Yeah, girls are wired....differently. My favorite all-time meltdown by one of my kids (and that's a tough top 5 to crack), ok #2, is when my youngest (now 7) was 3 or 4, and we were in Milwaukee getting frozen custard, and it was a hot day, and she could not keep up, and the vanilla was melting, and she's licking, and trying to stop it from dripping. In her mind, she was forever losing this one scoop/cone of vanilla. It was quite a spectacle, and there was nothing a human being could do to mitigate that situation, other than to clean up the picnic table and bench and just laugh to yourself. Other older kids looking on in disbelief, etc. You think that girl could handle a goldfish?
I wish you the best (with your husky and family). Unlike the custard incident, you will no doubt be empathetic, and your ability to demonstrate that you too are sad, or hurt by the situation, shows the child that you too are vulnerable and that it is ok to have those feelings, it is normal, and appropriate, but that it isn't the only way you feel about the situation.