Stewie. Let me tell you about my friend, Stewie. He is small of stature, big of heart and a good boy.
We hadnt had a dog for about 4 years. Our other dog Gracie was a peke of ill temper. She was seven when we got her and lived the rest of her life with us. But she was an old lady dog and not really happy when my sons came along. So when she passed on, we said no more dogs till the boys are older.
Flash forward to Sept of 2008. We were on our way to the local pet/fish store to buy another Angel Fish. On the way we stopped for lunch and next door was a pet food store that was having an adoption day. With much trepidation, we walked by knowing the boys would want to stop. \”Oh lets go look\” , I said. \”We\’re not getting a dog, we can look\” Okay stop snickering.

We walked in the door and in the cage on the right hand side was a little black and white peke. My husband walked over and  looked down, and the rest as they say, is history.
He came home with us to stay. We found out he was originally from So. Carolina. So I called the number on his Rabies tag and told them I had him. First there was silence, then I heard the person on the other end say to her co-worker \”She\’s got Oodle\” Well, Stewie to you and I. But I went on to tell her how we got him and where he would be living now and that he had two little boys that adore him and play with him all the time.
He is such a different peke than Gracie. He is only two years old and loves to jump and play with the boys and did I mention he keeps my feet warm? He\’s a good boy.

Recently, we went on a vacation to Disney World. My neice house sat for us and when we spoke with her, she said he was a little depressed. By the end of the trip, all any of us could talk about was how we missed Stewie.
When we got home, we got the welcome of all welcomes. He shook his little body and wagged his tail. Came and jumped on each of us, and made sure we all knew how much he missed us.
So that\’s my Stewie. As I write, he is sitting on my feet. Keeping me warm.
He\’s a good boy.

Fran from NJ

Not too much to say Mark other than I read Rescuing Sprite after  buying it in Walmart.  The book was great, heartwarming, and like most good conservatives it captured my heart.

My wife and I have a little 8 yr old dachshund who rules our lives with his overwhelming love.  I cannot fathom losing hIim.  Your book brought tears beyond belief to my eyes and you are the kind of person I always thought you were.

Jim from MO

This is the Reichart family who have a 9 year old Down Syndrome child named JJ; this is his first pet and it couldn’t have been a better match! Bear, his mom and 4 siblings all came to us in June from a pretty bad situation in Glendale. All of them except Bear and his sister Scooter, have been adopted; their Mom Dini, just got adopted last week to a terrific home. We could not believe it took so long for this loving little dog to find his Furever Family. As Mrs. Reichart said “he was just waiting for us.”

What a tear jerking moment this was – a special boy and his special dog! Truly, truly this is why we do rescue!!

Bob and Deb from AZ

My cat came to me the hard way. I came home from work in ’96 on friday and when I exited
the car I could hear crying. I thought it sounded like a baby.

Well under the steps of the porch was this tiny kitten. I tried to capture her for the whole weekend, unsuccessfully. I gave up. Monday morning on my way to get into my car, to go to wotk work, she was under the hood where I captured her grease and all. I call her my throw away kitty. Sombody dumped her at my house. She was so small I could hold in one hand.

Donald from IL

My wife and I have been married for 16 years. We have had a wonderful companion, a Weimareiner, for 15 of those years. Our dog died 3 weeks this Sunday. She was absolutely wonderful and a delightful companion. We are so incredibly sad over her death. Our other dog has been unusually despondent and developed new medical problems.
I hated losing our loving dog. This was one of the worst days of our lives….
Sigh,

Shawn from TX