Saying Goodbye to a Friend

Bug has been doing horse therapy for several years now. One of the horses that she did therapy with for a long time is going to be put down at the beginning of the year due to a medical condition.

 This is sweet Ellie.

 The riding center is going to have a goodbye party for her with all the kids. We couldn't make it on the date for the party. 

They were gracious to let us come in the evening after classes.

 I have never seen Bug cry and show so much emotions before. She didn't even want to go and say goodbye to Ellie. I kinda surprised her and took her over before she had her 4-H Entomology class. 

I felt strongly that she needed to see her due to the extreme emotions she had. She was upset with me and didn't want to get out of the van. It was a full blown meltdown.

Grief is hard for any child. For a child with Autism and other special needs it's a harder concept. My child doesn't express her emotions very well.

 I wanted Bug to deal with it and not have regret later on about not seeing her one last time. She needs to understand that people and animals die it's just part of life. It's okay to be sad and cry. I wanted her to deal with her emotions. We've had pets that we have put down and she cried for a few minutes and then moved on quickly. This was so different and effected her for days!

Ellie was very playful with Bug and she was able to hand feed her an apple and hug on her. She even got a few horse kisses.

Bug was happy afterwards that she got to say goodbye to Ellie. She still cries over it but, she remembers how happy Ellie was being with her. It will be interesting to see how Bug reacts when we start back in horse therapy next year.

 Bug was able to take her out to the pasture. To me this was a fitting end to Bug saying goodbye. 

What a blessing Ellie has been to our family. Ellie has helped my daughter in more ways than I can express.

Goodbye Ellie and thank you for all the children you have touched and helped. You are treasured and you will be remembered in many hearts.