When You Have to Say Goodbye: Loving and Letting Go of Your Pet: Loving and Letting Go of Your Pet

My daughter loves this book. I got it for her to help explain why the dog we've had before her birth had to be euthanized. I was going to donate it to the vet for other children, but she reads it regularly and is inspired by the tips of how to cope. Do I guess we will keep it until she doesn't need it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who struggles with the right words, and to any child to help them heal. She went from being confused and angry to "Oh, Yeah, her spirit is strong, but her body hurts." And helping her realize that pain is healthy and there are things you can do to ease it, was just amazing.

We have a decision to make. It's imminent. Just as aging is...our beloved family pet is 17...18? maybe. She has many different health problems.This book opens up the conversation of euthanasia to our son. It's a terrible thing - as a pet guardian - to have to decide. Very tough. When is the right time? the necessary conversations with my son on top of the stress of making this decision on top of the loss of another family pet....just a lot to bear right now. :'(This book, thankfully, has made it just a tad bit easier. It's told with compassion and simple explanations - which is what an 8 year old needs. Thank you.

I got this to help with the loss of our family pet. While it was great as a read for me, it was a little too grown up for my 6 year old. I think it will be helpful as she ages and can understand more about the process. I do appreciate that this book talks about euthanasia and not "putting to sleep". I think its important to use the proper terminology to prevent confusion.

We knew it would be time to say goodbye to our dog soon so we wanted to help prepare our 5 year old to help him understand the process a little better but didn't know where to start. This book was amazing! It's so on point with the details of what will happen but without it being scary. It is written so adults and children alike can understand and appreciate the book.

Good for kids, and us old folks that start crying at the memory of a departed pet. I purchased 10 of 'em so that I my vet could send one home with kids that were not going home with their pet. Honestly, it ought to be something that goes home with the pet from wherever they are sourced (Breeder, Shelter, wherever), but it'd likely get lost before the comforting words within were needed.

After reading about this book in an industry publication, I found it here on Amazon. I think that it is a wonderful book for any veterinary hospital to keep on hand for the children involved in end-of-life care and euthanasia situations. Dr. Mansfield uses a great combination of simple language along with technical words ("euthanasia" not "put to sleep") to explain to children what is happening to their pet, and that it's ok to feel anything that they're feeling.

This is a wonderful book, beautifully written. It is great for kids but really adults would get a lot out of it also. I loved the story so much that I purchased 3 & donated them to my Vet's office to give to grieving families. I wish I had this book when I had to put my dogs down.The illustrations are also wonderful. I can't say enough good things about this book!

Amazing. It was perfect for my young kids and actually for me too.

Lovely book, helped my little boy

Bought this for my 8 year old, helps them understand the process, and helped him ask questions rather than hold things in