My family favors Welsh Corgis, they are big dogs in little dog suits, with hearts too big to fit in their barrel chests. Anyway, in 1998 we had been searching for a male Corgi as a companion for our female, Penney. Our son, stationed at Ft. Wainright at Fairbanks, Ak, found an abandoned male Corgi and called us. We had him flown to D.C. from Alaska. He was quiet for the first 3 days, then decided to voice his opinions, and never stopped. He was definitely an alpha male and took charge of the house. My niece, her husband and their 2 year old son, Jeffrey, was living with us while they were looking for housing. Graham and Jeffrey bonded and no one could discipline Jeffrey without Graham getting in there to protect Jeffrey. (more…)

I just finished Rescuing Sprite. What a wonderful read. I laughed, I cried…. and I remembered. You put into words the heartbreak, sadness and loss we feel at the death of our precious pet. You also conveyed the joy and happiness that loving a dog brings. For me, it was Ginger. A Llhasa apso/shitzu mix. We were privileged to have her 13 years. My older 2 children were preschool and diaper age when she arrived. She was with us in our starter apartment, moved with us to a duplex rental and finally to the home we are in now, in the country. We had 2 more children along the way and Ginger was a little mother to them when they were young. There was something special about Ginger. Other animals picked up on it. The pasture next to our property had cattle on it. When I walked Ginger, she would go to the edge of the fencing separating her from the cattle. Inevitably a cow would amble over to us and sniff Ginger nose to nose. Other cows would come as if to say hello to her. They would sniff noses and stay nearby as long as Ginger was there. I know for a fact they didn’t do that with other dogs. Ginger also loved people. She never met a stranger. She chose me as her special person. She shadowed me through the day and relished when I gave her attention. She loved playing with the children, and they with her. The day came when she began to have a slight limp. It turned out to be cancer of the bone. (more…)

My father died Feb 2005. I was with him when his mother died…he did not cry. I was with him when he had to commit my mother to the hospital…he did not cry. The doctor told him he had fatal lung cancer…he did not cry. The only tears I ever saw from him were when he put his Yorkie to sleep he cried all day and was depressed for a month. I dreamed the day he died that he was greeted in Heaven by that beloved dog.

Neil from AL

Pepe Was my first dog as an adult. He was with me almost 17 yrs (1/3 of my life)
When he was 10, I mated him with Tasha, a beagle/chiwawa mix. (he was pomeranian/chow 25lbs)

Of the the four puppies that survived, we chose FIFI, who looked like a bat, her ears were so big. The owner of Tasha was going to put her down, and keep a puppy. So we took Tasha into our family, and had mother, father, & baby! Tasha was very old, and we had to send her to heaven, after 4 years wth us. Mark, I had to wear sunglasses at the vet, I was crying so bad.

Last year PEPE had to go to heaven, and My wife & I
Spent his last moments on Earth together. It was hard, but it was what he deserved, for the the pleasure he gave us.
FIFI is 7 yrs old, and I’m eager to find a puppy to keep her young, and keep her company. I have a piece of Pepe, with Fifi, and know I am blessed to have these wonderful creatures sharing my life.

Plus since I trained, them, they are all conservative dogs!

Mitch from NY

I just wanted to thank everyone who has rescued animals from shelters. I moved down to New Orleans post Katrina from upstate ny. I am now the assistant shelter director to Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO). We are a non-funded triage shelter. Without people like Mark Levin rescuing animals we would not exist. Everyone that walks in our shelter walks out a changed person. We aren’t changing the animals lives, they are changing ours with there big never judging hearts. If only people could take lessons from a dog. Thank you all.
www.animalrescueneworleans.org

Natalie from LA

Sometimes God sends us an angel in a dog suit.

I first met Albie last spring. She was an out-of-control, rowdy one-year-old pit bull heading for trouble. She had house manners, but was becoming an increasing problem outside for her disabled owner. She was violently unfriendly with other dogs and nervous around men, but I was called in because she was a strong leash-puller. Her owner, Debbi, had been injured when Albie pulled her right off her feet.

Now, I had trained my own dogs before and taught obedience classes. I was considering hanging the private trainer shingle when I met Debbi. I offered to test my skills as a trainer on Albie at no charge.

You see, Debbi suffers multiple physical and emotional disabilities. Albie was a gift from her mother, who picked up two adorable pit bull puppies from a Winnebago County, Illinois shelter. At that particular time a baby pit bull was not what Debbi thought she needed, given her emotional issues and all. But Albie was one of those naturally sympathetic dogs who knew instinctively what to do to rouse her from depression-induced recumbency, clown her out of a crying fit, and offered her own body for stability when Debbi had trouble standing up or moving around. But her increasingly “bad” behavior was jeopardizing Debbi’s ability to keep her in her small apartment. I had a vested interest in keeping a pit bull out of trouble, as they lived in my town. (more…)