I had a 7 year old spayed female siberian Husky who had no health problems until she injured her anterior cruciate ligament. My vet does not do this sort of surgery so she referred me to a different vet. She came out of surgery fine, but died 3 weeks later from a drug called deramaxx. I loved this dog. She was the light of my life. I deal with the guilt every day wondering if I should have done something different. I held her in my arms as she drew her last breath and prayed God would take me to. I miss her every day. She just passed away on Jan. 11, 2008. I loved your book. I cried the whole time I was reading it.

Becky from OH

My wife and I used to belong to a Lab rescue org. We had a dog in rescue named Sparky.
We found out that he was abused by an older male by being kicked every time he barked on the back porch ( don’t all dogs do that?). Anyways we took him in . one day sparky and my Tess where sleeping on the floor and I bent over to pet Sparky and he snaped and took out a piece of my hand. My wife took me to the emergency room and they patched me up. Of course I lied through my teeth how I got hurt and the attendent (Wink, wink) left it at that. A few months later all of a sudden Sparky jumped up on my lap and licked me . A few weeks later he was adopted by an elderly couple. They have passed and guess where Sparky’s new forever home is now? We and Tess Love him.

Cary from WI

Mark, I am writing this with a heavy heart. My wife and I lost our adopted Golden last July. We lasted two weeks and adopted a beautiful Black Lab (6yrs old) from the Humane Society. Mark…she was a two time adoptee. We could not figure out why. She was awesome with little baggage. A month later we adopted another Golden from the Golden Retriever Rescue of Oregon. Our Lab, Molly ,was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the jaw in August (three weeks after we adopted her!) What to do? We were told surgery was not an option due to the aggressiveness, so we pursued a palliative course of radiation. She was such a trooper! We were given a rough timeline of 9 months. As you know, and have talked about on your radio show, they become a part of your life and a virtual family member. Well, last weekend my wife and I took our pooches to the lake and had a wonderful time watching them chase geese and ducks. Molly was swimming like an Olympian.
She dreamed all night Sunday! Yesterday,I took her to her Oncologist for her checkup. I had to drop her off due to a business meeting. I was fifteen minutes away when The Doctor called me on my cell. Molly’s cancer had spread across her jaw and eaten through the bone completely. She didn’t understand how my Molly could even eat. Never a wimper or complaint. You know what happened next. I turned around and went back to the Vet. We let our Molly cross the Rainbow Bridge. My prayer is that she is running and chasing geese and ducks with our late Golden and your Sprite. She was truly my girl and I miss her so.
Mark, I have not read Rescuing Sprite, but I am a devoted listener to your show and I have been in tears many times listening because I know that you love the shelter dogs and rescue animals as my bride and I do. Keep the faith Brother.
Blessings
Charlie from OR

During our lab, Angel’s last minutes , i was holding her; her breathing was more labored, but just before she took her last breath, she reached her head up high toward the sky, took in the final breath, and her head fell to my lap and she was gone, our dear angel of l5 years ., but like all of our other pets, she will live in our hearts forever. her cremated remains are buried under our willow tree decorated with a cross and rosary at the burial site.

Dixie from FL

A year ago on Feb. 2, 2007 our 8 year old Beagle named Buddy died in my arms. He lived only 2 weeks after we found out he had tumors in his lungs, on his heart and around his trachea and esophagus. After he was gone the vet said she could feel that his abdomen was full of tumors, also. I guess I should have let her put him to sleep the day she showed me the X-Rays. But I couldn’t and she never even suggested it saying that Buddy would let us know when he was ready to go such as by stopping eating completely. He really went downhill fast afterward. Sometimes he’d eat and sometimes he wouldn’t for a whole day and if you know Beagles, they love to eat. You see, he had always been such a gobbler even stealing our other dog’s food and we thought he was overweight as a result. Of course, it wasn’t fat. Tumors were growing everywhere inside of him. I have felt so guilty for thinking he was fat. Anyway, he still wagged his tale and would lay his head in my lap to be petted. But he got to the point that he couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep at night and would keep changing positions and move around the room trying to find a more comfortable spot. He also had a couple of times when he had a really hard time breathing and one night I was afraid that he might die while we were asleep so I slept on the floor beside him because i didn’t want him to die alone. But he kept hanging on. And, youu know, Mark when I think back now i know he hung on for me because he knew I wasn’t ready to let him go. But eventually he couldn’t hang on for me anymore. He had gotten to where he coudn’t come up the front porch steps after doing his business. I had to help him up the step slowly one at a time because it hurt because the tumors were around his hips, too. That was the day I KNEW. (more…)

I have a german shephard lab mix shelter dog that was abandoned along with her sister on the side of the road. She was a christmas gift, and she has become the most wonderful gift I have ever received. I enjoy each day with her and cherish every moment. Keep fighting the good fight, and take care.

Ed from OR