I literally just finished reading Rescuing Sprite, and I have been through everything you went through when your Sprite came to the end of his life. We have lost two cats and a dog just before Christmas, so I know what it feels like to look at that empty stocking on the mantel. We have had to have a pet put to sleep only to have to go through it again in six weeks with another pet–twice. Since I do a lot of animal rescue work, we have had many cats and dogs in our family and have had to say good-bye 12 times. In 2001 we adopted a 15-yr-old Golden-Doberman mix because his family couldn’t take him to Texas with them. Flash had a LOT of issues, but we worked through each one and he seemed to accept us and our dog as his new friends. On the day before the 9/11 attacks I had to rush him to the vet. He had suddenly become very ill and our vet worked to help Flash all week as we all tried to deal with what was going on in our country. We visited Flash every day, and on that Friday, as we walked into the vet’s office after going to a prayer service, our sweet vet came over to us and told us Flash’s heart had stopped just before we got there and he could not be revived. We rushed in to see him; he was still warm and seemed asleep, but our Flash was gone. We were blessed to have him in our lives for 7 months. We keep on rescuing and loving and saying good-bye, even though each time it is excruciating, because these precious animals deserve to be loved, and we are privileged to receive their love in return. They love like God loves–abundantly, unconditionally, purely–and because I love and trust in Him, I believe He will allow me to see my sweeties in heaven again. Thank-you for sharing your story and for letting me share mine.

— Lisa from Daphne, AL