HI Mark,
I just got done rading your book about Sprite. I was so move. I havea Black lab, named, Cleopatra. She is my buddy! She is 9 yrs old & has been such a big part of my life. I alwas tell her she has to live to be an old lady with me. I DREAD the time when she passes. I will be lost withou her. She has moved around w/me. I take her everwhere..in fact I get teased. But, she is the kind of dog the evryone loves. She sleeps in bed w/ me and in fact I think she thinks she is human. :-)

My new grandson( he is 1 yr) drives her crazy, but she just letshim climb & pester her. I love her with all of my heart! There really isnt anything as special as a dog!!!! I felt so many of the things you said in your book. Maybe I should write about Cleo…..???

Tina from OH

My Misty
I read your book yesterday whilst on a train journey – I couldn’t put it down even though I could feel my own heart breaking whilst I read it. I lost my precious collie cross Misty in May – she was thirteen and was diagnosed with a tumour in her chest last December, and the vet – a wonderful man with the greatest heart for animals – reckoned she would only have a few weeks, but Misty had other ideas!.With weekly steroid injections and all the food she wanted (which was always a passion with her) she, and I enjoyed the months through winter and Spring into the start of a lovely warm summer. She enjoyed walks, runs in the car and being lavished with more love than up until then I ever knew I was capable of feeling.
I had always loved her, from when I adopted her at eighteen months old after she had had a bad start in life – she wrecked my house, sent my other dog Briagh round the bend with unwanted displays of affection and stole my heart (and that of Braigh’s too, eventually) and then after I lost Briagh she gradually became so scared of everything that made noises that I had to engage a behaviourist to help me and her get over her fears. By then I had aquired my present dog – a collie called Floss and Misty manged to teach her afew bad habits like chasing cats, barking when I put my walking jacket on and scrounging food from anyone foolish enough to sit down anywhere in the house with the idea of enjoying a biscuit!
I now look at Floss when she does certain things and thank Misty for being her role model during her youth,I feel that a part of Misty lives on through Floss. (more…)

This is “Little Nipper” who came to us after I my Molly was killed. I grieve for Molly but Nipper makes me laugh many times a day. Nipper has a bad hip, a black eye, a serious overbite and one ear that flops. She’s also known as “Lucky”. Molly would have approved.

Regards,

Tom from CA

Dear Mark,

Just wanted to write because I knew you’d understand. I was in real estate, my wife an interior designer. We’ve lived here in southwest Florida for 25 years. We lost our income, our home and cars but we still had our children (grown) and our pets. We’ve had a menagerie of dogs, cats, birds, turtle and ferret over the years.

One of my sons rescued an American short hair cat whose owner was going into hospice. Trouble the Housecat won us all over, even his fellow housecats. He came to live with us a couple of years ago when he got sick the first time. We nursed him back to health though he had ongoing problems with his balance. He had a couple of other bouts but always seemed to rebound.

This last Monday we found him laying in a corner instead of hovering around the food dish. Thinking he was just having another episode we made him comfortable and spoon fed him. He didn’t rebound this time. This morning when I got out of bed (his was next to mine) I noticed he seemed to be in pain. He crawled out of his bed to get to me. I wrapped him in a towel and held him for about an hour. He passed away and I’m getting ready to put him under a pine tree in our yard.

We’ve got lots of pet stories to tell. Most of them great but mixed in there are the “passing ons”. It doesn’t make it any easier because each one is so unique. Trouble the Housecat was one of a kind. Thanks for “listening”.

David from FL

I have rescued a male Wheaton Terrier. He is so incredibly needy that he walks into my legs, insists on being touched at every moment, will not go out on his own, and barks at the slightest noise.

What can I do to make the pretty boy normal?

Bill from GA