My Fiance and I started our search for a dog about 3 days before we got Tank. We had visited 2 Animal Shelters on Long Island before trying North Shore AL and once I saw him I knew he was the one.

When I first saw Tank he was in a cage (cell?) with another dog which told me that he’s a dog friendly pit and I know they are typically people friendly so I asked to see him. As I’m following the NSAL Volunteer to an open area to see him I noticed he was missing his back leg although it didn’t slow him down at all.

The story as NSAL has told it was that he was adopted out of there as a puppy and brought back to them after being hit by a car which is why they had to amputate one of his rear legs. I decided that the dog didn’t seem to mind that his leg was missing so why should we.

After spending an hour with Tank in the open area we decided to adopt him. I didn’t know that adopting him would bring 3 Volunteers there to tears and they even gave us a very generous gift basket with toys and supplies inside.
We have had Tank now for about 4 months now and he’s been great. I only wish I had a larger yard for him to run more often.

Tank is an American Pit mix and a little over a year old.

Kevin from NY

My son drove me Wednesday (1/2/08) to a 9:30am appointment at the Metropolitan Veterinary ER for Lucky to have an Abnominal Ultrasound.
LUCKY HAS CANCER!

He has a 5+ cm mass (a little less than 3 times the size of my tumor) on his Spleen and there are nodes surrounding his liver. The Physician siad that the mass an nodes can be surgically removed and then followed with Chemotherapy. I told him I DID NOT WANT LUCKY TO GO THRU THAT SINCE I’VE BEEN THROUGH IT AND LUCKY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SUSTAINE IT. I don’t want to put my Lucky through all that. He told me that I could get him on a steroid treatment (which woul be small pills) and he would start to feel better and start to eat . . . BUT . . . the Cancer would still be in his body and the mass would become much larger. Eventually, I would be back to square 1 but in a worst condition.

I’ve been crying since Wednesday and my son has expressed his pain with being ANGRY WITH THE WORLD. His thinking is that; “we can put a man on the moon but CAN’T CURE CANCER”; countries such as Japan, China and Russia have their citizens live to be very old and don’t have Cancer in their country as we do here; we have Microwaves that give off Radiation, our foods are artificially grown and chemically spread, etc. and with all the research and technology, they have not directed any research on curing animals with CANCER.” (more…)

Our dog Rocky, a Sheltie, was adopted from the Humane Society when he was about a year and a half years old. And from that moment on our lives changed forever, and for the better. It was hard to fathom the possibility that someone gave up this beautiful animal, but we felt it was fate that he had come into our lives.

Rocky was amazing. He was extremely beautiful. He had an adorable face with a lovely coat of white, black, and brown. He was such a good boy, and loved the affection of his family. It will be a week since Rocky has been gone, and it is still hard to believe. He had a wonderful life, and enriched ours. He had overcome so much with medical issues, and the last 4 months were the best of his life. It was a miracle that his health and spirit improved. We believe that we gave him so much love that it restored his life. It sounds selfish, but 4 months was not enough. We wish we could hold on to him longer. We will love him forever. He touched our hearts and our lives, and for that we will be so grateful. We miss you Rocky always and forever.

The Mortman Family from FL

In memoriam: March 9,1995- December 29, 2007.

The book about Sprite was recommended to me on the UK dog cancer forum.
These stories keeps us from feeling alone.

Stella is only 6 years old and when we went to the vet to have her “bad tooth” pulled and the problem turned out to be oral cancer. As you can see in the picture, she stills looks like a million! They said we had less than a month togther – it’s been over six weeks so far and she is still lively – having fun playing with her daughter, eating home-cooked meals and taking car rides. I dread the day of “putting her down”, but these past six weeks have been wonderful for us – living one day at a time. Stella is my “guru”. She has made me a better person.

Jaye from NC

My husband gave me “Rescuing Sprite” for Christmas. Our senior English Springer Spaniel, Toby, had been in failing health for about a year. He, like Sprite, had arthritis. He was also hard of hearing and almost blind. He was a rescue dog who was supposedly about 5 years old when we adopted him. He was probably more like 7 or 8.

The day after Christmas (10 days ago) we put him to sleep. We didn’t want him to suffer any longer.

Toby had “issues” when we adopted him. He had been found severly underweight and had heartworm. We don’t know how he was mistreated by his previous owners but because of some of the issues he had we suspect he wasn’t treated well. For six and a half years we were blessed to give him a loving home where he was spoiled daily. Our second rescue Springer, Tess, misses him too but is slowly adjusting. Their picture is attached.

Mark, I shed tears as I read your book about Sprite. Much of it reminded me of some of our recent experiences. Thank you for sharing your heart with us readers. Your book is a treasure and came at the right time in my life.

And yes, we will find another rescue dog to share our lives and be a companion to Tess.

God bless you and your family for loving dogs and caring for them.

Charlene from CA

Mark, I recieved a copy of your book,Rescuing Sprite, for a gift this Christmas, and I don’t have the words. As I read it I could hear my own voice, and feel the same feelings. Dogs Rule!!! Thanks for a GREAT read, and for the job you do on the radio. God bless you and yours.

Chuck from Oregon