Dog Went Away, Got Shot, and a Shark Ate Him....

A quick conversation I just had with the 4 (A) and 5 (M) year old girls...

A--Pretend I'm a new dog now because the old dog was bad.
Me--Well that's mean. You don't just get a new dog every time one is bad. Is that what I should do with you every time you're bad? Just get rid of you and get a new kid?
A and M--Nooo...
M--That would be mean.
A--Well, I don't want to be that dog any more.
Me--Well say that then. You just want to pretend to be a different---
A--I want to start over.
Me--dog. Or you can pretend that the other dog is at the vet getting his shots or he's on vacation. And you can be another dog now.
A--Okay, the other dog got shot while he was on vacation.
M--Yeah, now he's dead.
Me--No, no guys! That's not what I meant. I didn't mean kill him....just pretend that he's away doing something else.
M--Yeah, he went on vacation and a shark ate him.
A--He got eated by a shark and now I'm the new dog.
Me--Yeah, ok, fine....

I mean, I tried, right?