Well done, Jennifer Abbots! I don’t know you, but you could have been speaking for me when you wrote, “To this day, when I see a pup (or kitten or horse or swan) on a book, my anxiety levels skyrocket thinking about how I will deal with the trauma of their demise.” I can’t believe more people haven’t applauded your witty and sensitive piece. I, too, can offer you many examples of literary zoological horror, including the harrowing horse-killing scene in Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, and the permanently scarring descriptions of “nesting” in Anne Bronte’s novel Agnes Grey, about the worst babysitting job ever. If only I could unread them! I hope you start a blog around this idea and build a database.