I would like to share “Moochie” with everyone. He is not a dog but a cat. Several years ago, I opened my back dog and this young cat barged in. He was sweet and warm and wouldn’t leave. As time went on – he became a bit of a nuisance. The most persistent cat I have ever met – he had to be with us. We learned that he belonged to some neighbors down the street. Unfortunately, these neighbors were not the kindest people in the world. Moochie was malnurished and responded to our attention and love. We always encouraged him to leave but he somehow chose us over his owners.

Today, he has completely abandoned his owners – and stays close to our house. He is not ours but he is in our hearts. It’s an unbelievable story, but Moochie will not let us go. By the way, Moochie is not his real name. We named him Moochie originally, as he was such a Mooch when he first barged into our house.

We will watch over Moochie forever…..each night when we let him out we say “Go with God.” And every morning it is a joy to see hiim at the front door – in rain, snow blizzards – no matter what he is there waiting. Thanks for reading.

Bolan from NY

I JUST FINISHED READING RESCUING SPRITE AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU MY THOUGHTS. I RECEIVED YOUR BOOK AS A GIFT FROM A FRIEND WHEN I HAD TO PUT MY GOLDEN RETRIEVER – SUNNY – DOWN. HE WAS SUFFERING FROM BONE CANCER. IT TOOK ME SEVERAL MONTHS TO GET THE COURAGE TO READ IT. I WAS OK UNTIL I STARTED READING THE PART WHERE YOU HAD TO PUT SPRITE DOWN. IT WAS LIKE DEJAVU ALL OVER FOR ME. I TOO HAD TO PUT SUNNY DOWN ON DECEMBER 7 BUT IN 2007. MY VET ALSO CAME TO THE HOUSE AND AROUND THE SAME TIME. IT WAS VERY STRANGE READING THAT PART.

DOGS ARE VERY SPECIAL TO ME. MY HUSBAND TELLS ME MY DOGS GET BETTER TREATMENT THAN HE DOES! I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. IT MADE ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT THE DECISION I MADE TO PUT SUNNY DOWN. IT’S A TERRIBLE THING TO HAVE TO DO AND I AM NOT SURE I COULD EVER DO IT AGAIN…

Nannette from FL

I lost my mother almost two years ago, and when i moved from florida i had to give my dog lucky away because where i used to live i could not have dogs. Every night i either dreamed about my mom,or dog.now i have a two year old beagle named iris.
i am not lonely like i was.
she sleeps next to me every night and knows when i am upset.
thank you Mark,
for writing your book about sprite.
God bless you,
Jeff from MD

I loved your book about Rescuing Sprite. I revere those who accept the challenge of loving those pets that might not otherwise see a home with love and warmth.

I volunteered at a rescue for several years but must admit it got to me to see abused, neglected and abandoned animals day in and out.

I have rescued a few of my own.

The one that has the most dramatic story (this is the reader’s digest condensed version) was that of Pomeranian that we rescued from a pet store! Sounds strange I know , but this dog was due to go back to the puppy farm from whence it came if someone didn’t buy it soon. We had been watching it for four months and hoping someone would buy it – but no one did, so we took it in to our home so it wouldn’t have to go back to the deplorable conditions of the puppy farm.

He was cute as a fox – so we named him Fox. He was loving and warm.

My daughter had just recently lost her puppy to a car accident to which she was a witness. Thank goodness death was instananeous — but the trauma was still real to her.

Thus, as Fox entered our lives he was over protected, to say the least. He was never allowed to walk anywhere- not even on a leash.

But one day he was left alone and our 18 month old son was toddling around the house in his diaper. The kids room upstairs had a hole in the window screen and quite often they would throw toys out the window – not sure why except that kids like to do strange things. (more…)

My husband gave me your book for Christmas in honor of our dog BJ (Buddy B) who we lost on Dec 3, 2007. BJ, a terrier mix ,was 14 3/4 years old when he left us. We had had him since he was 2 months old.. his mom showed up at my parents’ farm one spring… had one puppy which got ran over by the handyman! the next spring she had a litter of 7 pups, BJ was one of those. We also took his sister, Cashew, to live with us but unfortunately bad luck with vehicles ran in the family and she was hit also! I even went to court over that…I was ticketed for not having them on a leash. The dogs had gotten out of their “room” because someone forgot to latch the door. BJ was apprehended by the doggy police and ended up in doggy jail. I went to court to fight the fines, I won but I still had to pay court costs which were more than the fines!

Anyway, BJ was a wonderful dog. He had his ACL operated on when he was 11. He hated the cone he had to wear.. he thought his brother Socks was laughing at him. Socks is a Corgi Beagle that we rescued from the local humane society when BJ was 6. BJ declined this fall, we finally had to face the fact that it was time to let him go. We decided over the weekend that we would take him in Monday morning.

He died in his sleep Sunday evening. I called the local funeral director (I’m a florist) to see if he knew where we could get him cremated. the place he recommended is actually owned by the vet we normally use. I’ve ordered an oak box for his ashes so we can keep them on the mantel. When my husband first gave me the book, I started crying when I read the dust cover. He kept asking me when I was going to read the book. I finally read it this weekend. I think I cried practically the whole time! It is a wonderful book and I am glad I read it… it was just painful to read! My heart goes out to the Levin family for their loss. the story of Sprite’s rescue & Griffin’s rescue is similar to our dog Steffie’s story but I will save that for another time. Thank you, mark for sharing your family’s story.

Kimberly from IL

“Rescuing Sprite” – Another Take. Mark: I’m in my 60’s and a military retiree. Just finished your book and, admittedly, was teary eyed at the end. About 15 yrs ago, my younger son wanted a Golden Retriever so we went to the Golden Retreiver Resue Society adoption in Silver Spring, MD. Thought we were going to get a puppy but an older dog drew our attention. “chester” as we called him, was a great dog- only people he barked at was our family: to go out,get in or eat. He was older than we first thought -probably 9 or 10. But for 3 yrs we had a wonderful companion. Great w/people.

Anyway he developed leukemia and we had to put him down. Sad day in our lives. This, then, is the other take on your book. I learned from Chester that dogs will do anything for their masters, even when in pain, They would probably walk thru fire if you asked them. They can’t tell you how much pain they are in but only want to please you. Thus, with Sprite, I think you held on too long. As I read the book I kept on thinking, were you making decisions in the best interests of Sprite or for the comfort you derived from him? I found myself hoping you would have acted sooner on his behalf primarily to alleviate his pain/discomfort ratther than your “pain” which I can certainly empathezise with. I felt your pain but I think I felt Sprite’s moreso. I don’t mean to offend but I hope you don’t take the same steps for Pepsi and Griffen when their quality of life is the same as Sprite’s.

Best Regards,

Rich from DE