In Pursuit of a Good Death

Yesterday we found out that our dog has liver cancer.  It's so advanced that our best option is to keep Ellie comfortable until it's time to let her go.  She's old and I knew something like this would happen eventually, but I'm absolutely shattered.  Ellie is my first baby; before I had human babies, all of my motherly/nurturing energy was poured into my sweet doggie.  We rescued Ellie from Chesapeake Animal Control a little over 6 years ago.  She was very sick when we first got her and we spent a long time nursing her to health.  She has the sweetest personality, and is so affectionate.  She's super laid back (like us) and just loves to snuggle up on the couch.  I am so thankful for the 6 years we've already spent with our girl, and we're gearing up to make the most of the time we have left with her.

We decided to make a Doggie Bucket List for Ellie so we could do some of her favorite things, and some things that will create lasting memories for our family.  Here's what we have so far:

1. Walk in the woods: Ellie is a beagle and LOVES to sniff around in the woods.  We're going to take her into the woods and follow her wherever her nose leads.
2. Steak dinner: I'm going to find a lean piece of steak (I don't want to upset her stomach) and cook it up for her.  She is a very food-motivated dog, and I'm hoping she'll love having an entire steak to herself.
3. New toy: we're going to let the boys pick out a special toy for her at the pet store and play with her.
4. Warm laundry: Ellie LOVES to snuggle in laundry fresh out of the dryer.  Normally I'm annoyed that she's getting dog hair all over my clean clothes, but we're going to put some of her favorite snuggly blankets in the dryer and let her wallow in them to her heart's content.
5. Paw print art: I'm going to make salt dough impressions of her paws for us to keep. I think the boys will really like to have a tangible reminder of her when she's gone.
6. Family picture: My talented friend Cathy at Willow Bay Photography has graciously offered to come take a family picture of us all together.

I'm really committed to giving our girl a good death; one as free from suffering as possible, surrounded by love. Do you have any suggestions for our list?  How have you coped with the loss of a pet?  I'm especially interested if you've helped a young child through the loss of a pet.