Sparkie was his name, he was a minurature schnauser. 10 years old, greated me each day when I got home from work. The neighbors loved him, what a dog. 1997, my wife left me with 4 kids and Sparkie. It was hard for a long time., we made it by being a family, sparkie was a big part of that. He was starting to loose his eye sight, not bad but getting worse. Sparkie never roamed , he loved it at home. One day he was not at home to greet me, I knew something was wrong. We looked all over the neighbor hood, no Sparkie. Something is wrong. We searched all possible places he might be, the pound etc. No Sparkie. Aeek went by, we got a call from the neighbor behind us, he had some bad news. Sparkie had wandered into his back yard in the dark and fell into their pool. The pool was half full, Sparkie could not get out. Sparkie dround in that pool. My oldest son and I pulled sparkie out of that pool, we will never forget that moment…..NEVER…..Please Mark, remember all the great times you had with your dog, you got to say godbye to your dog…We never got to say goodbye to our dog. You’ll be ok, we still have a hard time trying to replace our great dog…

Michael from OR

During my tour in Vietnam, our squadron had a mascot named “Lady”. She was mixed breed, she had a uniform complete with insignia, and she even flew on several combat sorties. I miss her to this day.

My wife and I raised three dogs from infancy through death during our nearly 40 years of marriage, and two of them died in my arms at the end of their long lives. It was
almost as painful as losing a child. On both occasions, this Vietnam vet wept like a baby while they looked up at me not understanding what was happening, with looks of bewilderment and confusion turning to peace as they found ultimate rest and freedom from pain. Our mixed breed “Puddles” got his name from how he reacted during thunderstorms. At the end, he licked my face one last time as I cradled him in my arms just before he breathed his last. I would like to believe he was trying to wipe away my tears.

One of our most precious memories is of our Golden Cocker Spaniel “Mandy” when she was a puppy. She would race from the den into the entryway hall then up two steps into the living room and then into the kitchen and then “fly” off the top of the two steps back down into the den with her ears slinging straight out just like Dumbo the baby elephant flying and look up at us when she finished as if to say, “Well?”

We continue to pray for you and for your family. A song that has given me great solice at times of grief might be of some benefit to you as well. It is titled “Home Free”, and
the artist is a very popular Christian singer and songwriter named Wayne Watson.

Bruce from KS

I’m sorry for your loss. I”ve been listening to your story.
On Oct.,19,my daughter had a baby in the metroplex. I went to her home to help her with the new baby. While there my husband called on Mon. to tell me that he had not seen our farm cat since Sat. night. We had never owned a cat, but this precious cat came to us as a kitten as someone had thrown away. She was so loving. That was a shock. Then me husband called on Thurs. and told me that our 13 yr old yorkie was dead. Apparantly a coyote had been stalking them. We got our yorkie while still in the metroplex , Dec. l993. Our youngest wanted to name him Rush after Rush Limbaugh; so that he was named. Rush became the master of our home.
I know exactly how you are feeling; It is so lonely not to have them meeting me when I drive home and no hello bark when I enter the house.
Thank you and God bless for allowing this story page
Linda from TX

I haven’t heard many people open up as you did tonight on Hannity and Colmes. My experience is similar to yours, with the difference being that I could not focus on my business after having my boy put to sleep and I eventually lost my business and I have had to struggle to get back on my feet. When I realized that my boy was not feeling well, I physically collapsed and could not funtcion. For two weeks, I would hide from people in my life so I would not be caught crying. Eventually I had to put an end to my boys suffering, and I haven’t stopped crying since. He left me on june 14, 2001. I would like to read your book but I don’t think I could handle it.

My Boys Name was “Tuck”
Dec 31st 1989 – June 14th 2001.

Jason from NY

Our Artie (1985-2003) was about 1 yr when he found us on Easter Sunday. We brought him into our home and were blessed by him for another 17 yrs. He had a heart condition in his last 2 yrs and we lived through his collapses moving downstairs into our guest room so he would not have to climb the stairs. We watched to see that he still liked to take us to the refrigerator where he knew we kept his turkey and continued to enjoy life as his circle became smaller and smaller. We were lucky as he expired at home. But we hated to let him go and still find so much joy at all the sweet things he did throughout his life. He was a great traveler, could just about drive a car, loved to see the lights of a city at night, was the most loving and devoted person I have ever known. He could run really fast and taught us to let him out when he rang the bell hanging on the back door. Flaws: none.
Thank you for your story of Sprite and for the forum to tell ours. When i think of the money people spend on entertainment and recreation and compare to the fun and lifelong joy these wonderful dogs give us freely I am humbled by their love.

Becky from OK

I’ve loved and admired dogs for a long time. I was about 6 years old when I started asking my parents for a dog on a daily basis. My different questions and reasons never worked until right before the Christmas of 2006. I was 14 when I finally convinced my father to get me a dog.

My companion and new brother was born on February 4th and introduced to the family on 1 April 2007. He joined my 12 year old sister, my father, and I. We loved our little bundle of muscle. The little tank is his nickname when it comes to family and friends. Auggie Doggie is now a 9 month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Auggie is an unconditionally loving dog when it comes to humans and also other dogs. When we take him out to the dog park he has to spend half of his time jumping up on benches to greet people with kisses, and half his time sniffing other dogs, running with other dogs, and just enjoying a day with his neighborhood friends.

On November 5, 2007 there was a football game for my high school against one of our rivals which I had planed to go watch. In order to be able to go out though for a few hours I had to make sure Auggie was well fed, exercised, and did his business before leaving. Therefore, I decided to bring him to the neighborhood dog park. The dog park is divided into two sections. One for dogs under 30 pounds and one for dogs over 30 pounds. At 40 pounds, Auggie is one of the smaller dogs, but runs well with the big dogs.
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