to feel so terribly sad :(

[extremepie]

Came down this morning to find my 4 yr old DS 'playing' with our guinea pig quite roughly. He didn't mean to but I think he broke her back as she couldn't walk when I found her.

She died in my arms about half an hour later.

DS keeps saying he is sorry and didn't mean to hurt her (which I know he didn't).

Yesterday got home from work to find that our other guinea pig had been found mysteriously dead in her cage when my husband got up in the morning.

Now I know why.

I just feel so terrible that, even though he didn't mean it, my son killed our guinea pigs. They weren't that old so should have lived much longer, plus they died in pain.

Have been crying all morning, burst out again every time I look at the cage. Don't even want DS around me at the moment, don't want to talk to him or do anything for him right now.

Sad day :(

Blimey, this thread you're all mad, quite quite mad!

OP im sorry about your piggies. They are pretty delicate, he probably squeezed them too tight because they are really really wriggly and he was trying to give them cuddles. Im sure there was no malice. Who's to say if he hurt the other piggy, it might have been ill - they are prone to urine infections and can just up and die from this very quickly.

Really horrible thing for you to have to deal with, poor piggies, poor you and poor DS actually. I know its an awful thing but i honestly wouldnt make too much of it with your son, just draw a line under it and let him forget about it.

oh and midori, yes, it was unfortunate that the gpig was not euthanaised straight away, and the kindest thing for the OP could have done was to have pulled its neck for it, now im tough as old boots and have done this for dying birds after cat attacks but i dont think i could do it for a gpig, so you are being very unfair. No point in taking the poor bloody thing to the vets, it woudlnt have been seen immediately anyway, she would have had to take it there, arrange someone to have kids, wait in waiting room, having to transport pig there etc etc, she did the best thing she could short of wringing its neck, in the circumstances.

I haven't read the whole thread, but I didn't see anyone say he was a serial killer - was that really said?

So sorry to hear that op. I'd be in tears and be struggling to react normally to DS for a while too. Broken a fav vase - oh well just an accident. Spilt nice on the carpet - never mind can't be helped. Killed an animal - I'd struggle with that tbh. But of course it was an accident so you need to give him a hug, make sure learns a lesson and if you can take the bodies to the vet to ask why it happened- they could have been I'll anyway.

The guinea pig would have shown it was in pain if it was being handled too harshly. It would have squealed and looked frightened, it's what all animals do. A broken back on a guinea pig is pretty bad, it's not like a tiny hamster or mouse. I'd certainly talk to him about his treatment of animals because most people, even children, would be able to recognise the distress of an animal.