Tonight we lost our sweet Danney Boy. When I left the house this morning he was fine and when I returned home later this evening he didn’t greet me at the door. I called him and Sophie led me to her crate where Danney was sleeping. When I called his name he didn’t wake up. When I gently touched him he was still breathing but he didn’t respond. In a panic I rushed him to the emergency hospital. On the way, Danney, the most gentle dog in the world bit me and I knew then that he was really suffering and this would probably be the end of our 17 years together. The Dr. thought he probably had a stroke since it came on so suddenly and that the bite was more out of dementia then his being in pain. I hope that’s true and that he wasn’t in pain. My main concern for Danney in his old age has always been for him to have a good quality of life. Thanks to Dr. Love and her associates, Danney enjoyed at least one extra year. And during that year there were many things he enjoyed. Most of all he loved to cuddle and he loved being outside. Sometimes I’d look out the window and see him skipping around the backyard. But it was obvious tonight that restoring any part of that quality just wasn’t going to happen. Euthanasia seemed the kindest thing to do. I got Danney when he was 10 weeks old and this is a huge loss for me. He was a perfect dog his whole life. He never chewed anything he wasn’t suppose to chew He never had any formal obedience yet he was the best behaved dog I’ve ever had. He was also the most loving and sweet companion anyone could ever hope for. I’m going to miss him terribly but I am consoled knowing that he had a truly wonderful life and no dog was ever loved more. And now there’s no more pain for him and I’m sure right about now he’s running and playing with his beloved sister Cassie.

Cynthia, Sophie & Jake from Texas

A few years ago I found myself in my mid-forties living in an apartment after going through a divorce following a 20 plus year marriage. I went dog less for 3 years after the divorce for the first time that I can remember until I finally was able to buy a house with a fenced in yard. I knew it was time and the place was great for getting me a dog. A friend of mine called me and told me that she knew someone who had a 3 year old Cocker Spaniel she was getting rid of because he had behavioral problems and did not get along with her other 2 dogs (I found out later why, he was left always in the yard while the other 2 were pampered inside dogs) and if I was interested in taking him. I met them that night and fell instantly in love with this wild haired, scrawny, neglected, coal black little Cocker. He came home with me that night and had his first bath and de-fleaing in no telling how long. The next day was a hair cut and a trip to the vet. Needless to say he had a heart worm infestation. My vet treated him for the heartworms and after the month long recovery and ensuring he was cleared of the heart worms I had him neutered. Over the last 5 years this little black Cocker has gone from a scrawny 20 pounds to a fat and happy 35 pounds. This is the greatest dog I have ever met and he has changed my life. He lives like a king and the behavioral problems have disappeared with a lot of TLC and spoiling. I enjoy this dog more than I have ever enjoyed any animal in my life. A footnote to the story is his name is Oliver. The original owner (if you want to call her that) named him and I decided to keep this name. A friend of mine was giving me grief when I first got him about his name, tellin me that was a sissy name for a dog. I shot back at him that he was named after Oliver North. My friend shut up. Thanks for your book Mr. Levin. I understand.

Glen from Louisiana

This is my swett Golden. He will be 7 on the 11th Oh he is the bees knees, now..lol He helps with chores around the house like carrying folded clothes to the bed room for me to put away. We also are the proud parents of 2 cats, Nikko and a ferril cat, Tom. We met Tom 3 years ago when we moved to Oklahoma from Colorado. This cat,Tom, was a wild ferril cat. He hung around the place where we live and would watch us from a distance. then he would staulk us! lol After alot of good food, coaxing and patience, he has become a sweet part of our family. He has only 1 ear, blind in one eye but now he is fit as a fiddle. We even managed to get him to the vet for neutering, and shots after 2 years of letting him decide we were ok people. Thank you for allowing me this time in your day.. :)

Sheree from Oklahoma

This is our story about a beautiful member of our family. Her name was Rosie, a Golden Retriever. She was with us for 12 years. We lived in Massachusetts at the time. She was a stolen pet and a friend of ours rescued her. He tracked down the original owners who lived in another part of the state. They sent him all her papers and veterinary records if he would find her a good home. He thought of us. She was so well behaved and gentle, quite lady like. She made sure each of us had equal loving time. She made loving her so easy.
A few years later we moved to Georgia. Those years, in particular the last few, were not easy for her. She suffered from arthritis, tumors and a myriad of ailments common with her breed. Through surgeries and spending a good deal of recovery time in a neck cone, so she wouldn’t pull her stitches, she never seemed to complain.
One day we noticed her limping and avoiding the stairs. We thought her arthritic hip flared up. We took her to our vet for x-rays to help in determining treatment. We were horrified to find her left leg bone, from the hip to the knee, was gone. It was eaten away by bone cancer. We asked the vet for some strong pain medication to give us time to say goodbye. It was November 2005 and she was relatively comfortable through Christmas. We couldn’t make it last long enough. My wife began sleeping downstairs on an air mattress with her so she wouldn’t be alone. We had a bonus of 6 extra weeks.
By January 2006 her condition showed signs of worsening and her mobility was taxed to its limit. Her final night with us was heart wrenching. Her cries would subside when I held her. We selfishly wanted to hang on to her. The next day I coaxed her out side. She went down by the deck to lay and never moved. I called my wife at work and told her it was time to let her go. My wife came home and I carried Rosie to my van. We brought her to our vet and held her while medical mercy was given to her.
We cried for a long time after, partly because we missed her and partly because of the guilt we carried. Allowing her to deteriorate due to our selfishness, for not letting her go a little earlier, haunted us. Her cries stayed with us for a long time. We gained solace when we visited the pet crematorium to see her prior to cremation. She was placed in a natural looking curled position, at peace and looking as always, beautiful. We placed her favorite toy under a front leg, close to her.
She is still with us in death and we look at her urn often, which holds a recent picture of her. She is still our sweet girl.

Ray from Georgia

Dear Mark;

I can relate to your loss of “Sprite”, as a went through a similar experience in 2002, and I am still not over it.

Back in 1984, one of my adopted sons came in from playing. He was carrying a small Rat Terrier that was bleeding from the nose and mouth. When I asked him where he got it, he told me that he took her away from some kids three streets over, who were kicking her like a football. We took her to a vet and had her checked over. The vet told me that the dog was a year-old and that except for some slight bruising and a broken tooth, she was fine.

I decided to keep her and the boys named her “Baby”. She took to me right off the bat and went every where with me. As an Orthodox Catholic priest, I was required to work a secular job to help support myself and my family, so I was a local and short run truck driver and “Baby” went to work with me, every day.

After my sons grew up and left home, “Baby” and I spent more and more time together and she got to where she could literally understand over 56 different things that I would say to her. From the time she first became a part of my family, she would never walk on a leash. She absolutely refused to be on one, but she would stay right by my side where ever I went.
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Halie was my beautiful chocolate Lab that my daughter and her new husband gave me shortly after they were married and we became empty nesters. Halie was named after my daughter (Julie) and her husband (Hank). She was a wonderful companion that my husband and I loved hiking with in the N. Georgia mountains. We loved her so much and she was a member of our family. We talked to her as she was a human, and I know she understood every word. We lost her very unexpectedly shortly after she turned eight. I, like you, Mr. Levin, was devastated and I was also depresses for 6-8 weeks. I still, to this day, think about and talk about Halie. I didn’t think I would ever want another dog, but I now have a black Lab, Jessie, whom I love very much. Dogs are wonderful companions and I fail to understand why everyone doesn’t have one. I will be taking Jessie for a walk when I get home tonight, which she loves. I think, some times, however, that she loves her tennis ball more than she does me! They aren’t w/ us long enough, so we need to cherish every moment.

Ginger from Georgia