Doggy-themed care package (with thumbprint doggy card)

My sister's sweet keeshond died recently, and the family has been grieving the loss of their furriest member. Her two boys have taken it especially hard. To help cheer them up - and to celebrate their getting a new puppy soon - I put together this little care package.

Inside is a stuffed dog, our favorite puppy book, a dog-themed coloring book, and a homemade card. The dog is from Target - a great place to find good-quality stuffed animals for cheap. The book is one of our favorites. I love the McDuff series! They are well-written, beautifully illustrated, and just the right length for preschoolers. Plus, at only $10 a book, they're affordable enough to own.

The card was inspired by an image I found on Google, and was super-simple to make.

Simply have your child press two fingerprints on top of each other for two of the doggies: one vertical and the other horizontal. Use your thumbprint (or an older child's thumbprint) for the center dog and add a horizontal fingerprint on top for the snout. Then add your embellishments with a fine-tipped pen.

So what are your favorite dog-themed books? The Carl series? Pepper? Spot? Clifford? Biscuit? (Wow - dogs are a really popular subject with children's authors!)