Heaven for a Hound is the book or idea that has gnawed at me as long ago as my first teaching job at St Bernard's in Hastings Pennsylvania. The children would bring up their stories about pets and I would sometimes revert to some of my own stories as a child. My memories were sometimes bittersweet because there was always the good part and the bad part. I also remembered how dad would never seem to have the same emotion or respect for the other dogs that came after Poochie. Poochie was his special dog.

Heaven for a Hound is my story. This is the story about a boy and his dog Poochie . Poochie is the hound that will go from a puppy to a special hound and family member. This hound family member will have as much a profound impact and influence on a child and the Valko family as the loss of any human family member.

Heaven for a Hound was written with the hopes of bringing parents and children to a point of discussion on the death of a family member. In this story the family member is Poochie. This is a story of a child s acceptance of his first encounter with death. The true story also shows how we accept goodness or love from a pet, as being heaven worthy.