Had to have one of our three guinea pigs put to sleep last night. She had a severe case of pneumonia and was suffering just to breathe. Our daughter (7) doesn’t know yet as I took her to the vet after she went to sleep, and we didn’t want to tell her right before school. We were thinking of the “she got sick and died and now she’s in heaven” approach, but just curious if anyone else has any other ideas or if our explanation should be more involved than that. Thanks for any suggestions 
Mike
I would explain it exactly as you said, but I would also take the opportunity to talk about life and death in general - ie. everyone dies at some point, it’s a natural part of living, it’s ok to be sad, but remember that the guinea pig is at peace now and not suffering, etc.
What she said. Also expect anything from apparent uncaring to out and out devastation, all of which is ok. Kids react different and cope differently.
~Matt
I would sit her down tonight for dinner and say something like “Honey, I have some bad news for you. You know the stew that we are eating for dinner tonight? Your guinea pig is in it. He died last night and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity for some free meat so by eating him, he’ll help you grow up into a big girl. Can you pass the peas, please?”
How 'bout “honey…Squiggles went to the big Habitrail in the sky”?
T.
I’m not really sure what to expect. She isn’t really that attached to them from a pet/child perspective like some of her friends are, but she does get very emotional certain things, so it really can go either way.
Mike
…and you wonder why you have trouble finding a girlfriend…
I think you have some serious dain bramage.
Mike
No, the real reason why I have trouble finding a girlfriend is because I fart too much in my sleep. The sicko thoughts never come up because the Noxious Fumes of the Night drive them away first.
And I wasn’t totally off base. In some parts of the world, guinea pigs are used as food.
Unless you think that guinea pigs actually go to heaven after they die, why tell her that? Animals, and people, get sick and die all the time: that’s part of nature. Sad? Sometimes. You might point out that her guinea pig had a much more comfortable life than if it had lived in the wild, where it would have been hunted by hawks and other predators. A funeral and burial might be appropriate to assist in closure, if she wants to do that. Use this as a teaching opportunity: it’s important to make the most of the time we have.
Memorial service OK…full blown funeral with burial, bad idea. The last thing you want is to have the neighbor’s dog walk pasty your kid in a few days with a stiff guinea pig in his jaws. Burying pets in the yard is a bad idea.
Burial service is not an option, as I declined having the remains returned to me, but I don’t really think she would appreciate it anyway. It’s looking like a basic explanation of sickness, death, ease of suffering, etc. and move on from there. Thanks everyone.
Mike
After cleaning my daughter’s guinea pig’s cage one summer I left little Butterscotch on the porch in the shade. I got waylayed with something only to come back to find the sun was now baking the porch and Butterscotch dead of heat exposure. I later explained to my daughter that Butterscotch had died and asked her if she wanted to help me bury Butterscotch. She got one of her favorite t-shirts to wrap it up in and we had a nice burial ceremony in our backyard with some of her neighborhood friends whereby everyone shared some nice comments about old Butterscotch. (I dug a very deep hole to keep out the dogs and coyotes.)
Since that time Butterscotch has been joined by Stormy the hamster. She is on her way to something akin to Natalie Portman in Garden State.
I got waylayed with something only to come back to find the sun was now baking the porch and Butterscotch dead of heat exposure.
Has the truth ever come out about this?
How 'bout “honey…Squiggles went to the big Habitrail in the sky”?
T.
Or you could have Alec Baldwin call and leave her a phone message.
Let her know that fluffy lived a long life for a guinea pig (and make sure she understands the difference between long life for a person or a dog or a rodent doesn’t always mean the same thing).
Explain that she died, and if your daughter can handle it, try and explain euthanasia. DON’T call it “putting to sleep” w/out explanation of the euphamism.
I was about 7 or 8 when we put one of our dogs down–up until that animals were there one day, and then not–I don’t think I understood, really, what it meant to “die.” But by 7, I was able to understand.
Death isn’t an easy thing to discuss, but it’s a part of living. Helping her understand that it’s natural, and that GRIEF is natural will help her along.
No! Someday I will direct her to this post. Until then we will have our annual memorial in the backyard.
Whatever you do, don’t write her a letter. I was 20 when my bunny died. It was about 8 at the time so it had been around for awhile. My mother wrote me a letter. This was after phones had been invented. In fact, even email had been invented at that time. I was pretty upset for the lack of respect I felt this showed. Ten years later and I’m starting to understand why. My mum has a tough time with grief and probably wouldn’t have been able to make it through the phone call. I’m still not sure why she didn’t ask me dad though.
I still miss that bunny. His name was Morton and he had the softest fur.
Ok…no major drama last night. She took it pretty well, although she was more emotional at bedtime and took a while to get to sleep. I think she understood most of the explanation that Cassie was suffering and she’s no longer in pain. Not expecting any long-lasting effects, but she still doesn’t completely grasp why she won’t be coming back. Thanks again everyone for chiming in.
Mike
I would sit her down tonight for dinner and say something like “Honey, I have some bad news for you. You know the stew that we are eating for dinner tonight? Your guinea pig is in it. He died last night and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity for some free meat so by eating him, he’ll help you grow up into a big girl. Can you pass the peas, please?”
Good option, but what about this?
Sweetheart, your Guinea pig was abducted. He died of an overdose of cocaine while lodged in Richard Gere’s colon.
Hold out hope for the right woman- mine has dealt with my disgusting ejections for years. The madder she gets, the funnier it is!