We adopted Lady in February of 1997, the shelter said she was about a year old, as a companion for Duke, our nine month old black lab. She quickly determined that she should be the alpha dog, and Duke was fine with that. Lady loved to run and explore, and would take any and every opportunity to do so, and would return when she was ready. She loved looking for critters in the bushes, and never missed a lizard running across the sand. In the spring I would plant a garden in our yard. she loved to graze in the garden and eat the cherry tomatoes. As Lady aged she had a hard time getting around so I would pick some tomatoes for her. In what turned out to be her last summer, I cleared the tomato vines out of the garden around the end of August, because they weren’t very good. We lost Lady on September 13, 2012. I gave her some lovees, and told her to give Duke our love. A few days after her passing I went out to the garden to pick some chives, and there in the pot covered by the chives were three ripe cherry tomatoes, which I shared with Sox and Mr. Mattie. They were truly tomatoes from heaven.

— Michelle from Las Vegas, NV

The first glimpse I had of Rex was in my dream. I had thought I was looking for a small dog, maybe Poodle or Chukchi size. When I woke, I thought, “Interesting dream….ok…..” Then, I went on with my daily life. I continued looking for that “little size dog”.  I couldn’t find the size of dog I wanted though I searched. Finally, I went to the Dog Pound. In the first cage was the dog that had been in my dreams. Rex was a liver and white Springer Spaniel with unchopped tail. He had to stay overnight but I looked in his eyes and promised him I’d be back for him. He seemed to understand.

There are not enough words in the human vocabulary to describe Rex’s “common” splendor. He was not hyperactive, like so many of his breed. In fact, he was the most laid back creation I’ve ever known. That is, all except his tail. It worked overtime. When  he was awake that tail was going. I have a picture of him in AK in which you can see that even in a still picture, his tail is wagging. He loved AK, running through the wilderness. I tried to control him which was fairly easy. However, a few times he would run wild and free always keeping me in site. He met the vicious sled dogs there who had reputations for being cruel to other animals. Not one offered to hurt Rex. He loved everyone and everything. He had an unequaled zeal to life. When he was outside, he’d look on the ground and see, “Moon Shadows” and dance with them. He was one continuously happy dog.  I called him my “clown dog” because he was always making me laugh. He even pulled a small toboggan type sled for me that I’d put a few groceries on. He loved it. He traveled with me whether it was by boat or plane from Arizona to Alaska to Tennessee to Wisconsin. I had met a friend who had a Dachshund that was so friendly I decided I wanted one. Finally, I found my little Red Dachshund. She came off an Arizona Native Reservation.  Heidi Red Desert Lady was a tiny little thing. She curled up on Rex instantly. That’s where she always slept He was her Guardian. When they went to the dog park, in Madison, Heidi would protect Rex but Rex always kept an eye on her too. He loved the dog park where he could run to his heart’s content. He loved all the other dogs and people.    At one point a friend of mine who had never seen Rex or really heard much about him said, “Your dog is an Angel who was sent to you.” That was easy to believe. When my back was injured due to my nursing career, I had some procedures done that kept me in bed. Rex never left my side except to go outside for a few brief moments. Both Rex and Heidi laid by me and watched me closely. I had a dog walker come over and take them out since I knew for a day I would not be able to.  I loved Rex as much as I could have loved a two legged child. Then, one day, my beautiful boy got so he could barely walk. Because of my back, I couldn’t carry him. He walked very slowly and we made it to the car.  I then rushed him to the Vet. They worked with him. They remarked, “He is such a GREAT dog. No matter what we do to him, even if it hurts, he wags his tail. He never growls, just wags his tail.” He had kidney failure and Addison’s……There was no saving Rex on this Earth. I promised to be strong for the sweet dog who had given me so much strength. I held him tight and asked him if he was ready to “go out of his body”. I promised him I’d be ok. I held him when they gave him the shot that would stop his Giant’s heart.  The Vet warned me he might have a seizure. I didn’t care. I was going to be there for my Rexie. When it was over and I went home, I told Heidi. She laid her head against my chest and didn’t move for hours, very out of character for her at the time. Now my Heidi is almost twelve. She’s had an interesting life story all of her own. I will relate that per request. Right now, I want to give Rex credence. The one major thing I learned from my Rexie is that if I can live my life half as good as he did his, I will really have accomplished something.

Thanks for letting me share his story with you. Long may Rexie’s Spirit live on. I know he’s watching me, keeping an eye on me just like he did when he was running. Only now, his body doesn’t hurt anymore. He’s free and waiting for me at “Rainbow Bridge”

— Iris from Urbandale, IA

Shadow: My Loving Companion: Expressing my feelings here indeed helps my heart and soul to heal. I lost Shadow over two years ago and still grieving. As a senior of 76 years young, I have had dogs all of my life and each who have passed on was totally loved and it was emotional. But this time, the loss has been more devastating. He was my first male. Interestingly, I was seeking a female Yorkie at first – my first female passed away and she was like my baby – she was with me at almost every given moment. It was definitely emotional, but within a reasonable time, I was open to sharing my life again. Then came Shadow – Full of life – passion – adventurous and totally independent – brilliantly smart & intuitive. I could go on and on and share amazing stories. I miss him so much.

— Rhoda from Seaside, OR

My wife and I adopted an older, abandoned Pomeranian several years ago.  When we met her, she was a mess and was scheduled to be euthanized the next day.   We quickly fell in the love with Mimi and enjoyed three years together before the awful day when we knew we would never see her again.  Like Sprite, she too had developed a tumor which caused her to turn in circles until exhaustion.  As we waited in the vet’s office, a wonderful woman introduced herself and spent the next thirty minutes asking us about Mimi.  As we were about to be called, and with no sign of embarrassment or apology, she led us in a prayer for Mimi.  Several other people in the room joined in bowing their heads while she thanked God for the precious friend that He had brought into our lives.  I’ve often wondered (seriously) if this woman was an angel.

— Ron from Dearborn, MI

Bernie, our best friend for nearly 12 years, went peacefully at our vet’s office. Bernie was a pure-bred Labrador retriever–the most loyal friend I’ve ever had over the last 43 years. Lilly (the little girl dog laying next to Bernie on his bed) is a rescue from Puerto Rico. She’s 1-1/2 years old we gather. The interesting thing was that the photo of our two loveable friends was taken the morning we took Bernie to be put to sleep–Bernie never allowed Lilly to lay next to him on his bed. He was the King, and that was his spot, not hers. My wife and I swear that Lilly knew exactly what was happening to Bernie–that he was sick with cancer, that his time was limited and that we were having immense trouble with what we were about to do. The three days leading up to Bernie’s last were bitter sweet. We spent as much quality time with him trying to keep him as comfortable as possible–we even went for a ride around town to pay a visit to my mother-in-law who by rights was his mommy whenever our family went out of town. Like a friend said to us for comforting us in our final decision: When you put a pet to sleep, you’re giving them the best gift that they themselves can not give to themselves. Bernie, you are the best pal a family ever could have wished for. Thank you for everything you’ve given us. Here’s to you enjoying yourself in heaven with Big Joe throwing you unlimited tennis balls and running with your old buddy Angus, We love you Bern, now and forever more. See you on the other side my love.

— Nino from Poughkeepsie, NY

Lucy, 2-1/2 years, is our little princess. She has recently relocated with Mom and Dad from northeastern Connecticut to sunny Florida.

Although she was rambunctious up north, she appears to be in her element in our new home, voraciously active and very comfy in her temperate climate.

As apparent from her photo, she’s “all-in” when performing yard work. She prefers following her Dad everywhere to hanging out with the neighborhood dogs. No slacker she, Lucy is quite active and experiences very little downtime.

A little beauty and a loving, playful and loyal companion, we still view Lucy as our “uppity puppity.”

— Ruth from Crystal River, FL