A friend of mine recently gave me your book, Rescuing Sprite. Although I know that these stories tend to end sadly, my friend was sure I would appreciate the book. And I did. I have had dogs all of my life, and usually in pairs. All of my dogs made it to their teenage years. 2 years ago I lost both of my dogs within 2 months of each other. They were both around 16 years old, and the first dog died of kidney failure. After that his big brother just didn’t want to go on anymore. Despite my best efforts to get him to eat, drink and live, he made it clear he wasn’t interested. And, yes, each time I felt that maybe there was something more I could have done. I felt that the time wasn’t right to let go. It look me many months to be convinced, by my family and vet, that I had done everything humanly possible. Then, despite my resolve that I would always have a dog, I could not bring myself to adopt another dog. I helped other dogs find homes, but was not ready to bring one into mine. That is, until a few months ago, when I read a story about an older dog left at a kill-shelter by his family because they were too busy to keep him in their lives – they were retiring and wanted to travel (much like the situation with your buddy Griffen). I decided right then and there that this dog would not be put down because of the selfishness of his former family. It took all of 5 minutes to decide that we would make him part of our family. It has been nearly 7 months, and he is the sweetest, most undemanding dog I’ve encountered in a long time. He is a welcome addition to our family. And while we know that as an older dog his time with us is limited, we are determined to give him the best we can. He has earned it.

Reena from NJ