Dear Mr. Levin,

I just finished “Rescuing Sprite” and congratulate you on sharing the many emotions that revolve around the relationships we have with our canine family members.

My wife and I made the decision to not have childern years ago and our dogs have been the focus of our affection. We have had four Irish Wolfhounds and lost each under difficult circumstances. Your book brought back the difficulty faced when making the decision to euthanize. It brought back the many loving memories we have as well.

Please rest assured that Sprite is among friends and loved ones, human and animal alike. He will now be mentioned daily in my prayers for our departed loved ones and asked, as I ask them, for their prayers for all of us. As the story goes in its various forms, heaven would not be heaven if we couldn’t continue relationships with those we have loved and lost. I know in my heart that God understands that and our reunion with them will surpass our best moments on earth. That is at least my hope and prayer.

And so I add Sprite as I pray that Kelly, Kelly, Hannibal, Ryan, Anheuser, Terence, Duke, Chris, Tricksy, Lucky and Frtizy are together in Divine Happiness and that we may all join them when our time has come.

May God bless you and your family (including Pepsi and Griffen of course) and keep you well.

Sincerely,

Mike from IN

Hi, Mark. My daughter gave me a copy of Rescuing Sprite for Christmas, and I just finished it…I couldn’t put it down. She knows what a dog lover her Mom is, and correctly guessed that I would love the book.

I wanted to thank you for writing about what all of us have felt when we have lost a 4-footed family member. You gave your all for Sprite and I am sure that he knew that. Do we readers think you are nuts for writing a book like this? NO WAY! We, too, have felt the love of a faithful dog and the misery of losing him or her. Loving your dog with your full heart means somtimes making choices that are so hard for you, but the right thing for your best friend. Your decision for Sprite was the ultimate act of love, and he knew that. My heart goes out to you and your family for your great loss.

I, too, have suffered the loss of special pets, and the hardest thing of all is trying to explain to others just why you are so distraught. Unless they are animal lovers, too, they just don’t get it. You have lost a family member, your best friend and mentor…it take a long time to get over that (actually, I don’t think you ever do).

Your book was just incredible, and I wish I had been privileged to know Sprite. I loved all the photos in the book, especially the cover shot…what a cutie!!! I hope he is running around like crazy up in heaven, and that he has met my late dogs and has enjoyed a good biscuit with them!!! I still miss mine like crazy, too. Having my wonderful Collie Ciara here with me now just makes my day…I love her to pieces and enjoy all her special unique traits and expressions. Although I did not think that another dog could fill my heart after losing the others, she has more than done that triplefold. I think that bringing Griffen into your life was the right thing to do!

Thanks again for sharing this great memoir with us. As well as helping you deal with your grief, it has given those of us who have been through this journey a wonderful book to cherish. Give Pepsi and Griffen a pat on the head & a hug from me, and thanks for sharing Sprite with me! :-)

Anne from NY

Our dog was Alex. He showed up December 23, 1984, the year we were married. Apparently some heartless person threw him away because he was about 13, had a cataract in one eye and was not cute any more. After one day and a good bath he was in our bed. We took him to the doggy ophthalmolgists and was assured that he was able to see in the other eye and was fine. Alex was a kind and gentle soul. About 6 months after he found us he was hit by a car and lost his tail. Alex was a collie mix and now blind in one eye and tailess.

We had a vacation home on the Maryland shore in a high rise which housed a lot of pretentious folks that did not understand Alex’s special qualities because he was not “pretty”. When I took him to the doggy walk and people would look at him as less than equal to their beautiful pedigreed dogs I would tell them that he lost his eye and tail in the fire while saving our 6 children. Admiration grew for Alex and he became the hallowed one. Alex passed on New Year’s Eve, 3 years after he came to us. He had a stroke and fell into the bay. One of the most tender moments I will ever remember of my husband was him retrieving his body in 20 degree weather.

I know that Alex is in a special place that trains puppies to become good dogs before they come to earth. Alex was the Master. We miss him daily and he taught me that I can not live without a dog. I am writing this as Sophia sits on my lap. Thank you for such a wonderful story. You have endeared yourself into my heart even more.

Anonymous from MD

Mark,

Thank you for sharing Sprite with your readers. I must admit I was first attracted to your book because Sprite looks so much like my Casey. I’ve attached a couple of photos. My Casey is a lot bigger, but their faces and coloring are similar. After skimming a few pages, I realized there were some similarities our situations and decided I had to read the entire book.

Prior to last January, I had two personal dogs and had fostered a number of dogs for a local rescue group. One of my personal dogs is almost 13 and is not in good health, so my younger dog, rescued 5 years ago, needed a companion and playmate. Having foster dogs was a good way to help out the rescue and provide company for my younger dog. Last January I rescued “Casey” from the high-kill shelter in Memphis. I’ve never met a more loving dog big dog who thinks he’s a lap dog. Most people want puppies or small dogs, so Casey wasn’t the top pick at our adoption days. In July I found out that my older dog had cancer. Two weeks later I took Casey to the vet our rescue group uses because he hadn’t been putting weight on one of his back legs. The vet said Casey had severe case of hip dysplasia and suggested that I consider putting him down if the rescue could not afford a total hip replacement. I was devastated. We estimated Casey’s age at about 18 months. I knew we couldn’t afford the total hip replacement and I couldn’t imagine how I would be able to put down a dog as loving and lively as Casey. He’d probably had the best 6 months of his young life, but he deserved so much more. A second opinion from my vet was definitely in order. Although the diagnosis was the same and hip replacement was the best option, my vet suggested the FHO, which is about 25% of the cost of a new hip. My vet isn’t certified to do hip replacements and there was only one in Memphis and he didn’t give discounts to rescue groups. I started making flyers and contacting my friends. The rescue group featured him on the web site. I contacted veterinarian school on at UT hoping they might work with the rescue. They were willing, but their success rate was only 50%. Through donations we were able to raise enough to have the FHO procedure on both hips and Casey had his first surgery in late October. By doing one, we can determine if it was successful and decide whether the other hip should be replaced or receive the same FHO procedure. My older dog has had two surgeries for the cancer and is doing ok for now. We’ve been told the cancer will come back, but we just take it a day at a time. Casey is now a permanent member of my family. Needless to say, it’s been an emotional year in my home too, but I am so blessed to have three happy loving fuzzy “kids”.

As I’m sure most animal lovers did, I cried throughout your book, but I am so grateful you shared your experiences. Not only does the book touch the heart, but maybe others who read it will be reminded to support the animal rescue groups in their area. I hope you have many wonderful years with Pepsi and Griffen!

Karin from TN

I just finished reading your beautiful tribute to your beloved Sprite and your wonderful, Pepsi. Your book touched me and reminded me that there are good and kind people in this world. All of us, “lovers of dogs” have at least one thing in common. No matter our color, sex, religious preference, political views or anything else that may describe who we are as humans, we can all agree on at least this one thing!! Dogs are the best gift in life!!

I too, have suffered the loss of two friends. My first dog, Lucy, a mut and an adorable creature, came to me on my fifth birthday. I was an only child so she became my sibling, my very best friend in the whole world. Lucy lived for sixteen years and I was fortunate enough to hold and comfort her during her last moments of life as she was put to sleep. I hate that term…! But, she had suffered a stroke and all of her physical faculties were affected. I found her lying in a couple of inches of water on my Mom’s patio, which had washed-up due to the automatic irrigation system in Tempe, AZ. It was the most pathetic thing I had ever witnessed! Thankfully, she was alright in the sense that she knew I was there and holding her and had rescued her from a possible fate of drowning!

Putting Lucy to sleep was the most tragic thing I had expereinced so far in my 21 years of living. I’ll never forget her and what she meant to me growing up. To this day, I have a very early photo of her as a pup on my dresser along with her collar. (more…)

Dear Mark,
I received your book as a christmas present from my two sons, because the love we all feel for our dog muffy. Muffy is a 11 year old lab, border collie mix. I am so sad because on new years eve she died in our house on her couch in front of her favorite window. It has only been a day since she left us but the empty whole in my heart feels like it will never leave. She was my best friend and my favorite person/animal to be around. I have never received such unconditional love in my life and she was the center of our world.

I want to take the time to thank you for writing your book, people say I received it as a gift to prepare me for what happened. In a small way it helped, I prayed to god to take her at home in peace and he did, I just didn’t thing it was going to be now.

Colleen from NY