A 4-year old confronts Death

A’s sister called the other day to tell him that their dog had died that morning. The night before, she and her husband had told their 4-year old that the dog was very sick and probably would not live much longer. He asked them if he could have the skeleton to keep on his bureau.

The next morning the dog died as A’s brother in law held him. The little boy watched all this, then flung his arms up in the air and exclaimed “How could I have let this happen?” (She commented “He inherited my guilt.”)