I loved your book about Rescuing Sprite. I revere those who accept the challenge of loving those pets that might not otherwise see a home with love and warmth.

I volunteered at a rescue for several years but must admit it got to me to see abused, neglected and abandoned animals day in and out.

I have rescued a few of my own.

The one that has the most dramatic story (this is the reader’s digest condensed version) was that of Pomeranian that we rescued from a pet store! Sounds strange I know , but this dog was due to go back to the puppy farm from whence it came if someone didn’t buy it soon. We had been watching it for four months and hoping someone would buy it – but no one did, so we took it in to our home so it wouldn’t have to go back to the deplorable conditions of the puppy farm.

He was cute as a fox – so we named him Fox. He was loving and warm.

My daughter had just recently lost her puppy to a car accident to which she was a witness. Thank goodness death was instananeous — but the trauma was still real to her.

Thus, as Fox entered our lives he was over protected, to say the least. He was never allowed to walk anywhere- not even on a leash.

But one day he was left alone and our 18 month old son was toddling around the house in his diaper. The kids room upstairs had a hole in the window screen and quite often they would throw toys out the window – not sure why except that kids like to do strange things.

Well one day as I stood at the kitchen sink, below the room above, I saw something come flying past the window and then I heard a little ‘arch…” type noise. I didn’t think too much about it until I saw my 18 month old running down the stairs and outside. I followed and my son brought me our little Fox, with his head twisted around backwards and his tongue hanging out of his mouth. We knew it was serious, but it was Sunday and vets were hard to come by on the weekends in Wyoming. So we called around a few emergency numbers and then took drastic measures – we knew where our vet lived.

We drove out to his house and hoped he wouldn’t be upset. Thank goodness he was a kind fellow and took one look at the puppy who we had so carefully brought to his house and twisted his neck back in to shape!

It would be good if that were the end of the story – but he still took him in to his office and x-rayed him. He had a broken vertebrae and there was concern that there might be internal bleeding. He kept him overnight, heavily sedated, and by morning the bleeding concern was gone and we were relieved. We did have to take him home and keep him sedated for a few weeks while his neck healed. That was fun!

If that were the end of his trials, the story would be good. But this dog went on to get hung from a door knob on his leash by my 18 month old – purely an innocent accident. He didn’t understand that it could kill him. He did go unconscious before we got him to the vet and brought him back.

He went to the groomers and they put him in the dryer machine, which also knocked him unconscious and scared them to death but were able to reviive him.

He had his trachea collapse more than once and also had huge kidney stones that were very painful for him.

He also suffered many of the ailments that puppies from puppy farms come with.

Amazingly enough, he did live to be 9 years old. Then one night his trachea collapsed again. We got him through the night and didn’t think much about it when we took him to the vet in the morning. We had been there so many times and he always pulled through… why not this time.

It was devasting to find out that he also had congestive heart failure and the only way to keep him alive was in an oxegen tent. He would have to spend the rest of his life there if we were to keep him alive.

Putting him down was probably the hardest thing I have had to do. He had survived so many other tragedies, why not this one? He brought so much joy to all of us and my daughter, who was now 18 and in China (his real caretaker) wanted so much for him to be alive when he came home so she could see him one more time. But we could not bear to have him live alone in that tent for another month, so the choice was made –

As I am sure you know – a very sad choice for us – but I am sure brought great physical relief for our Fox.

I know you all know the pain – but sharing it somehow lessens it a bit –

So thanks for providing me space and opportunity to do so…

May all you who rescue animals be blessed for the work you do….

Cheryl from VA