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Holly

Dear Mark;
Thanks for writing such a great book. We lost our dog Holly within a few weeks of reading it. Following is an e-mail we sent to all of our family members the same day Holly passed on.

Hello everyone;
I just wanted everyone to know that at approximately 10:30 AM today we put Holly down for her final rest. It was very sad. Her health had been deteriorating for about 6 months. This morning she could no longer get off her bed. Noreen and I carried her on her bed into the car for the 10 minute ride to the vet’s. We then carried her into the vet’s office the same way. We had to wait approximately 30 minutes before the vet could see her. During this time we noticed that she was in a lot more pain, but was comfortable on her own bed.
When it was our turn we carefully dragged her bed down the corridor and into the examination room. The vet who was very patient and kind examined her. He told us what we feared we already knew. She had advanced arthritis, hip displeasure and a very hurt shoulder from a fall last night. Additionally the vet discovered that her heart rate was very low concluding that she had additional problems and did not have much time anyway.
We agreed that it was time to let her go. The vet gave her a strong sedative and said that he would be back in 15 minutes. During this time Noreen gave Holly as much love as anyone possibly could by holding her and talking to her while I gave both of them support. When the time came Holly was already asleep hopefully dreaming of times when she and Noreen had their favorite moments down the shore. She left comfortably in Noreen’s arms and on her own bed.
In approximately 2 weeks we should receive Holly’s ashes back. Because of Noreen’s and Holly’s fondness for the shore at some point we will go back to Belmar to their favorite beach and spread Holly’s ashes.
There may have been some dogs in this world that were as good as Holly, but there were none better. It will take a while for things to sink in around here, but over time things will get better. We will however never forget what an intelligent and special dog Holly was. She was simply a gift from God that became Noreen’s best friend. There for her to talk to and be with when she needed it the most. Where else in this world could you find such a good listener who only returned unconditional love. We also loved her tremendously.
Oh yeah, as we were leaving that examination room something spiritually happened. As Noreen walked out into the waiting room she noticed a yellow lab puppy about the same age as when she first got Holly sitting there waiting for her vet time with her owner. Of course this made Noreen burst out in tears again. However this time they were tears of happiness because she noticed that the puppy had a cropped tail just like Holly had. As you all may remember about 5 years ago we had to have Holly’s tail amputated because of an infection. Noreen took this as Holly telling her that she was watching and that everything is OK. I agree.
Thank you for listening. We love you all and wanted you to remember Holly as we will remember her.
All our love,

Noreen from NJ