Alex and Elvis

Alex was the only one of the kids that Elvis ever got testy with. He snapped at Alex after he punched him one day. Alex was always playing rough with Elvis and Elvis was really good about it. He would just get up and go to another room. We were not sure how Alex would take Elvis leaving. He came home after morning pre-k and said that nobody was home. I think it was at that point that he realized that Elvis was not coming back. This afternoon when he went to go out into the backyard, he said that he was going to yell at Elvis to come back here. He shook his little fist up at the sky when he said it. When I told him that Elvis was not going to be able to come back here, he really began to cry. The school counselor gave us some books to read about when a dog dies. One of them is called Dog Heaven. It is the best book. I highly recommend it. It talks about when a dog dies, God does not give him wings because God knows that dogs love to run the best. It also talks about the cloud beds and the dog treats and the angel children that play with the dogs. I think one of the best parts is when the dogs start thinking about their families, the angels bring them back down to visit their old homes. And when we die, our dogs meet us at the gate to Heaven to be with us again. These books have really helped Alex deal with this. He has talked about going to Heaven to see Elvis again. I hope he continues to find comfort

with that thought.