I'll Always Love You

As is already abundantly clear from the other reviews, this is a beautiful and timeless story. The only thing I will add is that it should not be limited to children. I don't have children, but read this book as an adult when dealing with the loss of a pet. I have to keep purchasing new copies every few months because my husband and I keep giving them away to our adult friends (some with children, some without) whenever they are coping with such situations. It has rendered many tough men and several no-nonsense corporate women to tears. I really appreciate the fact that this book is straightforward, doesn't glorify anything, doesn't get into anything about the after-life, and yet is simple and elegant. Appropriate for children and adults.Some reviewers have commented that the book focused on the fact that the child and the dog had a special relationship and doesn't highlight the relationship of the dog with the rest of the family. I actually appreciated that angle. I have a sweet older dog and I know that each person in the family (as well as children he meets in the park!) feels like they have a special connection to him - and they do.

we forget this too often

I loved this book as a child and still love it to this day. Our pets are getting old and this has helped explain the aging process of pets and the inevitable.

I was introduced to this book in college while taking a reading course. A classmate shared it when discussing how to help a child dealing with death of a pet. I have used this book as a gift to an adult friend and now my son who is 17 which we recently lost one of our dog's. I generally write inside cover something nice about the dog and how much love and care they share. I then write a little message as if the dog is telling their human how they feel about them and sign it I'll Always Love You, and put the Dog's Name. It is great for pre school to adults ask a memory keepsake.

My daughter and dog are both 12, this book is definitely written for younger kids but my daughter is very sentimental about our dog. She read this book to our dog. She was old enough to grasp a higher message that we need to tell people we love them and appreciate them before they’re gone, dogs included.Definitely a sweet book, written in very simple terms about aging and death, no moral message about what happens after you die, which is great because it breaches the subject but leaves it totally open for you to talk to your child about your beliefs.

Not what I expected. It has beautiful illustrations & simple texts for little readers. I did read other's reviews to see if this book would be a great addition to my children's library, especially since its a hard topic.If you're a fur parent, as I think you are since your reading this, you know that saying goodbye to them is the hardest part of welcoming one into your heart. If your looking for a book to help explain to your child(ren) about the process of taking your dog to the vet for them to cross the rainbow bridge peacefully & pain free, don't expect this to address that. Spoiler Alert! This particular book addresses the dog going peaceful in the night.It is a great addition & will be keeping it for the future, should I ever be in unexpected pet loss boat.

Great little book for parents to share with their kids to help them express and deal with their feelings after the loss of a favorite pet. My 2 grand kids, ages 4 and 7, recently lost their dog that had been the family dog ever since each of them were born. She would have been regarded as "elderly" in dog years and had been sick and not getting better even after seeing the vet and even though the kids were aware of this, they were still devastated at the time of her death. This is the first death of a pet that either of them had experienced in their short lifetimes so far and their Mom bought this book to read to them and it has become one of their favorite books now. Of course, my 7 yr old granddaughter can read it herself and still reads it again and again. It has seemed to help provide a little comfort to kids who are experiencing the death of a a pet for the first time and we recommend it to others also.

My oldest cat died a little over 6 months ago. I had another one who died a few years back, but this loss hit me super hard. We were super close. She had been really sick for about a year and I was by her side 24/7 during that time, but she was not ready to go until the day she got to go. She made a point to live fully 'til the very end. She was my best friend for 19 and a half years. After a month of holding in the emotions and not really coping so well, I ordered this book and a workbook. Pet loss sadness seems to be not always understood by everyone close to you who was not attached to that pet, so I learned to keep it to myself. I read this book in five seconds and just to have it around kinda helped. It took months of why her, a whole lot of denial, wondering that I had done the right thing, then super sad emptiness and only now I can think of her and not sob. I have not gotten up the nerve to do the workbook yet. But just to see this book on the table and flip thru it every once in awhile reminded me that we had some really good times and not so good times together all those years, but she knew I loved her and she was better off not being in pain any more. Man, she was the best little creature ever. Thanks to this author for helping me cope a little better.

Lovely story to read to a child or give to a friend who has lost a dog.

... but in a good way. If there was some sort of prize or award for the saddest book ever, I think this little book would win. It might be the case that this slim volume is aimed at the very young, in fact pre-schoolers - the charming illustrations, short text and very simple language demonstrate that -, but I'm sure I can't be alone in thinking that there might well be adults out there who would appreciate this book as much as I did. It's clearly meant to be read to wee ones, understandably to help them make some sort of sense of their grief at losing a beloved family pet, but I'm a burly 33 year-old, according to my wife a grumpy old man in training, and I found it, frankly, an eye-moistening, lump-in-throat-making read that I heartily recommend. The only caveat is that if you've ever dearly loved and lost a much-cherished pet - recently or not - you might just find this charming, simple little tale upsetting enough to move you to tears. As it did with me, and does every time I reread it. Read it, but expect to cry.If you enjoyed this and would like another tear-jerking read that works just as well for adults (albeit on different levels to those that work for the very young), I would recommend "Michael Rosen's Sad Book."

There are many good children's books about the loss of a pet but this one feels especially heart-warming, talking about a special connection between a boy and his dog. There are others out there (e.g., The Tenth Good Thing About Barney is a nice one) but if your child is struggling with the loss of a pet (or impending loss of a pet) this may be a nice companion book to have to help them cope.

ペットロスについての話と聞き、まだまだ元気ながら14歳の犬を持っているので興味を持ちました。先の心配ばかりせずに、今が大切だとあらためて思いました。

I bought this book for my 6years old daughter. It might not be a happy story, but it is a lovely story and you can learn a lot from this book. After I read it to my daughter, I also had to think a lot. There are a lot of things you might not say everyday and assume people know although you don't say, but is it really true?