Mark,
I just finished reading your book, Rescuing Sprite. I started it yesterday and couldn’t wait to finish it. You put into words such heartfelt feelings and many shared by myself. i felt compelled to share my story about my sweet Lola. My son, Kyle, and I had been volunteering at our local Humane Society for several months when one Saturday morning we came in and walked through the dog area as we always did first to greet everyone and see who had been adopted out and who was new. I looked into one kennel and saw a retriever/lab mix, older looking dog standing and just shaking non stop. I picked up the papers to read more about this dog only to find she had been brought in the evening before by her owners who stated they just had a baby and could not have her any more. They told the shelter she was about 6 years old and her name was Lola. The kennel help told me she had not stopped shaking and had not laid down or eaten since she was left. I went back and went into the kennel and then I saw the terrified look in her eyes. The connection was immediate. I petted her head, talked softly to her and then had to continue with my obligations at the shelter. I checked in on Lola before we left and she just looked at me with a heart piercing stare that said “help me”. I could not stop thinking about her but just could not bring myself to discuss this with my husband as we had one dog(young lab) and 5 cats. He was at his limit. But, the next morning I brought it up and he agreed to foster her and get her out of the kennel. I was in the car in 5 minutes and brought her home. She was definately neglected and in need of a good bath. We found out the next day she came with a terrible ear infection and our vet told us she was more around 10 instead of 6. She has some arthritis and needed her teeth cleaned but this was all taken care of right away. Our lab, Mollie, soon became her best friend and Lola was a member of our family the moment she stepped into our house. As the days passed I realized that Lola was not like any other dog I had ever had. She was special, so much like your Sprite. Our Mollie is much like your Pepsi and the similarities continue. Lola became a permanent member of our house in a month and the love I have for this sweet pup is unequaled to any of our other pets and I am not sure why but having read your book touched home so much. I loved the way you shared your soul with us and how much it connected with my feelings. Thank you for sharing your story. I know my time with sweet Lola is limited but every day I have with Lola is a gift to me.
Vicki from TX