A little more than 2 yeas ago, we learned of an elderly couple who had a 9 year old minuature 12 lb black Poodle named Peppy which they were unable to care for any longer due to the man having had a serious stroke.  The couple was going to have Peppy taken to a shelter where, due to her age, it would have been very unlikely she would have been adopted by anyone.  When my wife and I heard about Peppy, we went to see her and immediately fell in love with her and took her in to our family.  I had just lost my job and Peppy was my little companion at home as I sat day after day searching for jobs on line. For nearly a year Peppy would lay down next to me and be glued to my side.  On days when I was especially depressed being out of work, Peppy just seemed to sense that and would put her head on my lap or lick my hand.  Peppy quickly became a member of our family and we all loved her very much.  Three months ago, Peppy was diagnosed with advanced Lymphoma and her health went downhill very quickly.  During the past few weeks, she lost nearly half of her body weight due to not eating and in just the past few days her breathing became vey labored and she was extremely lethargic so my wife and I had to make that terrible decision to end her suffering.  We took her to the animal hospital this evening (12/27/13) and stayed with her and held her close while they put her to sleep.  Peppy seemed to know and accept why we had to do this for her.  It was our final act of love for our little dog and it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  Thank you for reading this.

— Jeff from Crestwood, IL