I read Rescuing Sprite in one evening about two weeks ago. It touched my heart so much that I recommeded it to all my dog loving friends. Little did I know what was in store for me and my family and that our lives would be changed forever in just a few days.

Our dog Penny was 13.5 years old and was going in on January 4 of this year to have a benign tumor removed from her stomach. My husband and I noticed that she was frequently short of breath a few days prior to her scheduled surgery and so, the day before (January 3 and my husband’s birthday), we took her in to make sure she was in good enough shape to go through the surgery. The vet did an xray and came back with the devastating news–endstage lung cancer and 2 weeks to live. We were stunned and heartbroken. She had been less active lately but we attributed that to her age. We took her home. Two days later we had a party celebrating her life. My son came up from Houston and my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter all came to celebrate. Penny had ribeye steak, grilled sausage, a baked potato with cheese, and cake. We all sat on the floor and everyone, especially Penny, loved the time we had together.

One week and one day after the diagnosis, we had to have Penny put to sleep. She could no longer lie or sit down without gasping for air. Our vet came to our house so she was able to die at home.

The loss of Penny has left a huge hole in our lives and in our hearts. She was an extraordinary dog, so sweet and smart, but never cuddly. She was a serious dog who had jobs to do like getting the morning paper but she could be coaxed to be silly and she loved to chase balls and frizbees and anything else that could be thrown. She will always be a part of our family.

My daughter posted this quote on her blog — “Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole.”

For 13.5 years, Penny made our lives whole.

Barbara from TX