Dear Mr. Levin: I just read Sprite’s book. It was given to me 8 weeks ago after my wonderful Holly died the weekend before Christmas. She was 16 years, 2m., 2wks old. A cinnamon cock-a-poo who was as wonderful as I could ever imagine. She arrived here in Dec.1992 and left me the same month 16 years later. Her timing stunk. It was the worst Christmas I have ever spent. I couldn’t bear reading your book until yesterday – my heart & soul were wrenced from me.

We live in a home where our garage is attached to the basement door. When I come home from work, I would always peer up the stairs at the space between the door & kitchen floor. Even when she lost her hearing, she knew it was me. Those little paws were dancing and that tail was wagging. 2 years ago she was diagnosed with dimentia. But even in her confusion, she was kind, loving & sweet. Then she had cataracts that caused blindness (too old for surgery). These last 2 years were difficult but we made it through. In Dec, she had seizures. My husband & I knew that the inevitable was just around the corner. When a decision had to be made, I also questioned if this was a selfish decision on my part or was this the right time. My vet said there’s never a right time but this wasn’t the wrong time.

When she was put to sleep, I requested to stay for a few minutes to hold her warmth and hug her. I swear to you – I am not a religious person- but I could feel her spirit/soul rise and pass me. I knew then that this was a humane decision. I am 61 and have never been without a zany dog in my life. I have loved them all in different ways but Holly… I guess she was super special. We have decided not to go out and get another dog – for now- my husband and I want to pick up and go as we please for a bit. We’ll see…

But I wanted to thank you for allowing me to share the love that you and your family have for your dogs too. It meant a lot to me to know that we’re not just weirdo dog-people. There are others out there who experience that mega lose at their pet’s passing. Good luck to you and your family.

Jill from NJ

I adopted Jazz a few years ago from our local humane society. At the time I had gone down to the shelter and sawa a border collie that I thought might fit in our family. So the next day was bringing our older dog at the time to come and meet him. Well that morning I looked on the website of the shelter to show a friend the dog I was thinking of adopting and saw Jazz’s photo. I knew then and there that was the dog that I wanted. I called and she had just come up for adoption from a foster home so I not only had to pass muster from the shelter but also the person who had been fostering her. I must have passed. Our old dog Mischeif also passed her with flying colors.

She has been such a joy, and quite a comfort when it was Mischeifs turn to pass into spirit. She Loves my husband best, unless he isn’t home then I’m A-OK, or if I am doing something more interesting than he is, like going riding on the horse.

She doesn’t ride yet on the back with me all the time. But I did have to rescue her once in some weeds and water over her head on the trail. Plucked her right out of the water, what a mess of dripping wet dog all over my lap.
She is certain her job is to bark at the horse and goat and remind them to mind thier manners. twirling circles all the while.
She has picked up recently on tricks its easy to teach her them, as long as I have treats.
Luckily I didn’t have to feel bad about the dog I didn’t adopt as he found his own forever home not long after I brought Jazz home to be part of my family.

Marci from OR

My 2 dogs Brandy (lab mix) & Serena (Shepherd mix) love each other dearly, but they love to play rough! I just happen to catch this split second moment with my camera. Honestly, these 2 dogs couldn\’t be better friends. Thank\’s Mark for putting your shows on your website. I\’m addicted because you inform, teach and are passionate. I\’m gonna give your shows to my 7 year old son in 10 or so years so he can appreciate. Keep up the good fight, Mike. PS… I got Brandy from the pound & Serena from a restaraunt parking lot (the employees used to throw her scraps)

Michael from CA

My wife and I had dogs when we were younger, but not since we were married 30 years ago. Now our four children are grown and the nest is becoming empty. Our thoughts are again turning to a dog, especially since we recently discovered photos of our long-ago pets and had such fond memories of them.

This saturday while driving home from a walk at the beach we decided to make an unscheduled stop at our local shelter just to see how it felt. We immediately fell in love with an 8 month old mix of terrier and dachshunt with the sweetest disposition. He was rescued from Virginia and made it to NY via a program called passage to freedom. A chain of volunteers drove him from VA to NY passing him to a new volunteer every few hundred miles. He is very sweet and has proven to be good with children, other dogs and cats. He is possessive of his food and is afraid of brooms which leads the shelter to think he was starved and possibly abused by a broom. We are currently undergoing our background check by the shelter to see if we are worthy of this dog and if all goes well he will join our family on tuesday. We are considering naming him Boci (italian for kisses) of Reagan…its still a toss up. I have attached a photo of him at taken when we met at our local shelter. I keep hearing your words in my head about adopting a rescue dog and we wouldn’t have it any other way. I will let you know when he arrives! Thank you Mark for leading us in this direction.

Bill from NY