The Death of a Pet

Today in class, Mr. Sexson assigned that we write about an experience with the death of a pet.
When I was 8 years old, I got a horse for Christmas from my parents. I had been riding him since my mom broke him when he was two, but my parents decided to make him officially mine. His name was George and he was one of the gentlest horses we had at the time, despite the fact he was only four years old. One day the following summer, we were riding out to move cattle, when he stumbled under me. I thought it was nothing, as horses will often lazily not pick their feet up and stumble. He then started to slow down until he was creeping along. Finally, he stopped and started swaying. I leapt off as he was falling down and I watched him die. It turned out his heart had exploded. I was told it was not my fault, as I was not riding him strenuously, but he was bound to die eventually. Such an event is fairly traumatizing for any child or even for a young adult.