Last June, as payment of the ultimate price that we all must pay for love, we said good-bye to our beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Psycho (after the movie).  Not sure about what to do with the love that was bouncing around our house with no object, we decided to get a rescue dog and picked out a beautiful Shih-Tzu/Pomeranian named Edison (pictured here), age 2.

The family that originally owned him surrendered him because they did not like the way he interacted with their children.  This  surprised us because a more friendly, polite and well behaved dog would be hard to imagine.  He came to us fully house trained, with basic behavioral cues and a sunny nature that apparently does not permit him to bark except in the most serious of circumstances which turns out to be only when he sees a dog he wants to play with.

We are so fortunate to have him in our lives.  He gives purpose to our love and in a strange sense honors the memory of the dog we just lost.

— Debra from Naples, FL

Lucy left us today after eight years of being a great family pet.

Lucy had a great disposition and would always want to go with me…to the park..to the store..for a long walk.

We will miss you Lucy…..my best friend !

— Steve from Santa Clarita, CA

Meet Odin and Chloe My Yellow labs. I received Odin as a Pup just before my surgery for cancer in Dec 2009. He was supposed to be my wife’s dog for protection while I deploy (I am in U.S. Navy). However, due to me being on limited duty after the surgery me and Odin formed a very close bond this dog seems to know what I’m thinking. Chloe on the other had I adopted from another Navy family who was moving to Guam (you know the Island that will tip over because of too many troops LOL). They did not want Her to go through 6 months of quarantine.  To introduce her into Family I used to take them both to Fiesta Island Dog park here In San Diego.   The park is a wonderful resource that under threat of people that want to develop it. Odin and Chloe over the six months time I took taking them to Park every weekend became very close. In fact you could say they became boyfriend and girlfriend. You would no recognize them as a married couple that truly loves each other.

— Michael from San Diego, CA

In 2002 my father died, and I took mom into my home to provide care for her as she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years earlier. In 2006, it became necessary to provide a more secure environment so mom would not wander off and get lost so I purchased a house and soon after a dog to keep mom company. Cherish is a pound dog and fell immediately in love with mom. They were devoted to each other, and I think Cherish helped to keep her centered on life. When mom had come down to the end of her life, something the caregiver called the transition mom was on a hospital bed provided by the local hospice and she, and Cherish could not be together. Mom had an unusually long transition, 22 days. The caregiver said that in her experience, people hung on until their loved ones come to say their final good-byes. Each member of my family dutifully came by to say good-bye to mom and a few days later she was still going strong. On what turned out to be the final day of my mother’s life the caregiver, and I were going through the morning routine of cleaning her up to get her ready to face another day. Cherish is a small dog only 15 pounds and on this day, she was not to be denied the chance to be with mom. Cherish leapt with everything she had and managed to get her front paws onto the bed then she pulled herself onto the bed. I immediately went over to where Cherish was on the bed and was getting ready to put her back on the floor, but the caregiver said it was alright because she was done, so I let Cherish be. Cherish walked up to mom\’s face and gave her one lick on the face then settled down next to mom where she stayed until mom died two hours later. I now know it was her constant companion who gave her unqualified love during the most difficult times of her life that mom was waiting to say good-bye to.

— Dick from Gervais, OR

Dodger was a chocolate lab-cross, who was unfortunately disabled while being neutered. Even with his physical limitations, Dodger enjoyed a long life with our beloved cat, “Belle”. He, like most labs, also loved to swim, with assistance getting in and out of our family car, Dodger would swim so much he would rest for days after or would mope, smelling the lake on our family if he did not go. Dodger lived nearly 15 years and is missed not on by human family, but by new pet family members as well.

— Paul from Redding, CA

I am a dog person.  When my landlord died suddenly, her heirs did not want her second floor cat.  What is a second floor cat you ask?  My landlord was an old Philadelphian, you know they type that belongs to Sunnybrook and is a DAR.  Her house was big and old, so it was necessary to have a cat on the second floor as a mouser.  Plus two big dogs roamed the first floor and halls.  I babysat while they were away twice, and the cat never showed herself, maybe because I was always with the dogs, but I filled her bowls and emptied her box ea day.  I’m sure she was watching me from her hiding place.

Back at my place across the lawn (sounds like the Great Gatsby, but it was not that opulant believe me), I was alone after the loss of my beloved English Pointer Duke to lung cancer, and had just lost both of my parents.  I was engaged at the time (2006) to my future husband, but we did not live together.  I’m old fashioned.  So a couple of weeks after the funeral, one of the heirs saw me and asked if I might consider adopting her Mother’s second floor cat “Meow”.  Oh that was her name, I didn’t know.  I said yes.  That Saturday she brought “Meow” over.  She went right under my bed.  So I watched some golf out in the living room, and within about 15 minutes she sauntered in and looked at me.  She was beautiful, feminine and sweet natured.  By that night she fell asleep on a stack of sweaters, and my life started to be happy again.  Different, but happy.  Oh, I renamed her immediately: Pussywillow.  It was the name my Dad had once told me he would name a cat if he ever got a cat.  It, she and my Dad were perfect.  I am now forever a dog and a cat person.

— Pam from Gwynedd Valley, PA