Maddie (short for Madison) was rescued from a shelter when she was 6-8 weeks old. She was a German Short Hair / Springer mix, as far as we can tell. I would take that mix again in New York minute. My wife and I thought we were brilliant dog trainers, but came to find out that she was just a brilliant dog. She never needed a fence or a leash, caught a mean frisbee, and could understand full sentences. She blew out her ACL, and made it through surgery. When she blew out her other ACL, she was ten years old and also had a tumor on her thyroid, so surgery was not an option. We prayed for her, and that leg healed on her own, giving her a full year until the tumor got the best of her. One of the hardest days of my life. When she was 8, we brought her a playmate: a full-bred German Shorthair pointer named Bitsy. When Maddie died, Bitsy missed her so much she turned gray in 3 weeks. We had to bring her a playmate, so now we have two pointers: Bitsy and Sadie. But nothing will ever replace Maddie. Some dogs are just llke that.

Brad from WI