Dear Mark,

I have always been a true fan of yours and a true animal lover. When I heard about your book about Sprite I wanted to get it, but I put it off for a while because my dog Good Girl was getting really sick and I was afraid to read it for fear of my losing her becoming a reality.

Good Girl came into our lives almost by accident. We had another dog at home already, Sammy was her name, and My husband and I , every now and again, would look in the paper for black German Shepards. There was an add so we were just going to look and see what they had. When we went to the house, the condition that the dogs were in was appalling! There was only one puppy left and she was in a dirty crate on top of four other crates shivering. The woman let her out and she ran in the corner crying. I went over to pet her and the man, I guess the husband of the woman, walked into the room and the puppy began to cry more. She was obviously scared of this despicable person. My husband and I were so upset that we scooped her up, asked how much and left with her. She was about four months old and she was a wreak. It took us two years to get her to be not afraid of people. When we first got her we named her Brandi. She was always scared but everytime we said she was a good girl she would get all happy so the name stuck. Her and my other dog Sammy became friends and also were inseperable. They were my heart. They were my family.

When Sammy got sick Good Girl never ever left her side. She was so loyal and so loving. She took care of Sammy and me at the same time. She would watch over Sammy and anytime Sammy made a sound of pain she was always comforting her. (more…)

This is my best friend he is the coolest dog ive ever had… He is always by my side… WhenIi leave for work he wraps his lil paws round my ankles he doesnt want me to leave.. i never want him to leave me..it will crush me.

Mike from IL

I loved Rescuing Sprite–it emphasized that we need to take advantage of every day we have with our loved ones. Especially our beloved pets who are on this earth for a shorter time than we are.

I enjoyed Mark’s book so much that I started my own blog about our two dogs, Waffle and Jasper.

Mike from NV

http://wafflepup.blogspot.com/

Hello, Mark – I am a devoted listener and also a person who can’t imagine my life without a dog in it.

When I was a teenager my family had a chihuahua named Poncho. He was large for a Chihuahua, about 10 lbs., and unlike many Chihuahuas rarely barked and loved everyone he met.

It seemed like Poncho loved my father, mother and me pretty much equally, but in truth I guess he was more devoted to my father. He knew when it was time for my father to get home from work and would jump up on the sofa and watch out the window until he saw my father’s car turn the corner onto our street. Then his tail started wagging so hard it would somtimes knock him off the back of the sofa. My dad could never sneak home and surprise him.

My mother always claimed she never cared a thing in the world about that dog, but if he ever got sick or injured, she was the one who nursed him back to health. When he was hurt, she would fix him all the food he loved – mainly fried chicken livers and gizzards, and cut them up into bite-sized portions for him and watch him like a mother hen. Once, I even caught him sleeping in bed with her so she could keep an eye on him. (more…)

HELLO, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A STORY FROM A DOGS MOUTH WHO WAS RECENTLY RESCUED BY THIS WRITER: DARKNESS SURROUNDED ME AND MUD CLUMPED IN MY FUR. I LOOKED UP TO SEE THE GLOWING MANSION I WAS ONCE PART OF. I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG,THEY HATED ME. A CHAIN, STRANGLED MY FREEDOM. A WOODEN BOX, STOLE MY COMFORT, FOOD WAS NOT ON MY SCHEDULE, NO ONE LOVED ME. DAYLIGHT CAME AND WENT YET I REMAINED IN THAT CORNER. CHILDREN GIGGLED AND PLAYED IN THE STREETS WITH FRIENDS. WHEN THEY LEFT FOR SCHOOL, I CRIED AND WHIMPERED FOR ANYONE. I WAS IGNORED: FORGOTTEN, UNCARED FOR.

ONCE, WHEN I WAS JUST A PUPPY, I TRIED TO ESCAPE. PAIN SEARED THROUGH MY SKULL FROM A SHOVEL. BRUISES FROM THE STRONG KICKS TO MY RIBS.. THAT WAS THE LAST RECOGNITION FROM MY OWNERS. I DECIDED BEING ALONE WAS BETTER THAN ABUSE, YET MY STOMACH YEARNED FOR MORE FOOD. A LITTLE GIRL, SOMETIMES CAME AND VISITED. I HEARD HER YOUNG LAUGHTER AND SWEET VOICE. HER BLONDE HAIR BLEW IN THE WIND. SHE WAS MISSING HER TWO FRONT TEETH. SHE BROUGHT ME FOOD AND WATER, I LOVED THAT GIRL..ONE DAY, A WOMAN CAME, A CRATE IN HAND. SHE PLACED ME INSIDE AND TOLD ME I WOULD SURVIVE. I WAITED IN THE VAN FOR SOMEONE TO SAVE ME. ALL I NEEDED WAS LOVE AND A FAMILY. COULD MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED? WOULD SOMEONE LOVE ME? WOULD THEY FEED ME? OR WAS I BEING PLACED IN ANOTHER NIGHTMARE? WOULD I BE NEGLECTED>? AND HURT? AGAIN? I WAS TAKEN FROM THE VAN, CARRIED INTO A WHITE OFFICE THAT READ “S.P.C.A”. OVER A PERIOD OF A WEEK I WAS TESTED AND WATCHED. THE ROOM WAS BRIGHT AND I HAD A PLACE JUST FOR ME. THE DOOR SWUNG OPEN AND I SAW INNUMERABLE PEOPLE PASS. (more…)

Mark,
I just finished reading Rescuing Sprite and I can’t tell you any book that I’ve read that made me cry and laugh more than this one. It felt pure joy and almost unbearable sorrow as I read this. I need to thank you for allowing me into your family’s experiences with this remarkable family member and I wanted to share a little bit of mine. Isn’t it incredible how the human mind is able to love so deeply! Although the inital loss of a 4 legged family member is almost too much to handle, the pain does cease in time and In place of the pain, we are eventually left with smiles and warm memories. I have been an animal lover all my life and I am an old woman now. I have had the priveledge of sharing my life with many dogs and within the past few years, I have added cats to my family. I remember each and every one who has passed and can recall the unique experiences I shared with each. Regardless of the pain involved in losing one, I will never stop sharing my life with my companions. I currently have 7 cats and 5 dogs and they all give me great comfort and enjoyment. I work closely with local animal rescue chapters and no-kill facilities. I will soon be volunteering my time to help educate the publc in the importance of spaying and neutering. Each and every one of by pets is precious to me. For each of those that I have lost I want to use this forum to express a little bit of my memories and I hope your readers will do the same.
I’ll keep this just to the dogs.

Katie: We just put her to sleep last week and you know I am still mourning. She was approximately 16 and a Jack Russell mix. Katie came from a local animal control facility and was destined to be put down within days. She had a strange way of snarling and baring her teeth as she rolled onto her back to be petted. Never mean, just expressed love in an odd way.

Tippy: My first dog, some sort of very small terrier. I had always been told that she ran away when I was 6. It wasn’t until just before my father died 2 years ago that he finally told me that he was hit by a car. Tippy ate bananas. (more…)