Our first family pet died last night

Most of us remember the first pet we had when we were kids, and just how utterly devastating it was when they died.

 

Even now, nearly 30 years later, I can vividly remember how I felt when my first my terrapin and then my rabbit died. Both happened years apart but they definitely introduced me to the unpredictability of life at an early age.

 

Sadly, my daughter experienced that awful feeling last night, when we discovered her pet fish had died.

 

We only had the fish a few weeks, but she became grossly attached to it – saying goodnight, feeding it and watching it swim around its tank when she got up in the morning.

 

She was so proud of this tiny little goldfish she won at a family fun day that she wanted to invite all her friends over to see it. Sadly, only her cousin got to see her new best friend before it silently passed away while we were all at work and school.

 

To be honest, it nearly broke my heart when I found it floating at the bottom of the tank. Of course I was sad that it had died, but I was more devastated for my little girl – I just knew how she was going to react.

 

And while many people will laugh at the fact that it was a fish and it had only been in our home for a short time, remember just how easy it is for kids to become attached to something, anything.

 

There were a lot of tears last night. Tears and singing. She made up her very own song with a heartbreaking plea to see the fish alive for just 30 seconds – a plea that made me realise she didn't understand just how final death is.

 

I watched my daughter’s heart break last night and it was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.  

 

Mary Byrne is a staff writer at MummyPages and mum to a horse-crazy, sports-mad, seven-year-old girl.