When I was about 10 years old I found a small dog and I took it home and I begged my mother to let me keep it. She agreed. I called the dog SPRINGER. It slept with me, went everywhere with me, rode in the basket on my bike with me. As I got older and had a car she sat next to me as I drove. My girl friend had to sit next
to the door. When I played golf she was with me. I had her for 17+ years.
She was suffering too much and had to be put away. I know what you went through.
BUT, I love your radio show and I think you should stop talking about your pets. GOB BLESS YOU.

JOE from CT

Mark,
After hearing all your callers talking about their dogs, I felt I needed to tell you our story too.

In early March of ’06 we had to put down our yellow lab, Amber, after she developed colon cancer. She was only 12 and it was the hardest decision I’ve ever made.
A week later I couldn’t get over our loss and had to get another dog right away. We bought a lab mix puppy from a backyard breeder. Turns out, he’s a lab/pointer mix. Not wanting him to be lonely when we weren’t home, we contacted a local rescue group here in San Diego. labradorrescuers.org We took Rocky with us to an adoption event and met, and fell in lve with, a yellow male that we adopted and named Casey. (more…)

Years ago, prior to the modern day paramedic, I was a volunteer fire fighter, We were the front lines on accident scenes, tending to the injured as best as we could, untill the ambulance crew would arrive. I delt with serious injury and death on a regular basis. I share this with you because duing this time I had taken in an older stray mixed breed dog, who was always there when I would get home, with the same amout of love and happiness day in and day out. (more…)

Yesterday 11/14/07, my wife and I had to put our cat Josh to sleep after 15 years of loving friendship. This has been one of the most difficult experiences we have ever had. I rescued Josh from a shelter after his first owner turned him in. He was scratching at me through his kennel cage and I knew he was going to be my buddy. I was looking for a companion after starting graduate school and living alone for the first time in my life. He saved me.

Since that day, Josh has been a wonderful friend. He had such a great personality (as exhibited by the photo). My wife has also gotten to know and love Josh since we have been together for the last ten years. He even helped her through graduate school. He was my buddy and her baby. We miss him dearly. (more…)

I haven’t yet bought Rescuing Sprite, but I intend to. Growing up in the military, we did a lot of moving and we’ve had several cats. We’ve lost 4 of our little friends over my lifetime and each one left us differently, but each was very painful. The first, Schatzee, died from a move (climate change was too much for him) when I was 7. We then adopted a kitten, Gracie, from the local humane society and she was so weak that she just died in her sleep after 2 weeks. Then we went back and our third cat, Misty, chose us. We were walking by her cage and she stuck out her paw and caught my dad’s attention. It was love at first sight. We adopted her and she immediately fit into our family. A few years later, we adopted another cat, Moffett, from an enlisted family because the father in the family had become allergic to cats. (more…)

Hi Mark,
I read your book this weekend, and cried all the way through it. I felt your pain as if Spritey was my dog. I would read, a little bit, then put it down and hug my dog, Darla, a Boston Terrier/Beagle mix. She was getting quite tired of me, and hoping I would finish the book soon. I never dreamed that I would be in your shoes so soon. I took my baby in for her yearly check-up and shots last night, and the vet spent a lot of time listening to her heart. That’s never a good sign. She told me that her heart rate was 200 and should be 120. She did an ecg, and an x-ray of her heart and recommended that I take her to see a specialist in internal medicine for dogs. Of course I fell apart, as Darla is like one of my children, she just has four legs. My oldest daughter jokes and says that Darla is my favorite child. We just got back from the specialist, and the news was not good. She has problems on both sides of her heart, and probably only has a year to live. She was a shelter dog also, so we are not quite sure of her age. We think she is 10. She has touched my heart as no other dog has. I have always loved my dogs, but this one has been my favorite dog that I have ever had in my 54 years. (more…)