Being Put to Sleep and Adoption

Aubrey never ceases to amaze me with her common sense insights.

This weekend we were driving by now out of business, "Petland" and she asked what happened to all the puppies when they closed the store.

I told her that they were probably sent to another store or sold.

She asked if they were put to sleep.

I told her probably not as they didn't put puppies to sleep from pet stores.

She asked me why and I said that because when you put animals to sleep, they die and they usually just put puppies to sleep that are really sick. Pet stores want to find a good home for puppies. (Insert record scratch SFX here.)

Aubrey said, "Why do puppies die when you put them to sleep?".

I said, "When they put puppies to sleep, they give them a shot and their hearts stop beating."

This was obviously new to Aubrey who asked, "Why can't they just wake them back up when they find someone who wants them?"

I explained that "putting animals to sleep" means that the puppies will never wake up again.

Now, you might be thinking, "Why on earth are you telling Aubrey about Jack Kavorkian death tactics?" She wants the information and she gets it.

It is hard, but at the same time, I want Lisa or myself to be the one that tells Aubrey about these things. And most of the time, it's Aubrey telling us about these things. She just figures it out anyway.

Just like when there were white crosses in front of the church to honor babies who had been aborted. She asked what they were for and Lisa told her that sometimes, mommies have babies taken out of their bellies before they are born and they die. She immediately asked, "Why don't the mommies just put the babies up for adoption?"

Another great question, Aubrey.

I guess some people just find it easier to put a baby to sleep, just like we sometimes put puppies to sleep. Sad but true.