1. Never lie to your kids about death. They won't understand it at first (if they're very young), but you need to explain it clearly when it first happens in your family, so they'll understand and accept it as they grow up. 2. Never bury a body less than 3 feet deep. He got to it with a plastic shovel? What, did you just throw a few shovels of dirt over it? 3. Bones? Did it really decompose that fast? The dog died when your son was young, but old enough to write and understand letter writing. Your son is still young, because he's playing and digging in the yard with a shovel. How many years have passed since the dog died? Wasn't there still flesh on your dog's body? Creepy. 4. Since you're on a roll, lie again and say it must have been a wolf that died in your yard. 5. Why were you digging around there, anyway? 5. I hope he doesn't forgive you for this. Ever.

What are the chances that he knows it's your dog? Just make something up

Ahhh why'd you bury your dog? Incinerate him like everyone else. If you were going to bury him...why near your house? This is just full of fail.

Death is a part of life, and while it's sad and it sucks...lying to your child to shield them from it is pretty shitty. I have no idea why a child looking for 'treasures' with a plastic shovel would make the cognitive leap to thinking it's a dog he's been told is on a farm. That doesn't sound realistic. Most kids I know would, even if they DID know their dog died, assume it's dinosaur bones.

You lied to your kid, but i bet you're gonna be offended when he starts lieing to you.. YDI.

My dog died when I was two, my parents didn't lie to me and no I was not scared for the rest of my life. Don't lie to your kids, especially about death. I'm sure I didn't really understand what death was when I was two but I understood enough to be sad, and yes I did cry, but I also learned to deal with it. Lying to your kids about their pets dieing isn't going to make it any easier for them when a real person dies and they finally have to deal with that sort of grief.

Wow, OK, so they lied to their kid but maybe they really couldn't have handled the truth at that age/time. Saying the kid should never forgive them is a little harsh. As for digging in the area, over the course of a couple years it is possible to forget the EXACT location. I mean, if you have a big yard what do you think would be the odds of finding a dog? In that respect I think you just got unlucky. But burying it that close to the surface.... bad plan.

tell him its dinosaur bones. take him to the museum and get on of the workers to tell him it was from a baby t rex. thats what my aunt did when her son dug up and old cow bone on their farm

death is a celebration of ones life. it isnt something to be scared of, it is inevitable. it happens to everyone and everything that has a life! you need to tell the truth. we should teach kids from young ages that death isn't this big scary thing, it is the beginning of a new chapter.....tell the truth....

#57 - "so they lied to their kid but maybe they really couldn't have handled the truth at that age/time." The truth is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, knowing the truth, in my opinion, is better than being lied to, no matter how old someone (the speaker or the listener) is. Especially with death. When a pet dies and a kid wonders about it, It needs to be explained clearly and that it is a fact of the life cycle, but that it can't be stopped or reversed, and that it is no one's fault (unless someone accidentally or purposely killed the dog). "Saying the kid should never forgive them is a little harsh." Maybe... but if I'd been lied to like that about a beloved pet, there is no way I'd ever forgive my parents for it. "As for digging in the area, over the course of a couple years it is possible to forget the EXACT location." People don't use grave markers for their pets? = We do!