Do All Dogs Go To Heaven Momma?

A few months ago, Daniel brought home a new member of the family. A boxer puppy who Caleb named Tonka. He quickly became part of the family, and even I (NOT A DOG PERSON) loved him very much. We all loved him, but it became obvious that he was Caleb's dog.
"He's my best buddy Momma, I love him!!" Caleb would say....

Yesterday evening, our puppy, Tonka was hit by a car and passed away.  Caleb didn't see. So Daniel and I sat down with him to explain what happened to Tonka. The conversation went a little something like this.

"Caleb, you know how Tonka liked to chase cars?" Daniel asked, as he held him in his lap and I sobbed in the corner.
"Yeah, Daddy, He likes to chase cars don't he. He's funny." Caleb answered.
"Well, today Tonka ran in front of a car and it hit him, and it hurt him really bad. So, Tonka died, and went to heaven." Daniel said gently.
Caleb of course began to cry, and then he asked. "Well, can we go to heaven and get him?"
"No, honey, Tonka can't go back. But we can go to him some day." I finally said.
"But I'm really gonna miss him. He was my best buddy." Caleb cried.
"I know buddy." I said.
And with that, we all cried for Tonka.

Today Caleb has had a lot of questions for me.

• Is Tonka in the sky.
• Can God send him back? Because I really wanna play with him.
• Is it dark in heaven. (To which I happily answered. "No way. Heaven is bright, and Jesus is there. Everyone is happy, and no one ever dies)
• Can we just go visit Tonka?
• When are we gonna be able to go to heaven?
• Do all dog's go to heaven?

I don't really know what the right way to handle this would have been for Caleb. I never want to lie to him. And I realize that some people would say that is exactly what I did when I told him Tonka was in heaven. The truth is, we don't know for sure what happens when our animals die. Do they just go away? Probably. But a 3 year old would not understand that, and I hope that God knows that I did the best I could with what I had.  The thing is, I mourned for Caleb's loss more than I mourned for Tonka.  He is my baby, my goal in life is to always protect him. His feelings, his life, his heart, his body, and his mind...and I will do that as best I know how.

TonkaTonk--you will be greatly missed. You were a good dog.

(Quote from the Movie Marley and Me)
 You know how we're always saying what a pain you are, you're the world's worst dog, don't believe it, don't believe it for one minute because you know we couldn't find a better dog, I love you, more than anything, you're a great dog, I love you.