06/20/2024
It is with an extremely heavy heart I need to tell you Ralphie crossed the Rainbow Bridge Monday, June 17, 2024. We adopted Ralphie from Paws and Prayers Pet Rescue on December 19, 2009. His estimated age at the time was 1-1 1/2 years old so we celebrated his birthday every year on December 19th. He was about 16 years old when he passed. He had a great life and absolutely loved meeting kids, adults and other 4-legged friends.
I was completing a research paper on The Benefits of Therapy Dogs in the Classroom in 2009, and Ralphie had all the qualities described in the research. We took Ralph to an obedience class and then on to his Therapy Dog certification with Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Ralphie absolutely loved kids. Even during his obedience class, he wanted to “go see the kids” in the class.
In the spring of 2011, Ralphie became the Paws to Read dog at the Doylestown Public Library and regularly visited the library where kids could share a book with Ralph to practice their reading skills. He gave each reading buddy a high-five when they were done. Ralphie always appreciated each new buddy who read a book to him or just told him about the pictures in the book. Some of his early readers have graduated high school and are about to graduate from college.
Ralphie visited some local schools and wanted to meet every student. He visited high school students when they tragically lost a classmate unexpectedly. He was able to bring a bit of comfort to several students that day. He also got to be on Santa’s Therapy Dog Team one year and “flew” to the North Pole with kids from Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. He had lunch with Santa and the kids and got to meet a young man who had never met a dog before. Ralphie sat calmly and waited until the young man built up enough courage to pet him. He was the perfect dog to meet if someone was apprehensive about meeting or petting dogs.
Ralphie retired from his Paws to Read program in August, 2023. He was beginning to slow down and starting to lose his hearing. The Library gave him the best Retirement Party and some of his early readers showed up to wish him well.
Ralphie continued to slow down and started to get very picky with what he would eat. We gave him whatever he wanted but he continued to decline. We knew we wouldn’t let him suffer and he would let us know when it was time. Ralphie shared his sweet soul with so many kids and adults over the years. His final lesson for everyone is to give rescue pets a chance. Ralphie was pulled from the Summit County Dog Pound by Paws and Prayers and he actually picked my daughter when we went to an adoption event that December day. I’m so glad he did. He was given a second chance and showed us all how great rescue pets can be with a little patience and encouragement.
Rest in peace my sweet, sweet boy. Thank you for sharing your beautiful soul with all of us.
