I want to thank all those who answered my last question. It gave me some good material to write about. Now I come to you with another "tricky" question.

How do you explain to a child that your beloved pet needs to be "put to sleep" because it is sick? (When I say sick, I mean the animal in question is going to die from the problem and there is no medicine or treatment to fix/cure it.)

I've dealt with this myself, and I'm an advlt knowing the ramifications of it all. I'm just curious how you sit your child down and tell them/try to explain to them why the pet has to go away. Also, how do you address the questions that may follow such an event. (IE: If granny gets old do we "put her to sleep," do I get put to sleep if I get sick, do I die when i go to sleep, etc....)

Wait for them to misbehave, and then tell them that I'm murdering Fluffy because they were bad, and that things they love will die every time they defy me.

Although that would be excellent parenting, I probably won't do that. I honestly don't know. My kid isn't old enough yet to understand a complex explanation. I'm sure it will be extremely difficult, and would likely vary depending on the child's age. Probably something along the lines of, "Fluffy is hurting and the doctor can't fix him, so we're going to help him sleep forever so he doesn't have to hurt anymore." If the child is old enough to understand death, then I'd be honest about what's happening.

"Sleep" is a word to avoid. Youngsters will start to associate "sleep" with "going away." I bet you can imagine the backlash

If they are old enough to grasp the concept of death, many times delicately handled through religious teachings, let them know that the pet has gone to a better place.

This is a really delicate situation and each child needs to be handled whatever is best for their specific situation