I Heard Your Dog Died: Imaginings for Those Who Have Lost A Pet

What do you say to a child whose dog, their best friend, is fatally injured by a car as the youngster watches? Confronted with this dilemma, a caring neighbor reaches into distant memories to recall a story of life and death imagined as a Big Play. Together the pair explores questions about why bad things happen, feelings of blame and guilt, ghost dogs and animal souls. As anger shifts to acceptance, the youngster learns how to let go of hurt, honor the old dog, and imagine a future with a new pet. But neither neighbor imagines the surprising end of this journey through grief.

With magical zentangle-style dog illustrations by Carole Ohl, the story unfolds through dialogue alone. Author Bonnie Kreitler leaves the genders and descriptive details of the child and the adult to her readers' imaginations, inviting them to participate in creating the storyline in ways that reflect their own experiences of living, loving, and dying.

What people are saying about I Heard your Dog Died:
Unique, original, insightful, compelling, extraordinary, I Heard Your Dog Died: Imaginings for Those Who Have Lost a Pet is a very special, thoughtful and thought-provoking read from beginning to end. Although a work of fiction, I Heard Your Dog Died has an undeniable resonance with real world experiences with children and their families who have beloved pets unreservedly and strongly recommended, especially for community library collections.
Mary Cowper, Midwest Review of Books

Some books come to you for a certain time in your life. This is one of those books. This is an exceptionally written, beautifully crafted book .for all of us that love and have lost our beloved animals .endearing, heartfelt and infinitely touching .I urge everyone grieving the loss of any pet to read this book.
Lori Reed, Pet Owner

The book helped my grandchildren so much .They would not stop crying and did not know how they would be able to go on .the book it helped so much that I am keeping it handy for other things that they cannot handle .I would recommend it to others who are in this situation.
Mary Weimer, Grandmother

Great book for adults and children. So much valuable insight that we can use in life.
Marlene Pero, Librarian

Family lore holds that Bonnie Kreitler's deep connection to animals began even before she started talking. When she learned to read and write, she began hand printing illustrated stories and has rarely been without pencil, pen or keyboard nearby since. She worked as a journalist and marketing consultant in the horse industry for over 25 years. Her book 50 Careers with Horses was a best seller in its niche. Learning to meditate led to studies of intuitive techniques and energy healing including animal communication and Reiki. She counts herself fortunate to enjoy a career that combines her love of animals with her writing skills. Bonnie is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Author's Guild, the Independent Book Publishers Association, American Horse Publications and the New England Book Publishers Association. I Heard Your Dog Died is her first fiction work.