I had to deal with two of my grandparents dying before the first dog I remembered died. She was hit by a car; my parents woke us up and sat us down in my sister’s room. They told us gently that she was hit by a car and was killed, that she wouldn’t have felt any pain.

We were, of course, upset about it. But, the simple, direct, and gentle delivery of the news I think gave less distress than the lies that other parents would tell.