.  My daughter goes to therapy for anxiety issues and when one of her hamsters died the therapist advised me to go get her a new one.  We still talk about the old one, so she doesn't think it was "replaced" ( I know people say that if you get a new one kids thing that people who die can be replaced).   So, I would make sure that your son knows that Blossom will always have a special place in his heart but since his death was an accident it isn't fair that he only has one pig and that he can get a new one if he wants.

Answer 5

I've gone through the same thing.  If anything, do not get a new guinea pig yet, he is probably still too mad.  Go on a mini vacation, do something nice with him.  Also explain to your sons teacher and principal what has happened so they know its not just him being himself.  Have a talk, saying that "Blossom" is in heaven with other guinea pigs playing.  He'll feel better.  Don't say he fell asleep, or he'll be scared that the next time he falls asleep, he'll die.  Also, have a little prayer service (depending on your religion)

Hoped this helps!