Dear Mark; Our 155 lb(not fat) Rottweiler, Sargent Schultz, left us the day after Christmas to join his buddies in heaven. My Daughter saw how much I was hurting. She bought your book for me and ordered another by Eugene O’neill regarding the death of a beloved dog. I can’t explain the emptiness I feel.We live along the Atlantic Ocean.An inlet comes off the oceanwhere there is an island that the County Of Monmouth has desiginated part of as a dog park area.Everyday, we walkedthrough the parking area,through the woods, until we got to the beach alond the inlet.Schultz loved this excursion!!!Rain, snow or shine he always got his two mile walk each day to the water. We never minded taking him as we were a family and loved each other very much. About a week before he died he started to walk slowly and dragged his rear feet.

We immediately took him to our localk regular vet. He had xrays, bloodwork, etc, A substitute vet attended to him as our regular vet was vacationing in Hawaii. After two sessions she recommended we take him to Red Bank Veternary hospital as she was stymied as to his problem.Red Bank is state of the art. I don’t think a finer medical institution for pets exists in the country. Just the admission section has 25 admission rooms. The attached hospital is like a University medical center.When i saw this complex I thought Schultz is at the best place possible.I felt we were in good hands. The big guy was so big and so good.!He let the vet examine him without any fuss. They then took him inside and after three hours plus she returned and called us back into the examining room. her message was grim,Schultz had a large tumor attached to his spleen.She said they needed to operate immediately however the prognosis was bleak. Even if he survived the surgery, we might “add another month or two to his life”.

After much thinking and crying with the vet we made the decesion it was time for him to leave us. The vet was crying along with us and it was clear she believed we needed to make this choice.He looked so sick! The vet took us to his run where he had been treated so we could say goodbye.. As sick as he was he struggled to his front feet to greet us. I hugged him and kissed him and told him he was a very good boy and i would never forget him, I then walked away. Twenty minutes later, a large coffin was brought to our vehicle. Fortunately, our adult Son and Daughter had arrived to help us bring him back home. He’s now in our rear yard in his grave next to our previous Rottie Otto. It’s a beautiful place with rock gardens,trees,shrubs,large bird feeders, etc. We love wildlife and they love our property.Schultz is in a good place. No more pain and suffering.The hurt for us however is very painful, but i know we did the right thing for him. We always did everything we could each day to make him part of our lives, and he loved and appreciated that.We had bought a Ford Explorer just for him so he could go everywhere with us, it was the “Schultz car” the back seats was stocked with toys, biscuits,water dish,and whatever else was necessary to accomodate him .Everything a dog would need for our trips short or otherwise, and for all kinds of weather.. He was our “big boy” and we loved him very very dearly. I read your book and needed very much to express myself and vent the pain to someone who understands the pain.Thank you!
When the time comes we will go out and get another dog as we are animal lovers. And, there are so many who need a loving home. We will never replace our Schultz, but we will give another homeless dog the best love we can. The same can be said for what Schultz provided us.

Sincerely,

Elaine from NJ