Last week, my guest writer was Oriana Amodeo.  Today, her twelve-year-old sister, Keeleigh, is my guest.  Keeleigh’s writing and illustration will touch your heart as she tells the story of the loss of her pet dog, Sparkle.

And now, in her own words is Keeleigh.

Hi, my name is Keeleigh. Today I am going to tell you about how I dealt with the death of my dog dying. Her name was Sparkle Lee and she was an amazing dog.

Sparkle was always happy and full of life. She was the happiest dog I have ever met. She always made me happy and loved learning new tricks. She was very smart.  She could tell her toys apart from each other. I was the only one she would listen to, so I taught her all the tricks she knew.  I could always tell when she was happy, because she would jump up on my legs. We would play for hours each day.

A little while after her 1 year mark, she got sick. We thought it was from something she ate. She always ate things she wasn’t supposed to eat. Normally, when she got sick, it would last for a day or two.  But, this sickness lasted longer and in total, it lasted a week.

The sickness took her on May 2, 2013. That day was one of the worst days of my life.

After her death, it was hard for everyone in my family. I remember when I went to school the day after her death. I had been telling my friend, Mason, about what was happening with her. When I showed up at school the next day I was crying, and he knew what I was crying about. He told my teacher and she let me call home.

A little while after that I really got into art and it reminded me of when she was happy. When I draw, I think about when we used to play. I think about when I would bring her outside and she would run around me in circles. I love drawing because it reminds me so much of her.

Great job, Keeleigh!  You have learned some very valuable lessons early in life about how to express your feelings when you experience a loss.

Through your writing and illustration, we learned:

1. About your relationship with Sparkle
2. How you shared your loss with your friend, Mason
3. How Mason and your teacher reached out to comfort you
4. How your art work became a source of comfort for you as you recalled the happy times Sparkle had brought you

Keeleigh, be sure to share with your friends when they have a loss what you have learned through your experience of  losing Sparkle.  As you do, not only will it comfort them, but that is where we receive one of our biggest blessing in life — helping others. I hope you will be my guest writer again in the future.

And that, my friends, is exactly what grieving is all about:  feeling and expressing your sorrow over a loss, no matter what that loss may be.  In my book, Helping Hurting Children, two chapters are devoted to feelings:  (1) Recognizing Feelings and (2) How to Express Feelings.

Be sure to join me right here next week for another time to meet “Our Kids” while they are on summer break.  After all, kids are what this site is all about.

Keeleigh’s Bio:

My name is Keeleigh Amodeo and I am twelve years old. Last school year I was in honors math and science. I also participated in art and I will continue doing art next school year. I am going to play volleyball, basketball and run track next year. I am also doing all honors classes next year and participating in Math UIL.