Mark, we have had special cats in the past but I must tell you re our story of our Little Kitty aka Minnie who was our baby and a very very Special Cat that we will never forget and will never be replaced. I adopted her from the District of Columbia Humane Assoc. She lived 22 years with us and had three lives.

Her first life she had disappeared for the day and I found she had one of her legs cuts up pretty bad and took her to vet immediately and was nursed back to health. From this time on she was an indoor cat.

Little Kitty’s second life she had disappeared again but this time for a two week period and my husband, John had spotted her coming home from work one evening her little six pound self jogging down the road about a mile away from our home in Crofton, Maryland at that time. I think someone tried to make her a permanent house guest but she had escaped and I am sure you have heard stories re dogs and cats finding their homes miles and miles away.

Little Kitty’s third and last life was that she had developed kidney disease and we were giving her 2 units of IV fluids in the neck six nights a week for about 3 1/2 years. She definitely loved us as much as we loved her and she didn’t want to leave us quite yet but when she had two seizures and with the second one she couldn’t get up but she tried and we knew it was time and rushed her to our fantastic vet Dr. Steve and I was with her when he put her to sleep. They all loved her at the vets and still to this day all the office staff still talk about her and what kind of remakable and special cat she was. Mark, she also had an article written about her in Cat Fancy magazine.

Lynn from MD

We had a black lab named Shadow for 14 years, before had to put her to sleep. It was the most difficult thing my wife and I ever had to do. Someone sent us a copy of the “Rainbow Bridge”, which we both cry when we read it. We did go to PetLoss.com, where we put a memorial to Shadow. In addition their is a brick on the walk to the NCSU Vet School, memorializing Shadow. Go to PetLoss.com to read the Rainbow Bridge. I was also a “Friends helping Friends” volunteer for 12 years at the Vet School, greeting and talking to the patients when they arrived for treatment.

Alan from NY

As an owner of several pets in my lifetime, i truly can connect and identify with Mark’s book. It is amazing to me how attached we become to animals, of all kinds.

A dear friend of mine suffered the loss of his dog, Lacy, and wrote about her in his newsletter. It touched me deeply, and I hope it touches all who read it as well. The article follows:
——————-
[b]Lacy[/b]
(1990-2007)

On July 21st I had my beloved cocker spaniel mix put to sleep. She was our family’s loving and faithful pet for 17 years. This is my tearful tribute to her.

I had two other dogs earlier in life (Tammy and Candy). I was not planning on having any other pets. But when my daughter Susannah was just a little girl she was terrified of animals – especially dogs. She would become frantic beyond reason if one was even in distant sight.

We traveled a lot at that time of our lives. Susannah’s fears made it very difficult for the entire family to go anywhere. Her agonizing question was always, “Will there be a dog there?” A question I hardly would know the answer to.

I thought she would outgrow this fear but she didn’t. In time I began to realize that the only remedy may be to acquire a family pet. We went to the Newport News SPCA on such a quest. On our very first trip, looking through the many cages of canines one stood out prominently to my heart.

She was unique among all the others that were there that day. The dogs were all barking, and pacing or pawing at the front of their cages. They appeared either to be defensive or vying for attention.

There was one exception. The dog that we would soon call Lacy was cowering in the back corner of her cage, trembling. She was obviously filled with fear over the whole experience. My heart immediately went out to her. What a match I thought; a timid and fearful dog for a fearfully timid little girl. (more…)

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your book. My husband gave it to me for Christmas on the recommendation of a friend that heard about it on the radio.

I too had to put my beloved dog Spanky a Cocker Spaniel to sleep this past July. She had a brain tumor and had gone completely blind and was full fo fluid. We took her to a specialist in Feb. but there was nothing really they could do. We tried medicine that gave her some relief, but in the end I had to justify her quality of life. I have had a dog of some kind since I was two years old, but have never had to make the diecision to put one to sleep. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I have loved all of my dogs and they become part of the family, but Spanky had gotten me through some pretty tough times. She helped me get through my mother’s battle with cancer and her death, she was there for me when my daughters both went off to college. One of my favorite sayings by Roger Caras is “dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole”.

In Oct. I got a new Cocker, her name is Molly it has helped with the emptyness I felt when I lost Spanky, but there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her as well as both of my parents that I have lost. I will always have a dog. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the book, it was so me, I felt like it was mine and Spanky’s story when I was reading, right down to when you were saying you didn’t want to play God, because I kept saying that to my husband through the months before we had to put her down. Thank you for sharing your story.

Julie from IA, a dog lover.

Thank you for the wonderful book, Mark. And also for supporting the shelters and rescue groups-the only place to get your pets.

I have 2 rescued dachshunds, both with back problems. Having put down one dachshund several years ago with the same problem, I am terrified to having to do this again.

I am on the Board of Directors for our Humane Society in Cocoa, Fl. and am grateful for the superb and caring staff that care for our animals until they can find their forever homes. We are also building a low cost spay neuter clinic to hopefully prevent the litters in the first place.

Thanks for writing such a great book, and for donating some profits to the shelters.

Sandi from FL

Hello Mark,

I would like to take the time to tell you about a calico cat that I had. She was 19 years old when she did and she was so very special to me and my family. When Patches was almost 5 years old I had my oldest son Jimmy he was about 6 months and she saved his life. You see Mark he had very bad asthma and we didn’t know it he was having trouble breathing and the baby monitor did not pick it up. She ran up one side of me and down on my husband till she woke us up. Patches was a very faithful cat she went thru sympathy pregnancy with me and was a very devoted animal.

She died last year a week before Thanksgiving in 2006. She lived all thru me having my back surgery and when I started feeling better she started taking a turn for the worse and eventually ended up dying at home. 6 months before her 20th birthday.

I wanted to thank you for writing your book about Sprite I found it to be very heart wrenching and fulfulling to read. Thank you for writing it. Best of luck to you and your family with your newest edition.

Dianne from PA