I bet you loved Ralphie a lot. Dogs are wonderful, aren’t they? What’s not so wonderful is that our pet’s lives are shorter than ours. So they have to leave us and go to heaven. Losing Ralphie will feel sad for a while, Janie. But here are a few things you could do to help you feel better. You could draw a picture of Ralphie and hang it up in your room. You could also write Ralph a letter and tell him why he was so special and how much you loved him. As a little time passes, you won’t be so sad anymore. I promise. Time helps us out like that. Something you can look forward to is loving another dog someday, just like you loved Ralphie. I bet you’ll be lucky enough to have a lot of dogs in your long life. Be sure to do something that will make you feel better. It’s okay to cry when you miss Ralphie. Just give it time. Mrs. D.