Dear Mark,

Thank you for writing “Rescuing Sprite”. We have all lost our “friends of man” as I call our dog pals, in the past two years. My mother in law lost Chief the Dog, a dog that she adopted around nine years ago who was a shepherd collie who wound up with bad dysplasia, I think. Chiefy had a good run, and “Mom” told me that Chief came to her ina dream and said, don’t worry, you will see me again, then he went of and barked and played! Sue, my sister in law, lost Fred, a big, goofy golden retriever with the most hideous WOOF BARK. Fred had a good run. But no friend of man was like my husband Skitch’s ‘Queenie the Dog”.

Queenie was like your Sprite. She was not supposed to live, really, she was the last dog from a litter that my husband Skitch’s best friend John’s dog had. She was a “Heinz 57”, too. A Shepherd Terrier who looked like an Italian greyhound.She did live though — to be 16. The day we put her down was one of the saddest days we ever had. We took her to Bull Run Animal Hospital and we said goodbye, and held her paws and sang to her. She had the biggest brown eyes, but she knew it was time to go. And we will see her again. She is chasing a rabbit or a squirrel just like she did in the sand pits in Central, NJ –thank you for your book — I am sure Sprit and Queenie have met up in dog play land in the big sky! I bought your book and gave it to my Mother in Law – and she cried!

I still have Freckles, a lab hound who thinks he is a person – 9:30 PM he barks for everyone to go upstairs and go to bed — lights out! He is just about to turn 9 — we gound him at the Farquier County, VA animal shelter when he was 4 mos . old. He has three freckles on his chin and was supposed to be a beagle, so my son tells me (grin)

We love you, you old sentimentalist! Especially when you denounce Hillary “her thighness” (LOL)

Abbe from VA

Queenie the Dog