Dear Mr. Levin,
I have just finished reading Rescuing Sprite and thank you for sharing your love of your dogs and also the pain of their loss. I lost my beloved Golden Retriever, Solomon (“Solly”), in March of 2007 when I was in Vietnam. I went to Vietnam with a group called Tours of Peace Vietnam Veterans. My late husband was a Vietnam Vet. I left for Vietnam knowing that my Solly had aggressive bone cancer and was on heavy pain medication. This trip to Vietnam was very important to me because my husband had died from complications of treatment for a rare form of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (cancer probably Agent Orange related) and I knew it would be a healing journey for me. There was no question that I couldn’t go. I left my Solly in the care of my wonderful pet sitter, Loretta, and my caring veterinarian, Tim, who both knew my wishes if Solly should take a turn for the worse while I was gone . Upon my return home I learned my Solly was unable to get up and walk two days after I left and Loretta knew that “the time had come”. She took him to the vet and they sat on the floor with Solly and stroked his beautiful soft, golden fur telling him how much my husband and I loved him and what a wonderful life he had lived. She told me 30 minutes went by before they could say their “good-byes” to Solly. When I returned home, I found on my dining room table, the beautiful blue urn my vet had picked out for Solly’s ashes. Inside a sympathy card I found a portion of Solly’s beautiful fur that Loretta had thoughtfully clipped for me to save. His collar and leash were lying by the urn. I started to cry, of course, both for the loss of my beloved friend but also for knowing that he wasn’t alone during his final moments on this earth. I had made my journey to Vietnam knowing that I might not see my Solly alive again and went with a heavy heart. I returned home with the beginnings of a soul that knew healing could begin again.

Carolyn from WA