On cool May afternoon I went to our local Humane Society. I was walking down the row of barking dogs, and there she sat. She was very quiet, and when I approached she nuzzled up to the fence.I was in love. Here was this Pittbull that obviously had been on the street. I took her for a walk, she had kennel cough and some old scars around her head. She was so very gentle, I knew I had to take her home. She gave me such understanding and affection. Such devotion from a dog that was due to be put to sleep.

To this day I remember her attempting to jump on my bed. It would take her several attempts before she would succeed. She would rest her head on me, always needing to be close. I tried several names, none worked. One day, as she was snorting like a pig and I called her Piggy. Of course this was the name she chose. Piggy was with me for 9 years and passed away on March 17th 2000, Patty’s day. Previously in the week, while we were in the yard she laid down under a huge apple tree. This was the spot were she was buried with her favorite toys, her blanket and a letter I wrote her thanking her for loving me, protecting me and being my family. She hung on to the very end for me, her body in so much pain she had cancer. Her devotion never ceased, it was both beautiful and tragic when I held her at the end. Piggy will be in my heart forever and I am grateful to her teaching me how to truly love.

Bren from PA

Not sure where to begin… Lady is her name..a rescue from the humane society..sweet as can be…black lab..mix…the kindest dog i’ve ever seen..not sure of exact age but got her when she was about 3…so now vet is guessing..12. Mark i had just finished your book on the 4th of jan…what an excellent book…you are a carbon copy of my family and how much we love and value our dogs…and our family..your book put a lot in perspective for me..thankyou from the bottom of my heart..for writing this wonderful story and sharing your grief with us..I’ve never been without a dog..and prob. never will..so i have gone through the grief of losing pets way too many times…but the years of happiness they give me is beyond words.

This brings me back to my Lady…i was hugging her the other nite (mind u i do this quite often,, but even more since reading your book).and felt a horrible lump in lady’s leg…being in the medical field i feared the worst…but hoped it was only a sore that had gotten infected…went to work next day..while my husband took Lady to the vet…well i got the dreaded call while in a meeting…it was a tumor…well ok lets get it taken off…not that easy…her chest inside was x-rayed only to find numerous more tumors…inoperable…i found this out last nite…so i slept with her by my side all night…now this morning she looks frail and her breathing is a bit labored..although she is trying to keep up with Buster our 3 yr. old dog..But even Buster senses her tiredness.. he has been licking her and sitting by her more often today…so endearing how they communicate their love…the vet gives her about 2 wks…i notice her pacing more and more…but she still looks so beautiful. (more…)

Mark:

I just finished reading your book “Rescuing Sprite”. It took me so long because I had to put it down. I could not see for crying. I have been through this so many times. But I love dogs and like my husband, Gary, says “When one door closes another opens”. There are so many dogs out there that need our love.

Gary and I married in 1979. Six months after our wedding Gary was talking about getting a dog. He wanted me to just look at some samoyed puppies for sale in the paper. So we went to “just look”. After checking out the male puppies, Gary said he like the middle one. I said, “You have the money in your pocket, don’t you”. That is when Bear came into our lives.

Bear lived for 15 years. He was a great dog. We took him to the vet for a simple procedure. He came through it with flying colors. But then we lost him. Dr. Mikeska was checking on him, Bear looked up at him with his toy in his mouth, and fell over dead. He had a heart attack. Gary and I weren’t there for him but someone who also cared for him was. That is all we could ask. It would not be as easy on us with our others.

Bear’s mate, Bjelkier, was my dog. She whelped a nice litter of puppies. We had moved from California to East Texas – Spurger – to live next to and care for my husband’s elderly aunt and uncle. Aunt Julia and I sat on the floor one summer day delivering puppies. Bjelkier did not know what to do. So we did not let her have another litter. She had more important things to do. Chasing squirrels and watching horses and cows was her specialty. She was one month short of nine years when we lost her. She had a heart valve problem and died in my arms on April 7. It was tragic for Bear as well as us. He would sit on her grave until my employer, a CPA in Jasper, told me to bring him in that weekend while we did taxes. That helped a lot.

We also had two other samoyeds, Loko and Glacier. Loko was Bear’s daughter from another samoyed and Glacier was her puppy. Glacier was the only boy in the litter and he was special. I lost the two of them within two weeks of each other from pancretitus. And that was just three months before Bear passed away in 1994. (more…)

With tears streaming down my face, I just laid down your story of Sprite, Pepsi, Griffen and your family. Thank you for having the courage to write this book!

Mark, you get it! You know the incomparable joy of the love of a dog and the inconsolable grief of a best friend lost. In your book, it is palpable. My heart goes out to you and your family in your loss of Sprite.

I had my beloved black cocker spaniel, Hannah “Banana”, for 14.5 years. My husband said she wasn’t the brightest dog, but she loved me totally and was loyal to the end.

She was there to greet me every morning with her big brown eyes and her svelte, sausage-like body. She ran with her head held high, carrying her bone or sniffing the air.

One of her favorite games was to chase squirrels. Oh how they loved to taunt her! She never got even close but she thought she was quite the huntress anyway.

She ate bees. Who the heck knows why? She barked at butterflies and ate anything that wasn’t nailed down. She hated dogs but loved all our cats. She even rolled over to “nurse” a kitten, though she had no milk! One day, we found a momma cat and 5 kittens. She was so curious about the kittens and was so gentle with them.

We called her Hannah “Banana” because she was so silly and Hannah the “Wonder Dog” when she did ANYthing that looked clever.

She waited patiently by the back door for me to come home every night. My husband and kids called her my shadow because she followed me everywhere.

As the years went by, she began to slow down. She didn’t like to go down the steps much and hated the rain. A spaniel who didn’t like water!

One morning, when she was 8, she couldn’t lift her head and was in obvious pain. I rushed her to the vet. X-rays revealed she had a slipped disc and pinched vertebra in her neck. Her vet couldn’t do the surgery because it was too delicate. He referred her to Washington State University for an expensive surgery. I knew we couldn’t afford it but I just couldn’t lose her! In tears, I called my folks. They volunteered to pay for more than HALF of the expensive procedure, which was such a blessing! She was like a new dog and lived for 6.5 more years.

In the end, she was deaf, had macular degeneration, was riddled with arthritis, had hypothyroidism, became increasingly incontinent, and had to be carried up and down the steps. Her once beautiful black, soft fur was dull and patchy. Eight of her teeth were extracted. She slept more and more.

I prayed that she would just go in her sleep. She didn’t.

Mark, Geoff, Lindsay and I knew that her quality of life was deteriorating. So this was it. I chose the day and the time of her death. This had never happened to me before. Before I had made these decisions in the heat of a crisis or accident, when there was no other humane choice. (more…)

Dear Mark,
My wife and I had to let our 14 year old dachshund go last night. She was the best dog I’ve ever had and it was the hardest decision I think I’ve ever had to make.

We welcomed Maggie into our home in January of 1994. Our shitzu had passed about 6 months before so it was time for a new addition. When my wife said she wanted a dog I said I wanted a Dachshund and she said she didn’t care what it was she just wanted a dog but that she wasn’t buying the first one we looked at. We put out the word to our clients that we were looking for a pure bread and one day this client came in and said “I know where a little girl is” and gave us the address and phone number. We called the breeder and made an appointment for the next Saturday to see this little girl. When we arrived about 8 big dogs came to the truck to greet us and we could hear a lot of dogs barking in the back yard. This place was filthy and when we entered the house the smell was so bad we just couldn’t hardly stand it. I looked down in this child’s play pen and here was this cute little puppy not much bigger than the palm of my hand and a scruffy little puddle . I told my wife to give the women a check and lets get this dog out of here because I just knew if we didn’t she would surely die here, not realizing it was a puppy mill. On the way home we decided to name her Maggie Pearl because she was born on Pearl Harbor Day of 1993.

Well a few days after we brought our new bundle of joy home I started to notice that there was something just wasn’t right with her. We took her to our Vet and he looked her over and said she has Mange mites, Ear mites and Worms. “I’ll do what I can but I don’t hold out to much hope so just take her home and love her.” Well she made it through all that and then a contracted an internal parasite about 7 years later that almost killed her and the same Vet helped bring her through that after 5 days in hospital.

She was and a tough, brave and trustworthy little dog, but she couldn’t escape old age. She lived a long and wonderful 14 year life and will forever be in mine and my wife’s hearts and a great part of our lives.

I purchased your Signed book for my wife for Christmas and as soon as she is finished with it I want to read it.
Thank you Mark for your site and all that you do. It has been a great help to start the healing process.
Maggie Pearl’s Dad,

Craig from CA

Three years ago, I was faced with having to put one of my Australian Shepherds to sleep. I couldn’t imagine my life without a dog so I began to search the So. California Australian Shepherd website for a dog to adopt. On the website was a picture of a dog with two broken legs. The foster home who had taken him in was looking for monetary donations to help with cost of surgery to repair the legs. I donated money and several days later, I received a call from the Foster Mom asking me if I would be interested in adopting him, once he recovered from surgery. I went to meet him and was drawn to him. He hobbled around but had such courage and a tremendous spirit. At the time I met him, he had undergone two surgeries to repair the breaks. Unforturnately, the surgeries were not successful. I took him to a specialist and he told me that the breaks were extensive and that bone grafts, pins and plates would be necessary for the dog to be able to use his legs again. I told him to operate.

That was three years ago. Today, “Lucky” is a happy, healthy, energetic dog who loves to chase rabbits, cats, balls and go for car rides. Rescuing this dog has been one of the best things I have ever done.

Susie from CA