I read your book on my way to Chicago yesterday. I’m a huge animal lover, in fact I have 2 dogs and 3 cats currently. As I read about Sprite’s illness, it really hit home for me. In 2005, I had to put to sleep my siamese cat, Kimmy. She had exactly the same type of tumor that Sprite had. Kimmy too had the indentation around her eye. She went blind in one eye on the same side as the tumor. My veterinarian wanted to remove her eye and remove the tumor. That would only prolong her life for a matter of a couple of months. I decided to make her as comfortable as possible until her final day. I too struggled when the right time to put her asleep was. She became even more affectionate and wouldn’t leave my side, so it made even more hard to know when the right time was. One day I came home to her turning around in circles. It broke my heart completely. By the end of that week, she was not my Kimmy anymore, She had no idea who I was and her turning in circles got worse. That Saturday, I made the call to my vet and brought her in. The whole car ride, she just spun around in her carrier. As I held her when my vet administered the first shot, she couldn’t relax. Her mind would not let her and it was so sad to see her in that state. I knew I made the right decision for her. After your reading your book, my guilt for putting her to sleep, lessened. It was comforting to read that someone else made the same decision I did. Thank you for writing this book! It’s so awesome to know so many other people have the same compassion and love for animals as I do.

Michelle from MI

JUST FINISHED READING “RESCUING SPRITE”, WITH ALOT OF TEARS AND TISSUES. I TO CAN RELATE AS IN NOVEMBER OF 2004 I LOST MY BELOVED WEIMARANER, BRANDY TO CANCER. SHE WAS JUST SHY OF HER 10TH BIRTHDAY AND I REMEMBER THAT DAY LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. I LIVE WITH CHRONIC PAIN AND SHE WAS MY JOY MY STENGTH AND I MISS HER EVERYDAY. SHE KNEW WHEN I WAS HAVING A BAD DAY AND SHE ALWAYS MADE LIFE MUCH BETTER. WE HAVE A GOOD FRIEND WHO IS A VET AND HE CAME TO OUR HOUSE THE SUNDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING AND PUT HER TO SLEEP WHILE MY HUSBAND AND I HELD HER IN OUR ARMS. HOW BLESSED WE WERE TO HAVE HER, SHE ALWAYS WAS A PUPPY UNTIL THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF HER LIFE. THANKS FOR THIS WONDERFUL BOOK AND SHARING IT WITH ALL OF US OTHER DOG LOVERS. I KNOW THAT TONIGHT I WILL HUG MY 3 PUPPIES I HAVE NOW A LITTLE LONGER AND THANK GOD FOR THEM. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND GIVE PEPSI AND GRIFFEN A HUG FOR ME.

Cindy from WV

Last night we lost our precious little lop-eared bunny, Owen during an operation to remove a facial abscess. My husband, two children and I are devastated.
We got him as a baby and from the day we brought him home he gave us nothing but love. We nicknamed him ‘Sweetness’ like Walter Payton because of his sweet and gentle disposition. Rabbits can be grumpy as our past rabbits often proved, but not Owen. He was kind to everyone and loved by all including the vets and staff at the animal hospital where he became a regular in recent days.
Every morning he would greet us with great enthusiasm, halfway hanging out of his cage until we gave him pets and ‘shmooches’ on the nose. We loved to give him parsley –‘bunny candy’ we called it, because he devoured it with such gusto. However, he thought it was more important to enjoy our affection rather than eat his treat, so he always waited until we stopped loving on him before diving in.
Bunnies are wonderful pets, especially the dwarf lop-eared variety. The things they do are hilarious and Owen entertained like no other bunny. His happy kick-flips around the family room, his cute, fastidious ear and face grooming rituals with his little paw ‘instruments’, his sudden flops onto his side when a nap crossed his mind, all gave us reason to stop whatever we were doing and watch with amusement. His curiosity for undiscovered places in the house got him into mischief and he knew it! The only time he tried to avoid us was when he was ‘out of bounds’ in the house, so the chase was on to catch him and when we finally did it was only because he let us. He would stop running and just sit there until we picked him up and put him back in his space.
Life will be different as of today and it’s a very sad time for us. I wanted to share this story because I know there are others out there, especially Mark Levin who understand this kind of loss and can sympathize.
Thank you Mark for giving me this forum to say something about my ‘third child’, you are an amazing man and I look forward each night to hearing your brilliance and humor come through my radio.

Lisa from CA

Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how much I think we a pet owners are as you said “the lucky ones”. Today is Thursday the 28th of Feb and I will have to put my dog PJ down with in the nest few day. He has lung cancer and we will not let him suffer. I did not think that this would be so hard. My wife and I are in our 50’s and PJ was the first pet that we have ever had. We got him when he was 6 weeks old and he is now 12 years old. This is the by far the hardest thing we have ever had to do. Pray for us. Mark i listen to you ever day on XM on my way home. God bless you and the USA….

Jeff from TX

Read your book and it made me relive the loss of my dog louie. i could read only in segments because i couldn’t stop crying. Louie’s ashes will be buried with me and we will be together until the end of time. another thing to check out is the poem housedog’s grave. we have blade the prison rescue dog now but i still miss my louie. may sprite’s memory be eternal

Linda from CO

Just started reading your book, Rescuing Sprite. I am really enjoying it.

Just a quick note to let you know that I have my own Pepsi and her sister, Tiki. They are both Parson Jack Russell Terriers and they are the livliest dogs I have ever had! They are the reason that I continue the struggle as they bring me such joy and laughter! I had a good laugh when I read the passage in your book about Pepsi becoming the “devil” dog, as my Pepsi does the same exact thing.

I think that all animals are precious but dogs REALLY, REALLY rule! I know that I will be in tears by the end of your book but I just want to say: GOOD SHOW! Love to all of your pets – I know I will be hugging and kissing mine when I get home tonite!

Maria from NY