Reddit reviews When a Pet Dies

I wouldn't specifically tell them she is going to be euthanized - to a 2yo and 3yo, that's equivalent to saying you're going to kill the dog. I would just say, as you mentioned, that she is sick and will die very soon and give them the chance to say goodbye. Then after she is euthanized you can just let them know that she died, without going into the specifics of how...just that when animals get old and sick, their bodies stop working and they are not alive anymore.

There have been a number of posts on the topic of explaining the death of a pet to young children which might give you some other helpful thoughts, such as this one, this one, and this one. One bit of advice that I've read several places is to avoid using the phrase "put to sleep", because you don't want the kids to associate sleep with death. You might also think about getting an age-appropriate book about the death of a pet to read with them, such as Goodbye Mousie or The Goodbye Book; two good ones about dogs specifically are The Forever Dog and I'll Always Love You. There's also a book by Mr. Rogers called When A Pet Dies which might help you answer any questions they have.

Mr. Rogers has you covered.
When a Pet Dies I bet your library has it.

2 go-to resources that tend to get mentioned a lot when this type of topic comes-up:

The Sesame Street episode where Big Bird is told about Mr. Hooper's death.

Mr. Roger's book When a Pet Dies

I hope these at least give you a starting point.

I don't think you can go wrong with Mr. Rodgers. His book is really beautiful and really helped my son with thinking about death in a more positive way.

Link to book:

http://www.amazon.com/When-Pet-Dies-Fred-Rogers/dp/0698116666/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228426939&sr=8-1

I think my daughter was four when our cat died suddenly. I bought her a book written by Mr Rogers and it helped both of us.

https://www.amazon.com/When-Pet-Dies-Fred-Rogers/dp/0698116666

So sorry to hear about your kitten. There are a couple of books that you could probably find at your library that might help to explain it to him and help him deal with the grief:

• When a Pet Dies by Mr. Rogers.
  
• The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia.
  
  The Fall of Freddie the Leaf is also available as a series of youtube videos, the first of which I linked. Hope these help.

There's a book called "When A Pet Dies" by Mr. Rogers that might be helpful http://www.amazon.com/When-Pet-Dies-Fred-Rogers/dp/0698116666

I'm sorry your kitty is dying. (((hugs)))

Check out the libraries near you. The librarians can probably help you pick out some books about the loss of pets that would be good to read together as a family. [Mr Roger's even wrote a book for children] (http://www.amazon.com/When-Pet-Dies-Fred-Rogers/dp/0698116666/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1S0AD3S4M0049GA7YYPS) about the death of pets so there are options out there to help your daughter grieve and understand she is not alone in her grief or responsible for her pets death.

Children often struggle with the concept of death so discussing it as a family, allowing her to share any feelings or questions she has, and having a memorial service with friends and family can help her to understand her feelings are normal and cope with the loss. Sounds like all of you are struggling with this loss so I would encourage you as a family to help plan the memorial service and choose flowers, toys, or treats that are special to each of you to leave for Purple. Your husband witnessed the death so don't forget him in the planning because he's probably grieving too and the memorial service might help him cope with what happened.

http://www.amazon.com/When-Pet-Dies-Fred-Rogers/dp/0698116666

Mr. Rogers is always the go-to expert on these sorts of things.
I used this book with my child when our dog died (at about the same age) and it helped immensely!

I've heard this book by Mr. Rogers is helpful.


When a Pet Dies
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0698116666/