Hi Mark,

My husband and I both exchanged your book this Christmas. One, we then gave to a dear friend who has two elderly gentlemen in his life now living well on Nantucket Island (both rescues). I needed great courage to pick your book up and start to read it because I knew what was ahead of me having experienced it myself several times in recent years.

We lost our little rescue Holly to cancer in Oct, 2006. Originally, I had rescued her from the Port Washington Shelter ( a wonderful organization filled with many loving and caring people including many volunteers), in 1995 for my elderly parents. We were blessed to have had a wonderful companion for 11 years, when my parents passed in 1999 she joined our canine crew and we spent many happy days with her. She, like Sprite gave all the love she could and just wanted to be a part of our family. She was our third rescue experience and I couldn’t have been more pleased with our pound dog companions. Each and every one was a joy to be around and a pleasure I wouldn’t have missed for the world. One often wonders how these wonderful dogs end up in shelters but they do.

I’m very active with donating to rescues and shelters and since my husband and I have no children a large portion of our estate will go to these organizations to continue to improve and keep up the good work, we’re even talked of setting up a fund to pay the vet bills for people who very often don’t have the financial means to pay for the necessary care for their pets and fellow family members.

I can only read a little of your book at a time. It brings home much of what we went through with our pets. I thank you for your courage to put your experience down on paper. I know not being alone in sadness doesn’t really help to ease the pain but knowing that so many of these companions are so loved so late in their lives gives me great consolation. Somehow I’ve always felt that these special animals know they’ve been given a second chance. My question to you is with all the exposure of your book did it ever perhaps bring Spite’s original family forward?

Thank you again for sharing your story,
Wendy from NY

Max the mutt (german shepherd mix) has died. He came to us about 10 years ago. The lady at the shelter said that she found him tied to the door one morning. She had named him Texas because he looked like a lonesome cowboy. And lonesome he was but, with a heart filled with love. He never changed, shy and loving toward people.

We picked him up one day in mid-September and brought him home. He was nervous and let us know with seemingly endless gas. I said to my son “Thank God it isn’t winter or we wouldn’t have survived the trip”. He was soon to meet our other dog Magnum, the rough and ready wimp of the house, or as Mag probably would have said “all creatures great and small, oh God I’m afraid of them all”.

After introducing the dogs on the road and taking a short walk, we returned and started down the driveway toward the lake. It was then that we noticed something strange. Max would not walk on the grass. I guess being a city dog he was more at home on streets and sidewalks. I’m sure he wondered what this green stuff was.

Well after a few battles Max got used to what was to become his lifelong buddy Magnum as well as the green stuff. He became the canine master of all of the property and any part of the lake he could get to. Mr. Bunny found out as did Mr. Muskrat and a few geese. (more…)

Dear mark, I just finished reading Rescuing Sprite and it is a wonderful book. 3 years ago i had to have my 14 month old jack russell put down when someome poisoned him with antifreeze, he was like my child, it almost killed me, then a few months later we had to put down our 11 year old australian shepard due to old age, we were all devastated.

Two years ago i was given a chance at another jack russell that is almost identicial to my patch that i lost, her name is zoe, and she is my love and i feel that God sent her to me to fill that void. currently, we have 3 jack russells, 1 poodle, 5 blueticks, and 1 german shep. mix and i love them all dearly. i can’t imagine my life without any of them. thank you for sharing your story with us, i cried but i also smiled.

My heart goes out to you and yours as i have been where you were and as 2 of our dogs are over 10 i know that we will have to face that day again all to soon. good luck and much love to you and yours,

Sincerely,

Kelly from TN

Until last Friday, my best friend, an Airedale named Gypsy, went everywhere with me. She helped me feed my livestock every day and rode in the car with me to shop or pick up donations for the local food bank. She was the perfect companion. She listened when my teenagers gave me grief ( and never told anyone!) and loved me even when I scolded her for eating the chicken food I had just put down for the poultry. But last Friday she couldn’t eat or get up so I took her to our vet and within 12 hours my beloved Gypsy was dead.

I read My Friend Marley a year ago Christmas and was very touched by the love this family had for a juvenile deliquent dog but I will have to hold of reading your book for awhile because the hurt of loosing my Gypsy before she was old is way too deep right now. I just wanted you to know that I am soooo glad there are other wackos out there who love thier buddies as mush (almost) as I loved my girlie (that is what I called her). I listened to your talk with Rush and emjoyed it very much.

Gypsy was perfect in every way and the hole in my life is huge!!!!! I have her granddaughter who is 3 months old and looks very much like her but i told the puppy that she will never take Gypsy’s place ,but will be another great dog like her grandma. I think she is happy with that.

Jane from WA

We had an older Great Pyrenees, Stoli for 10 years when we decided that at her advancing age, we would want to get another puppy, so that we would not be without a dog when Stoli’s time came.
We adopted Cedar, a 10 week old Newfoundland-Great Pyrenees mix. We had her for about 6 months when it came time to put Stoli down. A wonderful lady who write for the Oregonian, Deb Wood, answered questionsI had about euthanizing an older pet and dealing with my two children who were 13 and 16 at the time. I took Stoli to the vets (Banfiled – in Petsmart) where I went and talked with them and Stoli had a brief exam and I was reassured that it was the right time. She was ‘asking’ that I help her out.

Two day later, I went in and sitting on the floor with her, help ‘went to sleep, with her head in my lap. I was very peaceful and comforting. I then went home, rounded up my kids and the puppy, and we went back to say ‘goodbye’ My daughter remarked that she looked like she was sleeping. Cedar, the pup sniffed her and I guess she made peace that her ‘old’ friend was not coming home.

Cedar has become our best dog ever! Smart – she has us trained so well. She talks to us and asks when she wants out, to eat, to jump on the bed. Cedar is 8 1/2 and we figured at her size and breed, we may have another 1-2 years with her. She started limping about 2 weeks ago. Vets put her on Rimydal.She finished the last pill yesterday. I took her on a short walk, first one in about 2 weeks. Once home she was limping worse than before. I just reurned from the vets a little while ago where Cedar was x-rayed. I received heartbreaking news. It looks like Cedar has osteosarcoma in her left wrist. The only treatment is amputation. Given her age and weight (128) this is not an option. She has been given pain meds for two weeks.

I don’t know how much longer we will be willing to have her, knowing that even with painkillers she is suffering. Once again we will have this decision to make. I wasn’t ready to get a puppy until summer. I am so concerned to tell my daughter. She is 21 and away at school. She will be crushed, but we will wait to tell her when she comes home this weekend.
I haven’t really cried yet . I don’t think the reality of it has set in yet.

Lesli from OR

My name is Gipper. My possessor/owner is Lady Josephine. According to Lady, I am a handsome, adorable, charming, bonny miniature poodle. Each morning she has a routine, and I am fortunate to travel along. I sit on a double pillow in the passenger seat of her politically decorated silver beetle. The pillows make it convenient for me to see all the routine route and landscape. I am very acquainted with the route to the post office each morning, and then to the drive up coffee where she buys a mocha and i am happy to receive a dog bisquit.

This one special morning, as she turned right onto PCH, the signal at the next corner was yellow and suddenly turned red. The Lady went right through. seconds later i noticed a flashing red light behind us. Lady pulled into the Shell gas station and a black and white car came along side. A handsome uniformed gentleman came to her window. she zapped the window down, and I gleefully jumped on her lap to greet the HANDSOME GENTLEMAN. He petted my head and scratched behind my ears while he and the Lady seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. Then, I heard him say “please be careful”. My Lady thanked him. I returned to my pillows, and as we drove off, my Lady petted me and said, “Hey, Gipper. you did good!”

I felt proud,

(Josephine from CA)