Mark,
It is New Year’s Eve 2007 and we in NH had yet another big snowstorm which inhibited most activity other than hanging around the house and of course constant shoveling. Over the last month I had purchased about a 1/2 dozen copies of your book, Rescuing Sprite, for loved ones who would really appreciate your story. One of the books I bought was autographed by you which I chose to give myself (from Santa). Today I decided to read it cover to cover, with a box of tissues nearby.

In my life I can’t remember reading a book cover to cover and enjoying any as much as this one. I felt as if you were sharing your story with me alone. I also felt like I knew Sprite and Pepsi and the rest of your family as part of my own.
I must confess that I was never a “dog person” growing up until I married my husband Sean. I guess you can say it was in the “marriage contract” to live with a dog for the rest of my adult life. It’s not that I didn’t like dogs. It was just that we never grew up with dogs. My (late) mom was fiercely frightened of dogs. She had had a horrific experience as a child having been chased by a stray dog in Manhattan where she grew up. So it was an unwritten rule never to have a dog. Then when my younger sister was literally born with a million allergies, including to dogs, this fate was sealed.

So when I met my husband, he did have a Black Lab named Mogul (a shelter dog that had been abused). Suffice to say, other than during the “honeymoon stage” of our dating, Mogul never liked me. He barked incessantly at me and chewed my shoes, socks, you name it. Fortunately, however, I grew to love him despite his dislike for me, and thank goodness I did because he left us suddenly due to a terminal bout with cancer despite our efforts to save him.

I had hoped that Sean would have gotten over having another dog in his life, but this was not to be so. We lost Mogul in May of 1999 and by January of 2000 we were at the Nashua NH Humane Society looking for another dog. Ami, a beautiful black flat-coated retriever (and some also say border collie mix) fell in instant doggie love with Sean, her eyes beseeching him to take her home. Sean simply said “She’s the one”. She was just shy of 6 years old at that time. Since then we’ve sort of renamed her affectionately “AmiGirl”. Everyone loves AmiGirl. She’s dear and special and she’s made me a dog lover and adorer! She’s precious, even when she barks incessantly at the neighbors or “strangers invading” her neighborhood. Many a big, strapping guy making deliveries would hesitate leaving his truck until he realized (or we convinced him) that she’s only saying “Hi” in her very boisterous way.

Your book has further endeared me to AmiGirl. The 8th anniversary of her joining our family is right around the corner on January 15th and come May she will reach her 14th birthday. But don’t tell her. Most of the time, she still thinks she’s a young gal, much like her mom.

Reading about Sprite, I too dread the day that we must say goodbye to her someday. I hope she lives forever, but of course she won’t. I am convinced she was an angel blessing to me. I had even prayed to my late mom (the one who feared dogs in her lifetime) to lead us to the “right dog”, and I am convinced Mom (and probably Dad too) did from heaven. When the day comes that we get another dog after AmiGirl, I will again pray for an angel dog. No dog can or will ever replace AmiGirl though.

I will conclude by saying “Thank You!” for the gift of your story. I shed many tears as I read each page but they were tears of comradery and fellowship. Also, I must say that I am a loyal Mark Levin podcaster. I look forward to each of your shows on my iPod, along with your other buddies, Rush, Sean, Laura, and a few others that I can also squeeze in. Don’t tell the others but you are my favorite! I’ve missed you during the Christmas break.

I hope you get to see the picture of our AmiGirl that I am enclosing. Happy New Year to you and your family including your beloved dogs. And God Bless Sprite!

Ann-Marie from NH