Do Dogs go to Heaven?

I never thought she would be gone so soon. I knew that she would eventually go, but I just never thought it would happen today. Well, I guess I should start my story from where it all began.1

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When my great grandmother died, she left for me, in her will, a dog. It was the cutest little toy poodle I had ever seen. It didn't have that stupid puffy fur look like most poodles do, and it absolutely loved me.3

Her name was Precious.4

Over the years, we became great friends. I taught her how to sit, shake with one paw, and then the other. I took her for walks and groomed her regularly. Then, one day while she was outside, she ran off. I went outside and saw her heading down the street just as a car was coming. I shouted her name and she turned, just looking at me. Just when I thought I would lose her forever, she dashed toward me like a rocket. Since then, I never let her outside without watching her every move.5

Eventually, she got so old that she lost her hearing and her eyes began to form cataracts. She could still do all of the tricks I taught her, she just never heard my voice again.6

When I came home from school on March 26, my grandpa told me that Precious wasn't feeling well and she was just resting in my grandmother's room. I didn't think anything of it at the time, though in my heart, I knew something was wrong.7

That night, while I was at my mother's house, she got a call. It was my grandparents. When my mom hung up, she told me that Precious was doing badly. It was just a little worried.8

It was only about two minutes later that the phone rang again. This time, the news was horrible. Precious was dead.9

My mom said to me, "Honey, Precious is in a better place. She's probably in heaven with great grandma and she's probably really happy. She didn't go through any pain, she just stopped breathing."10

I held back my tears as I went to my room and shut my door. As soon as it was closed, I began to sob. My dog, a gift from my great grandmother, had died on my great grandmother's birthday.11

It was almost ironic how that worked out, but I wasn't laughing. The next day at school was tough. A lot of people noticed that my usually sunny personality had been wiped away by a shroud of silence. I eventually opened up to my best friend and ran off before she could see my wet eyes.12

I managed to make it through lunch without actually crying, but when my friend merely said that she would miss my dog, I just burst into tears.13

My mother told me that my dog was with my great grandmother in heaven, but I still wonder, "Do dogs go to heaven?"