Dear Mark, It is 12:51 PM on Monday, 11/17/08. I am waiting to take my precious Annabelle to her last appointment with our vet at 3:10. Since June, we have noticed Annabelle’s odd behavior. She started walking with her head drooped. She can hardly stand up without falling down. She can only walk if we have her on a leash to keep her upright… On top of incontinence, thyroid issues, giardia and arthritis, she has suffered the embarrassment of wetting and vomiting on herself!

We have tried and tried to restore our Annabelle to the quality of life she enjoyed a few short months ago… We just knew that she would bounce back if we would do “this treatment” ~or~ “that treatment”! She has not eaten in four days. It is obvious that her precious body is shutting down… The only reason she is still with us today is because our vet was closed for the weekend, and there was absolutely, positively NO WAY that we would take her to a stranger for her last appointment! We have enjoyed our precious Annabelle since we flew her down to Houston from Syracuse, NY in January, 1995. She was only a few weeks old. So many people told me, and I have read, that we will know when it is time to let her go…

Well, I can finally put to words what my thoughts and feelings are… It is simply this: We realize the pain we feel seeing our precious Annabelle suffer outweighs the pain we feel knowing that she will take her last breath today… Knowing that Annabelle is about to take her last breath hurts so badly that I cannot bear it… However, knowing that if we do not free her from the torment she is enduring now is so much worse!!!!!

Thank you for your encouraging words in your book, “Rescuing Sprite”… Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you and others the sadness I feel right now. This is part of my grieving process… You are my godsend today… Blessings ~ Donna P.S. I pulled Annabelle’s birth record and pedigree from our “Annabelle” File this morning… I almost fell out of my chair when I realized that today, November 17, 2008 is Annabelle’s fourteenth birthday!!! Please say a prayer for her and for us…

God Bless ~

Donna from TN