First, I want to thank you Mark for this site. The stories from the other listeners are truly heart wrenching, but the feelings are universal for all dog lovers. My husband and son adopted Patches from the Humane Society on December 13, 1996, a Christmas surprise for our then 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter. Patches was about 4-5 months old and little was known of her history. My husband fell in love with her the second he saw her. Like many strays, we didn’t know her history though and the first two years she ran away every chance she got. It was almost as if she didn’t trust us to take care of her despite all our love. Then Christmas Eve of 1998, while walking in the woods with my husband and children, she stepped on a piece of glass and tore one of her pads on her front paw. The blood was incredible and my husband carried her for about half a mile home. We took her to the local vet hospital who sewed up her wounds and we spent the next two weeks carrying her up and down the stairs. It was at that moment that I think she realized that we truly loved her and would never let her down. From that moment, to the present, she has never left on her own accord, despite many chances (when the kids fail to lock the fence behind them).

Despite the fact that she is still afraid of sewers (we think she may have been thrown in one as a pup) and fire alarms, she is truly one of a kind. I urge everyone I meet who is contemplating owning a dog to go the local shelters where hundreds of loving, wonderful animals await a loving home. My recently retired mother-in-law, who volunteers at a local shelter brought home a retriever/hound mix, Molly, who has added to our extended family. I have many Patches stories to tell and will attach a picture on the next posting. Again, Mark, thank you for everything you do. My husband and I listen to you every night on WABC. Keep up the great work and I can’t wait for your book to come out. I have at least four people that I want to purchase it for, not including myself!!!

Yolande from New Jersey