So, let me put it into perspective to some people. As someone who lost a dog due to unfortunate circumstances here. I'll make it clear right now: A Dog, or any animal, I feel is on equal footing to any human. And it's incredibly difficult for me to say I'd choose a dog or a child, as to me: They're both family and they both would mean as much to me.
I was about... 5, I wanna say. I had a dog, her name was Molly. She was a Black Lab mix, and we had her for about... 5-6 months. She never quite fully grew out of a lot of puppy habits (and was super destructive, which we were still working on months in, but Labs are notorious for this). But despite this, we loved her dearly, especially me. I always brought her into my room to sleep with me as a kid. She'd stay for awhile.
Anyways, one night, my dad was outside, talking with our neighbor. Their dog was also outside. Well, I went inside to get something to drink and join my father outside. Well, like usual, being as sneaky as she is, she bolted out the door. Unfortunately, both dogs, due to a slight hole in the fence, got out and they both ran off. The neighbor was able to get their dog back, but Molly....? Unfortunately, not so much. My dad and a couple neighbors went out looking for her.
After a little bit, I decided to go out and see if they found her. As I was nearing the corner, I saw her. I yelled at her name, excited, and ran towards her. She thought she was playing a game, and.... She ran into the street and got hit by the care. She died on impact. To make matters worse, the person who hit the dog, was someone from the human society. Which is like... yeah...
Anyways, I remember freaking out, begging my mom, to get her to an ambulance. And she said that won't do any good. Later in the night, when we all got in... Both my parents, cried really hard. My sisters to some degree, also blamed me for her loss. Realistically, although I was only 5, I still blame myself.
To this day, I still think about her. What kinda life she could've had had that not have happened. If I had known better, I wouldn't have gone outside with her in the Kitchen. I wouldn't have ran after her. I have so many regrets. I'm 29, but this still is burned into my mind.
I feel like, people don't give credit to children a lot for losing pets. Especially if they were lost for horrific reasons, like mine was. They feel trauma. They feel regret. They feel sorrow. And it can leave a long lasting scar in the back of their minds. Especially if somehow the kids actions lead up to it. I feel it's absolutely heartless to say kids wouldn't take the loss of a pet nearly as much as their parent. I absolutely did.
In fact, even as an adult, when we had to put down our second dog, Dallas, for health reasons (he suddenly gotten worse), I cried. I cried a lot. I screamed. And honestly, there's random nights where I think about him and I cry. Same with three of my grand parents from time to time, my buddy Cody (as you guys may know as PolygonJim/Jimmy), and an old online buddy of mine, Tebian.
I care about everyone, and every animal, as equal.
I don't think that is delusional.
I will say this: I agree that it'd be awful for the kids to have lost their father as a result of this, but... On the flip side, given my experiences with losing a pet, as a child, who's the say the lasting effects wouldn't be the same? For me, certainly was.
