Amanda Seyfried Details How She Talks to Her Young Kids About Pet Death: 'It's Tricky' (Exclusive)

The actress, who is the pet parent of a 15-year-old dog, shares two children with husband Thomas Sadoski

Amanda Seyfried is open with her kids about "the circle of life."

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, the actress, 38, opens up about how she talks to her two children — daughter Nina and son Thomas, whom she shares with husband Thomas Sadoski — about the death of a pet.

"It's tricky," Seyfried says before noting that she has "lost a few animals" while her 7-year-old and 4-year-old have been part of the family.

Her kids are aware that Seyfried's beloved dog Finn is getting older, the Mamma Mia! star explains, "They know he's an old man, and my daughter especially, she knows that things die, but you get a chunk of time with them, you respect them, you love them, you give them the best life they can have, and then they go, and you remember them."

"It's just like it's the most positive spin that you can have," adds Seyfried, who has partnered with Synchrony's CareCredit and Pets Best insurance.

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Related: Amanda Seyfried's 2 Kids: All About Nina and Thomas

Seyfried and her husband — who met in 2015 while starring in the off-Broadway play The Way We Get By — live with their two kids full-time on a farm in the Catskills Mountains of New York.

There, the family owns several chickens, numerous horses, multiple goats, and a donkey, according to The New York Times.

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For Seyfried, living with many animals has made the process of talking about death with her young children easier.

"What I've learned living on a farm is that I've been exposed to a lot of death, and it's helped me shape my relationship with it," she says. "And I am almost positive that my kids will have a healthier understanding and appreciation for life and death because of the farm."

Related: Amanda Seyfried Celebrates Her Dog’s Birthday with Cute Photo Dump: ‘Finny’s 15’

Seyfried cannot believe that her beloved Australian shepherd Finn has just celebrated his 15th birthday.

"It's insane," the Mean Girls star says. "I feel so lucky that he's still alive and he's thriving. Keep knocking on wood."

Seyfried is realistic about pet ownership and knows there can be difficult moments being a pet parent, especially when a pet falls ill and needs to visit the vet, which is where her latest partnership with Synchrony comes in.

"When you pay with CareCredit, and you submit the form, they automatically reimburse you for everything that's covered — it's genius," she tells PEOPLE. "It's crazy that this wasn't something that was implemented before because when you really think about it, when enough people think about that moment at the vet, ... nobody wants to be there, nobody wants to have to make these decisions for their pet, and everybody knows it's going to cost them an arm and a leg."

"They've simplified a crucial moment that is usually a moment of crisis or high stress for pet parents," continues Seyfried. "This technology that they created, it's definitely the first of its kind."

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