The Crazy Story of Crazy Ralph

ralph & squirt

Ralph (right) does everything his way. His own over-the-top-crazy way. Born the runt of his litter, this handsome little dog quickly learns to live life to the fullest. He believes he can fly like a bird, run up trees like a squirrel, gallop like a horse, and jump off cliffs like a mad man… in his mind, he can do anything. As a puppy, he makes life-long friends in an animal shelter, quickly becomes an amazingly accomplished escape artist, then heads out on a non-stop string of wild, jaw-dropping adventures. But Ralph's most important role in life is bodyguard for his little buddy, Squirt (left), who comes to live with him. Ralph's grandest adventure? It's genuinely out of this world. And proves how limitless a dog's love is. You'll see.

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boppa

Crazy Ralph - The Real Story Behind the Real Story

My twin-grandchildren, Danny & Emma, then about 3 or 4 years old, always wanted to hear about Ralph's adventures whenever they slept over at our house. When asked if they would like a bedtime book-reading or a Boppa-told story (that would be me), their choice was always the same: "Tell us a Crazy Ralph story." The stories streamed from my memory, often filled in by my wife, and their grandmother, Julie. (She was the one that really raised Ralph.) I wasn't just telling his stories. I was reliving them. Ralph was a truly awesome dog. He had an untamed spirit that remained untamed despite our many efforts to train him over the years. He died in 2009, about a year before Danny & Emma were born in 2010. I decided to put his stories to print. Not in a published book, just written so they wouldn't be forgotten and so our youngest granddaughter, Aubrey (born in 2014), could learn about Crazy Ralph, too. The writing was just a collection of Ralph's outrageously-crazy adventures. Nothing more. There was no ending. Not much of a beginning either. Then came the time when "Luna," the grandkids' dog that they grew up with, started slowing down noticeably. She was about 9 or 10 years old then. It soon became obvious that Luna was close to the end of life's journey. She was dying. That's when I decided that Ralph's story had to have an ending. I wanted the twins, Danny and Emma, now 14-years-old, and Aubrey now 10 years old, to understand - and be comforted in knowing -- that the end of a dog's life here on earth is just the beginning of their never-ending life in paradise. I encouraged them to read the now completed book - with an ending narrated by Ralph himself - during this difficult time as Luna struggled. Emma informed me that they would be more inclined to read it, especially Aubrey, if the book was illustrated. So I hired a freelance illustrator to put together chapter illustrations. I then had most everything needed to publish. And so it was in 2025, the book was published on Amazon. The real purpose of "The Real-Life Story of Crazy Ralph" is to tell young readers that their deeply loved animal is now - not just in a better place - but in an indescribably magnificent place. And that theyve been restored to full health and vigor. Very importantly, they long to see their human family sometime in the distant future when everyone is together again in heaven. Most important is Ralph's last statement at the very end of the book. He implores his human family to "Please be happy for me … I hope you will bring another dog into your home and give him such a wonderful life as I had with you." If this book comforts children at all by understanding that their much-loved pet is in a wonderful paradise and wants their family to bring another dog into their wonderful home, then it has achieved its purpose. I'm 81 years old now and look forward to the day that I won't be simply reliving Crazy Ralph stories. I'll be living them. With Ralph.

Thank Yous

As it turns out, the writing of The Real-Life Story of Crazy Ralph was the easy part I was house bound for a time due to medical issues and always wanted to document the Crazy Ralph bedtime stories I had told my twin grandkids. I had a younger granddaughter who would, I envisioned, want to hear the same stories. I enjoyed reliving them as I put the words to paper. It was easy. Especially because I didn't have to worry about punctuation and spelling and grammar and other such things.

manga dmitry paul

Julie "Manga" Harmon - The one that worried about punctuation, spelling, grammar and other such things.

My wife, Julie, grandmother of our three grandchildren (who call her Manga), was the team member that read over the original manuscript (multiple times) and made a considerable number of substantive corrections, required strict adherence to annoying grammatical rules and proper spellings, and offered constructive criticisms a many. Irritating but apparently necessary for publishing. Most importantly, she is the one who accurately recalled many of the Crazy Ralph adventures. It is Manga that deserves more credit than anyone for bringing the Crazy Ralph story to print. Thank you!

Dmitry Gitelman – For the wonderful, story-telling, hand-drawn illustrations.

An amazing talent who stuck with us despite many changes and updates. We are forever in his debt for bringing Crazy Ralph's story to visual life. He grasped the essence of each chapter's adventure and created a truly compelling visual that said it all. The cover illustration is the pinnacle of his work. There are few illustrators in this day of digital everything that actually hand-draw their illustrations. Thank you!

Paul Nylander, Illustrator – who pulled everything together and made the Crazy Ralph story into a real book.

Paul formatted the book in a way that made it easy to read and compelling from one page to the next. No easy task. He selected the right typestyles and sizes, cropped and positioned the illustrations, re-designed the cover, and gave the book a genuinely professional look. Thank you!