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Sometimes, the dog dies. That's the sad truth, in real life and in books. It's never easy to deal with, no matter what. But this lovely and beautifully-illustrated  new book, God Needed a Puppy , is one way to help bring comfort to kids (and adults) who have lost a pet.   Ernest and Petey check out the book under the lilac bush, where some of their friends lay to rest.   Today we welcome Emmy Award-winning journalist and author John Gray to talk about his book. ( PLUS we're giving away a copy of God Needed a Puppy at the end!)  The Writer's Dog : Welcome John, and thank you for joining us today. God Needed a Puppy is a children's book dealing with pet loss. What inspired you to write this book? John Gray : After the death of my 6-month-old puppy I couldn't shake the grief and anger. He was so young, it just didn't seem fair. I thought to myself, this must be how kids feel when they lose a pet. So that's why I wrote it. To help myself and children. Auth

What if a stuffed toy was more than a stuffed toy? What if it contained a little lesson on compassion and animal rescue, too? Little Live Pet's Scruff-a-Luvs™ has recently been introduced at toy shows, and has been quite popular. According to news reports and bloggers, it is proving to be one of this year's hottest toys. The toy starts out as a bedraggled matted fur ball......   that "just needs a little love" to transform into an adorable puppy, kitten or bunny.   Inspired by viral videos of animal rescues and transformations, Scruff-a-Luvs™ are the heart-warming toys that need children to rescue them. The slogan reads, "Find us scruffy, make us fluffy."   What do you think? Would you buy this toy for a child you love? Note: This is not a paid advertisement. I was not given a Scruff-a-Luvs™ toy, nor did I purchase one. 

We review a lot of dog toys here, and occasionally a cat toy or two. But this BIRD TOY from Chewy.com was so adorable, we couldn't resist giving it a look. We don't have a bird to try this out at the moment, but based on our research about what birds like, the Super Bird Creations Foraging Bir d toy is bright, interesting and definitely looks fun for birds! Look at all those colors. Unlike dogs, birds see colors well. And the different shapes and textures and challenging and stimulating for birds. The wicker basket is filled with a beak-tastic variety of popsicle sticks, ice cream spoons, mini loofahs and more. Birds like to pluck, rip, tear, and chew these things apart. You can also hide treat inside to encourage foraging behavior and eliminate boredom. The Super Bird Creations toy: chewable challenging bird-safe  This looks like a wonderful toy to help keep your pet bird mentally stimulated and having fun. What do you think? Does this look like a fun bird toy? If you have a

A Dialogue in Which Ernest and Petey receive a Delivery Scene: The doorbell rings. A package arrives from Chewy.com .  Since we're Chewy Influencers, Ernest and Petey know there is something exciting and usually delicious inside that box. They proceed to jump and dig their toenails into my bare feet as I open the box.  Ernest: What is this green thing Chewy mailed us? It doesn't smell like food. Petey: Nope. I licked it. Yuck. Ernest: Mom's unzipping it. It looks like a carrier of some sort. But I'll never fit in there. Why don't you try it, Petey? You're younger and smaller. Petey: I'm not going to try it, it's not even big enough for that cat next door. You're always trying to get me in trouble. I'm telling Mom. Ernest: Never mind. So it appears that this is the Kaytee Come Along Pet Carrier . It comes in three sizes: one is small enough for rats. The medium is for a guinea pig. And what's in this large one here? Look at the way the doo