I have adopted three animals-which I love very much-from the Animal Shelter (two cats-Gracie and Delta, and one dog-Trevor). Trevor happens to be my Doberman, and I have no idea what I will do when I no longer have him around.

Jeff and I had the opportunity to adopt Trevor when he was about 9 months old-on 25 April 2000. I remember how pitiful this dog looked. He was skin and bones, and by no means looked 9 months. He was scared of everything, and still is.

You see, Trevor was actually rescued by the people at the Ardmore Animal Shelter. Basically, he was Pit Bull bait, when he was rescued. The horrible people who had him would put him in a cage with a Pit, in order to train the Pit to fight. Trevor was severely beaten by his handlers due to a lack of “fight” and he was severely malnourished. Most of the times these bait dogs will be killed by the pit, or the handler. Fortunately Trevor was not.
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Our family raised dogs for the Seeing Eye growing up in Chester, New Jersey. It was a program run by the Seeing Eye through 4H. Families would receive a puppy and have the responsibility / privilege of raising these puppies for approximately 1 year. They became members of our family, it was always a difficult day when the woman from Seeing Eye came to pick-up “our” dog to take them to Seeing Eye training. The difficulty of that moment was made easier, by our option, to select to receive a new puppy at the same time they picked-up “our” dog.

We did that as a family for 7 years. After the dogs completed training, we were allowed to watch “our” dog go through their training run with one their trainers in Morristown prior to being assigned to their new owner. It was always amazing to see those puppies that we raised become the eyes for someone and change their lives.
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When it comes to pets nothing beats a cat that could be considered a little boy in a cats body. I never knew a cat that could be like Dude. Dude was a cat that my parents got from a family that could not keep him anymore because he would fight with their poodle.

Before Dude came to our house to live we already had 2 cats but we had put one to sleep when her liver was failing. I felt I could never accept the love of another pet be it a cat or dog or whatever again.

I arrived home from high school, my mother held in her arms my little buddy. A bundle of gray and white that looked at me with the look of love. I looked back at him and could not believe that my parents had gone and got something that I could not accept. Something that I felt was way to soon for me after my loss.

I told my parents I think it is to soon for another cat but they said give it time. I was very shaky and unsure. Later I went to bed, and was told that I had a little snuggler at my feet that I had no idea was even there.
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You described your anguish after Sprite, and related how you questioned the meaning of your professional life and your future role in it. You seeminigly contrasted negatively your feelings about what you do with “doctors, nurses, and vetinarians”; the healers, you called us. Mark, I’m a phsician, and I get a good deal of my inner strength from you, from listening to you the commentator, you the constitutional lawyer, and yes, you the dog lover. Mark, don’t for a second ever doubt that the strength that you give to us healers who listen to you is not in some way, some how, tranmitted to our patients when we do our jobs; please know that some of us do it better by our exposure to you and your ideas. You reach, and heal, more people than you could ever imagine.

We put down Higbie, our 14 year old female Shih Tsu, this past New Year. I had rescued her 6 years previously from a divorced spouse who had abandoned her following our split. Higbie had liver failure; I’m a liver doctor, and I could not help her any longer. I know your pain.

Louis from NY

My dog, Scamper had to be put to sleep many years ago. He was 11 years old and had been with us since he was a puppy. Losing him was like losing a member of our family. My mother cried for weeks. He had been bleeding inside and my father took him to the vet to be put down. I received this in my e-mail and I want to share it with others:

A little long but worth the read….
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Hi Mark- I heard you talk about Sprite on your radio show tonight, 11/5. Our dog, Midnight, was 17 when she died several years ago. She was recued as a puppy along the side of a road in Virginia. How she ended up in Florida, I’m not sure, but the lady who had her was getting a divorce and could not keep her. She was a black dog, mixed breed, and was devoted to my husband in particular. She tolerated adults but loved children. She developed congestive heart failure around age 15 and medication kept her going for a while. Like you, I prayed for God to let her die in her sleep but this never happened. We had to make the same awful decision as you did. We were at our summer home in the mountains of North Carolina, where she loved to be. I remember sitting with her the night before and crying my eyes out. I think she knew. We buried her under the small stand of locust trees on our property. Tears still well up when I think of her and also the many other pets that we have had over the years who have gone to doggy or kitty heaven. Thank you for sharing your story. I can’t wait to read your book!

 Debbie from FL