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Creo que nuestra mascota murió ayer.

Creo que nuestra mascota murió ayer.
I think that our pet died yesterday.
From Lesson 142:Preterite stem changes o to u (durmió, murió)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Creo que nuestra mascota murió ayer.

Why is it murió instead of "morió"?
The verb morir (to die) is an -ir verb with a stem change. In the past tense (pretérito indefinido), the o changes to a u, but only in the third-person forms: he/she/it died (murió) and they died (murieron). For other subjects, it keeps the o, like morí (I died) or morimos (we died).
Does mascota mean "mascot"?
It can, but in everyday Spanish, mascota is the standard word for "pet". Keep in mind that mascota is always a feminine word, even if your pet is male. That is why the sentence uses nuestra mascota (our pet) instead of nuestro mascota.
Why is creo in the present tense if the pet died yesterday?
The sentence describes two different moments in time, just like the English translation. The person is thinking about it right now in the present (creo), but the event they are thinking about happened in the past (murió).
Could I say "Yo creo que" instead of just "Creo que"?
Yes, but Creo que is the most natural way to say it. The -o ending already tells us that "I" am doing the thinking. You would only add Yo if you wanted to heavily emphasize your opinion, like "Well, I think that..."

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