Thank you so much, @raj808. You are a master story teller, so if you think I crafted a good piece, that is high praise. The grotesque elements gave me pause, then I remembered: wait, this really happened, so don't shrink from the truth. As I remember the day, it was tragic and in a way beautiful. I wanted to capture that when I wrote the story. Kind of the cycle of life, the swamp where all things will decay, was a kind of symbolic lesson for us, as children. And we accorded our pet respect as we went through the burial ceremony.
Maintaining emotional distance and making the experience relevant in a larger sense was the challenge. I'm glad I at least partly met that.
I appreciate your comment and support.