Death of family pet

[flowerfairy]

Didn't know where to put this so hope this is ok. Ds is 2 1/2 yo and PIL are probably going to have their dog put down after a long illness. Bu tnot quite sure to say to ds. It will have some effect on him as he is looked after by PIL twice a week and is very used to the dog. He is bound to ask where the dog is, but I also think he will just accept what we say as he is not at an age where he will ask why? But know he will probably keep repeating "Doggie gone" which will upset MIL in particular.

Also Do we take ds to say goodbye?
TIA for any experiences/advice

My Collie was PTS when my niece was about 2.
She asked where the dog was and i told her straight that the dog had been very sick and that the dog had died.
She asked a couple more times, but seemed to accept it(coped with it better than me,truth be told!)
Best policy was definitely to be straight with her.

My dd was about the same age when my cat was PTS. We took her with us to the vet and she stroked him whilst the vet did the deed. He was purring and we could all see when he had gone

We told her that the vet was giving him special medicine which meant he would go to sleep and wake up in heaven where he would be happy and free from pain.

She accpeted it without a problem and often still talks about him being in heaven - I am convinced that going with us to the vet helped as there was no mystery.

There's a book called Goodbye Mog which we've found really good for explaining this kind of thing. I would do a link for you but ... I never get it right! It's by Judith Kerr.

I wouldn't use the word 'sleep' (even tho' we do say 'Put to sleep'). I would say died/dead. You don't want confusion over sleeping and dying!
I wouldn't bother going to say goodbye. That might be too much. Your ds will gradually get the idea that 'die' means never seeing the dog again.