She came to us about 8 years ago. We only had Johnny Ringo then. It was about 3:00 a.m. and he needed to go outside. I let him out of the house and waited for him on the porch. We live in the country but we have a huge fenced front yard so I felt safe waiting for him on the porch. All of a sudden Johnny barked and kind of growled and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. I was scared. I got Johnny back in the house and woke my husband up. He went outside to look around.

When he came back in he said that there was a puppy outside. I went outside and looked over the fence. I saw what looked like a dirt streaked skinny dog. I went back inside the house but I could not get the puppy out of my mind. My husband left for work about 1 and ½ hours later. I stayed awake just thinking. With my husband at work and dawn just around the corner I went back outside. I looked and looked for the puppy. The puppy came to the other side of the fence. What I saw made me want to cry. She was the poorest dog I had ever seen. She was a young dog; maybe four months old, every one of her ribs could be seen. Her stomach seemed concave. I thought that she had dirt all over her but she was a brown and black brindle color. I took a bowl of water outside of the fenced yard. She lapped that up in record time. (more…)

Mark,
We had two dogs. They were Shih Htzu’s. One female and one male. When my husband was sick in ’07 the dogs Spunky and Boomer were therapy for him. When he was in the hospital for his chemotherapy treatment for leukemia, little Spunky would lay on his pillow at night. She would wait for me to come up to bed. When she would see me coming, she would be standing and wagging her tail. She knew that something wasn’t right. Little Boomer, our male, would fight with her for his spot on the bed. I ended sleeping with both of the dogs on the bed every night. When my husband got out of the hospital, they would vie for his love and attention. It was as if they both knew something wasn’t right in the house with my husband in the hospital. Now my daughter had to put them up for adoption because we had to move into a hotel. We are still looking for a place to live. My husband is now in remission from the leukemia. We want to get a dog again. I feel like part of our life was taken away from us when my daughter had to put them up for adoption. We had no choice. Where we are now, the hotel, does not allow any pets.. Both Spunky and Boomer were the finishing touches for our family. When we would walk them in the evening the two of them would try to see who would try to get ahead of the other especially Boomer. They were so cute together. I really miss the unconditional love they would give us. I think we as humans could learn alot from them. When we get into a better situation, a place we can call our own, we are going to get a dog again. Then our life will be completed.

Ruth from NJ

We adopted a Yorkie from United Yorkie Rescue. He was 8 yrs old at the time. This little boy became my very best friend and brought much joy to our lives. We lost him this year after only 3 yrs. We will never forget him. I still grieve daily.

Jerry from NC

I have several stories…..
My husband gave me Rescuing Sprite for Christmas last year (07).   I wasn\’t ready to read it, but just finished it within the past hour.   We currently have four (4) dogs, all rescued.  Dixson is sitting next to me while I\’m typing this.   Maggie & Kaley are in the bedroom with Bill.  Moe is on one of 3 dog beds in our kitchen.   We call her our \”watch dog\”.

I\’ll begin with the Sashas.  When I met Bill, I had a rescued golden named Sasha.   He had a German Shepard named Sasha.   We gave them our last names and always called them:  Sasha Wright or Sasha Morrison.  This was our second marriage for each of us and neither of us had children.  The Sashas were our family.   Shortly into our relationship one of the women I worked with offered  a golden retriever puppy.   Within a few weeks, she asked me to take \”Pebbles\”.   Pebbles was only 3 months old.  As we had an acre plus fenced in, I said yes.   We change dher name to Gilda.   Gilda was so gentle, sweet and loving.  Unfortunately when she was two she developed a skin infection.  Our vet was unable to determine the cause.   We visited a dermatoglist vet in Maple Glen but he too wasn\’t able to cure it.  He recommended we take Gilda to U of PA.   We did and met with a specialist each month.  After a year, the infection cleared up, but Gilda had lots of scars and bald spots.   She still was our \”princess\” (her nickname).   She lived healthy and happy (she didn\’t know she was missing hair) until she was  15 when we noticed a growth on her neck.    Dr. Charlie thought he could remove it without any problems. Because of her age, I was concerned.

Not being a writer, I don\’t know when to interject and mention….I got a call a year or so after Gilda joined the Sashas that someone from Glenside needed to find a home for their golden.  They didn\’t know he liked water and had trouble keeping him out of their pool (duh).   I said I would meet with him but how could I say no…so Brutus joined our family.   By now Sasha Wright was starting to fail  She was 12 or 13.  I know I kept her alive for me.   I vowed never to do that again.   It was the first time we had to make the decision. (more…)

Back in 2004 we adopted a husky named apache who had been abused and negglected. He was the best dog i ever owned in ’06 we had our son and from the time we brought him home Apache was very protective of him. Just before our sons 1 yr in Nov of 07 Apache was diagnosed with Blastomicosis and was treated but did over come the disease and in Feb of 08 died and i am still so upset about it and think about him everyday.

Sarah from ND

I rescued an american pitbull terrier in 1994 from a horrific situation, only intending to foster him until a good home was found.  We immediately bonded.  He opened up a whole new world for me.  I volunteered with a pitbull rescue group and rallied with our local police to take the fighting  of these dogs more seriously.  Bronson, was my best friend.  Despite the scars, he was kind, gentle, and loyal.  I was fortunate to be a part of his world for five years.  In April of 1999, he was diagnosed with lymphoma.  With weekly chemo treatments, whole food and lots of love, he held on for five months.  Sept. 21, 1999 was the day he left me and took with him a piece of me.  I promised him that day that I would continue to educate people and rally to place good dogs of this breed in loving homes.  A day does not pass that I do not think of him and now know that he had a mission somewhere else and needed to move on.  I have since lost his partner and best friend, Lucy, to cancer last Feb.  We use to refer to them as the bookends, because they were so similar in color and looks.  Lucy was another pitbull rescue we adopted a year after Bronson.  After Lucy\’s passing, I felt that all connections to Bronson were now gone.  Your book is so touching and makes me realize that we truly have a spiritual connections with our canine family and we are so lucky to have been chosen to be a part of their very short lives.  My resuce continues..As, yes, the grief is unbearable with the loss, however, the joy they bring is so great.  I adopted another pitubll mix from the state of Georgia.  She was a cruelty seizure and near death.  She has truly flourished and fits in so well with our other two dogs.   I have since placed many pitbulls in good homes through volunteering with local rescue groups.
And so my mission continues….

Stephanie from NY