Yesterday afternoon, while we were watching the pups play, E asked: "Are the pups going to stay with us forever?"
"Well.....we'll keep them as long, as long, as long, as we can!"
"Great!"
"When our dogs die, will we get another one?"
"I'm not sure. Usually when a pup dies, we'll feel really sad and miss it very much. It's hard to get a new pup right away because you're so sad about missing the other one (Note #1: we went to the shelter and found Daisy just two weeks after Andy passed away)."
"When dogs die, what do we do with them?"
"Um...there are different things that people do. Most of the time - lots of the time - sometimes, we bury them in the ground (Note #2: we did not bury Andy or Angel's remains; they are in wooden boxes on our living room shelves. But how do you explain cremation to a five year old?? I mean, in a way that will not ruin her sleeping for the next 15 years?).
"What happens to their bones?"
"Hm (Note #3: not-terribly-effective stalling technique)?"
"Do their bones get buried with them?"
"Yes, I think so."
"What are other things that happen to them?"
"Hm?"
"Other that burying."
"You know, I'm not really sure right now. (Note #4: Direct lie. Well, what I said was true, but the question I was answering wasn't the questions she asked. The question I was answering was: How are you going to answer this question?)"
"Then what?"
"Well, some people believe that a part of the pup stays with us. You know, that special part that makes us love them so much? Right here, in our heart. Not our physical heart (Note #5: I started realizing I'm getting too technical here with her, and realizing I'm fumbling more and more!), but that special feeling we get when we think about Andy and Angel? How we loved them so much? That's the part of them that stays with us forever."
"Oh."
End. Of. Questions. For now.
THANK GOODNESS.
