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Nala

Mr. Levin;

I recently heard you speak of your book “Rescuing Sprite” and your relationship with this wonderful dog on the Sean Hannity Radio program; however, it was your conversation with Rush Limbaugh today that resonated most with me.

Today you spoke of your final days with Sprite, the pain of his loss and the depression that followed – and I had to remind myself that you were not talking about me.

I lost my friend of nine years, Nala, on December 4, 2006. Nala was a Great Pyrenees who was four month away from her twelfth birthday when I was forced to have her put to sleep. Like you said today, I prayed for God to take her so I would not have to end my friend’s life – but I know in doing so I ended her suffering. Doing this was so painful for me and I still grieve for Nala.

Nala was one of three dogs that lived with my family. We still have our other dogs and cherish each moment we have with them. All of our dogs came from shelters.

Nala (and my little dog, Princess) helped me as you describe Sprite and Pepsi helping you. When I lost my job in 2003 and was depressed, Nala and Princess let me know that I was loved and they got me out of bed and motivated through their loyalty and their happiness. I realized that they understood that life could be a lot worse – as it was for them when they were in shelters facing death – and that positive changes come with a positive attitude.

Knowing that there are others out there who love their pets as much as I do Nala (and do Princess and Lily) is a big comfort. I am a 46-year old man and I still become emotional when I think of Nala’s passing.

In memory of Nala and other dogs that have shared my life, I have dedicated my spare time to helping our local animal shelter. I donate part of my photo-hobby website to them and I photograph dogs and cats for use on my site and PetFinder. My daughter and I (and sometimes my wife) work at the shelter to walk dogs, clean cages and bathe animals. We also work at PetSmart to help our animals find homes. I owe it to Nala and other dogs that God has blessed my life with. If you would like to see our shelter animals and pictures of my dogs Princess, Lily and Nala, you may visit my private web photo storage site at: http://digitalimage.albumpost.com/albums.php . I am not a professional and this is not a scam. All I want to do is help all animals be happy and healthy. The dog albums are on pages 1 and 2. Nala has an album, and Princess and Lily share an album entitled “Sisters.” The first page of the six page site is dedicated to the Henderson KY Animal Shelter. All shelter photos are happy photos.

Thank you again for what you said and for your book. I’ll buy it….but I am not sure I can read it right away. It will take some time for me to prepare for the emotions that will overwhelm me. I had to pull off the road today as I listened to Rush because your story brought me to tears.

God Bless you Mr. Levin. Thank you so much for giving Sprite and Pepsi a chance to have a happy life. As a shelter volunteer, I know how important that is.

Kevin from KY
Nala