When my mom had triple bypass surgery in the summer 1999, I knew that I needed to bring them closer to me then Mesa Arizona. It took until the summer of 2000 when I found a house 1 mile from mine. My dad was 70 years old and didn\’t want to move, didn\’t have the energy to move, to box everything up. I had a company do it for him. They moved in and our 16 year old poodle had a great big back yard to explore or lay in the sun. Unfortunately, that dog, that I grew up with for 16 years of my life, had Alzheimer\’s and she also had cataracts. Where mom and dad could navigate the new house, the female black poodle, who had memorized the small mobile home they had lived in, was lost in the new house. I was over for a quick visit when I noticed that she was laying on their bed. I asked my dad how long she had been there as normally she sat by him on his lap. He told me that she wasn\’t acting right and she spent most of the time in their bed. The smells were the same as the old place so I guess she found confort in that. I went to look at her closely and found one of her eyes had swelled shut. When I asked my parents what had happened they said they hadn\’t noticed. My mom had diabetes so her eyesight was not great and dad had enough on his hands with mom, the new house, etc. I took Bea from the middle of the bed, where she lay, and I went quickly to the vet hospital. There they told me that she had a stye from something in the back yard, she had a heart murmur, and she was walking back and forth and back and forth. Very similar signs of the geriatric who have Alzheimer\’s disease. I knew what had to be done but I needed to call home. Mom was crying and gave the phone over to dad claiming she couldn\’t talk anymore. Dad told me that I would have to make the decision as he made the one for our old dog that died when I was 17. I was not kind to him about that incident – I was 17. Enough said. So he told me that he would understand no matter what my decision was. I heard mom crying in the background that she hadn\’t said good bye to Bea, that I should bring her home, but I knew that it was time. Stalling would not do anyone any good. So I told the vet to euthanize her. They wanted to do it in the back but since I had been in the veterinarian field, I told them I would hold her while they did it. As she went to sleep, I told her that she would be okay. Everything would be fine. It was okay. And then, she lay there, in my hands, and even though she was there, she was gone. 16 years of memories passed for me. When I picked her from the window in the pet store where she was laying in her food bowl, with her head hanging over the side, sleeping during the chaos that was the other puppies and the people staring and pointing at her through the window. As a puppy, she was the calm I needed in my life. I brought her home and we buried her in the back yard. Dad helped me and when we were done, we put a large rock near the head of the box that she was buried in and mom came out with her cane and said some words. They both lived in the house for another 4 months and it seemed like they were just waiting to die. There was no life in the house. I told mom to go out and get another dog. She didn\’t want get attached again. I kept after them and they decided to go to PetSmart, that on weekends, would bring small dogs to the stores that needed to be adopted. These were 2nd chance dogs. My mom and dad came home with a strange dog. The paperwork said she was part miniature grey hound and part chihuahua. She was a beautiful blonde pumpkin color. She had long spindly legs she was found on the street. It took the rescuers 7 days to get her. She would run off, she wouldn\’t be tempted for food, even though they could see her ribs. Finally the caught her and then she went into foster care. It took her 3 times as long in foster care and there were times that the second chance group thought that she would have to be put down. Finally they thought she was ready to be adopted out. Mom and dad got her, although mom was hoping for something smaller, to sit in her lap. Its not that Sarge is large, but she\’s was about 19 pounds. Her adoption papers said her new name was Katrina but my dad, being dad and a Korean War vet, said the dog was as ugly as his ex-sargeant. So he names her Sarge. She loved my dad. When he would go to his room to watch his old war movies or westerns, she would follow him and lay on the floor right by him. My dad went to the VA for a simple operation and they botched it so he died in 2002. Sarge had 1 1/2 years with him. Mom didn\’t want to get out of bed after dad died, but she had to because of Sarge. (more…)

When I told my wife that our then 4 yr. old son needed a dog, as every boy did, she insisted that we do our homework to get the right dog for our family.  We went through the dog encyclopedia very carefully and talked to a women in the neighborhood who owned two english bulldogs.  We then knew what we wanted.   Little did we know how right we were.  A couple of months later we brought home our puppy and for the next 11 years we had the best friend to our family we could ever hope for.  Junior was so loving and good.  He was never demanding, always patient and such a joy.  He would eagerly learn new tricks, like high-five or roll over.  He would walk with me on or without a leash, never pulling or straying.  My wife would say she knew I was coming home because 5 minutes before, regardless of the time of day, Junior would move to the door, as he knew I was about to come through it.
I said goodbye to my dear friend the other day.  I thanked the Lord for the most wonderful blessing I received everyday I was able to share with my bulldog.

Scott from FL

Mark,
We often forget in life some of the more basic, and appealing of traits, that we should have. While working in a public school as a teacher, I was asked to take a stray dog to the shelter. She had been poorly kept, and her eyes were full of hope. She was a gaunt picture, put into my car, so that I would not leave without her. When I finally got out of school and went to my car, she was sitting in the back seat anxiously awaiting my next move. She was a sight. About, 7lbs little hair, ribs in plain view. So, having recently lost my two big dogs to old age, I embraced this little waif, and told her, “you just had the luckiest day of your life.” When I arrived home, I had forgotten it was my teenage daughter’s birthday. She immediately figured that I had brought the dog for a present and collected the little one and she fell in love with it. I told her it needed some TLC, and my wife slowly realized that small dogs can be lovable too. So, between me and my daughters and my wife, we treat this little 16lb. extremely hairy doggie like she was one of our grandchildren. She had some health issues that my vet took care of, and we now live happily with our two cats and our (not so) little dog “Foxy Jones” She is the keeper of the security, she is the one who will sit with a sick family member, and semi-clebrity of the neighborhood, having survived a coyote attack in my backyard. She is brave and loving, and she loves our kids and grandkids. And to think, I almost took her to the dog shelter. She has enriched our lives, with loving loyalty, and brave spirits.

Thanks for reading,
Joe from CA