This is what I call my ‘spiritial dog story. ”
I have owed many dogs in my 49 years. I have loved each of them but there is one dog who I knew for a brief 2 months. It is her story that affected me in a very unique way.
In route to the store, I slowed down to say “hi” to my neighbor. She asked me if I wanted a dog and showed me the dog who had been hanging out in the neighborhood. It was early December, cold and the dog looked kind of pityful. I said “no, we have our black lab and I can’t take in another dog” and drove off. The second those words came out of my mouth it was like I knew they weren’t true! It was like the words became jumbled up in my brain. It was an odd moment-what I call a “spiritual” moment.
I went on about my life and about a week later I heard something outside my front door. There was the dog on my front porch. I got her a clean bowl of food and water and placed it outside. She accepted it and as I spoke soft words to her, I realized that she was exhausted!
She allowed me to take her to our fenced in back yard. She paced and paced- she wanted out but something told me to keep her in the yard so she could rest. And rest she did. After a few days she let me give her a bath. Needless to say, she became our dog and we loved having two dogs.
The check up at the vet’s held some bad news for us. She had heartworms.The vet treated her for the heartworms and she came through it all beautifully.
Two months later my husband woke me up early and said that “Casey” had died in her sleep on the couch. It was heartbreaking.
I became depressed. I sat out in the backyard and it felt like a black cloud was over my head. I cried and cried and couldn’t stop. I cried more for this dog that I only knew for 2 months than any other.
I finally couldn’t shake it so I prayed to God to please give me “peace” about Casey dying.
That night I had the most incredible dream. I was in a place far away. There was a big body of water with a big cliff in it. There was Casey and I ran to her and was so happy to see her. Somehow she let me know that she was fine and I was happy!!!!
When I woke up, I instantly remembered the dream. I got out of bed and I felt strange. I felt like I had travelled a great distance that was “up” and far away. I didn’t feel grounded. I walked around the house for about 30 minutes before I felt like myself.
God answered my prayer because after that dream, I never cried for Casey again. God had given me peace!
God does put things in our path and its up to us as to how we react to it.
I leave you with a sentiment that I say to people who have lost beloved dogs. I let them know that it is sad that God has given a dog so few years to live but if he gave dogs the same years as humans, we would only have one pet in our lives to love. God’s design allows us to have “many dogs” with a variety of pets to love in our lifetime!!!!

Tracy from Florida

I call this story what I do, because both of my dogs were poodles. I got the first dog; her name was Ivory, from the Humane Society in Sebring, Florida. She was a pure breed white poodle and she was the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. When I went to sign the adoption papers, I saw her and immediately fell in love with her and knew I wanted to take her home. So a few days later after all the papers were filed and the vet checked her out she finally got to come home. But she came home once before that and we had to return her, because by law she could not be taken home since she was not spayed. So we had to take her back and she knew it and hid under an end table and being a big guy I picked up the table as my brother picked her up and we had to return her and got her back the next day. She was home with us and stayed that way. A few weeks go by and we went and looked at another poodle and his name was Popi. (more…)

Greetings, Mark! This is one of the coutless stories about my boy, Bowser. Back in 1983 my mother had passed from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She had lived for more than 4 years, which by today’s standards is unheard of. My brother and I went to a breeder in NJ to purchase a yello lab puppy. When Gordon, the breeder, opened the pen and released the sea of tumbling, bounding yellow puppies, I watched in awe. One puppy in particular left his jumble of brothers and sisters and purposefully walked over to me and sat on my foot. This was the one. He picked me. There was nothing I could do about it. It took alot of fighting with the breeder to sell us the puppy, not because he wanted him, but because he was the “runt” of the litter. Well, this “runt” grew to be over 120 pounds! In addition, he was born house-trained! Yes, he pooped once in the house, and that was it. When I would walk him, he never needed a leash. He would be right at my right hip and stop whenever I would. He understood complete sentences, with multiple commands. Of course he was a house-dog, never having to bear the indignity of being chained to some tree in the yard. People who do that to their dogs don’t deserve to have them. Bowser and I were insepparable. He had to be in contact with me constantly, or at least, have me within eyesight or it sounded like the the end of the world. My bed was his bed, or, more correctly, he allowed me to sleep in his bed…LOL! I never minded sharing my bed with Booze because, even at 120(+) pounds, he allways wanted to snuggle with me. Many times he would make this little sound and jump on the couch. For the next 10 minutes or so, he would stare, unmoving, into my eyes. The overwhelming feeling of contentment that I experienced was indescribable. Over his 13 year life he brought me more joy and unconditional love than I will ever be deserving of. In addition, he saved my life when I went into anaphalaptic shock and got my brother to help me. His favorite game was “get the stick”, which, I am certain, needs no description…other than the fact that he knew what the words meant. He was allways energetic and happy and the most wonderful dog you could ever hope to be blessed with. That is why his hip dysplasia and degenerative spine disease was so torturous. For the last 2 remaining years of his life he was almost 100% incontinent, had no use of his hind legs, and panted constantly, which indicated pain. My brother and I did all we could to ease his suffering including operations, cortisone shots and pain killers. They did help, but not enough. In 1994 I moved away to take a new career and I felt like such a traitor to my Booze, but I knew he was in good, loving hands with my brother. I had been in my new city for a little over a week when I had a dream. In this dream Bowser and I were playing “get the stick” and he was his old energentic, pain-free self. The odd thing was that he wasn’t a puppy, but looked the same way he did when I left. The sky was blue, the sun warming. I lay on the warm grass with Bowser and he just looked deep into my eyes like he had always done. After a time, he curled up next to me and rested his head on my shoulder. I could hear and feel his breath on my ear, as well as the funny little contented sound he allways used to make. Well, I woke from the dream feeling very content and happy. Roughly 10 or 15 minutes later I received a call from my brother. He had no choice but to put my Booze to sleep that same morning because the vets couldn’t control his pain. My Bowser, my boy. He had eased the pain of loosing my mother, saved my life literally from anaphalaxis, and had been my true friend and companion for 13 years. Now, he had come to see me one last time; not in pain, but as he was when we were the happiest. It was his way of letting me know that, not only had he passed, but that he was happy and pain free again. I flew out to California the next day to bury him and spent the next 2 days crying uncontrollably. That was 12 years ago and, although the pain has been blunted, I want my boy back. My consolation is that he is happy, pain-free, and waiting for me when it’s my time. I thank God Almighty, and Bowser, for considering me worthy enough to enjoy my time with him. I also thank God Almighty, and Bowser, for considering me worthy enough to see Bowser one last time in my dream. I am fully confident that Bowser’s beautiful spirit had visited me and I am truly greatful and humbled that he would do that for me. I loved Bowser as a son and, for as hard as it was for me to lose him, I could NEVER imagine the pain of losing a child. That is why I am so greatful to our brave men and women in our armed services, as well as to their parents. Thank you all and God bless every one of you for your sacrifice, patriotism, and unyeilding selflessness.

Tom from New Jersey

Our family has been blessed with two amazing dogs. We have a german shepherd-Heidi- and a mix-Abby.
Hannah (15 years old): I wrote a sonnet for english class. I decided to read it to my father and sister after we heard Mr.Levin tell his story about Sprite o the way home from school. It is titled “Woman’s Best Friend”

“Two pairs of eyes look up towards me. They glow,

With seeing the sight of me at the door.

Their excitement begins to overflow;

Loud barking, tail wagging, and tug of war.

Their companionship is like my shadow,

Always following and watching o’er me.

I never worry if they’re friend or foe.

They’re gentle like a lamb to family.

Their companionship fuels my love for them.

I care and heed as their example shows.

In my life, they are an alluring gem.

I pray that they’re ne’er required to go.

Pets are my friends. On them one can depend.

Animals truly are woman’s best friend.”

Dale found Abby (the mixed-breed) on the way home from work one winter night. She had been dropped off on our street and left there as if she was trash. She has been a wonderful blessing to our family. Dale descibes her as a clown in a dog’s body because she is so funny! She makes us all laugh every day. Abby has also become a great companion to Heidi, our German Shepherd. They get along just fine. Abby has even been able to get on good terms with our fat cat (he weighs about 20 lbs)! Her tail had been docked from the previous owners. And the little “knub” that is left is always wagging! Our family is so lucky to be blessed with Abby, Heidi, and our cat, Freckle.

The Diemer Family from Ohio
[Hayley(10), Hannah (15), Dale (50), and Laura (49)]

This is a story about Hope, literally.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I lost my beloved tripod Great Dane Bella in August. It truly broke my heart. As luck would have it, fate brought ANOTHER tripod Great Dane into my life. Her name is Hope.

Hope was part of a hoarding case in Florida. She was being fostered by a wonderful woman name Jeannine in Pensacola, who ran the Great Dane Rescue. When I saw hope, I knew it was meant to be.

Later that week I was on a plane to Florida to drive Hope back to NJ. She is 2 yrs old, missing the opposite leg that Bella was missing. My home is already set up to accommodate a handicapped dog and Hope as become a wonderful addition to our home.
My heart felt 100 lbs lighter when I saw her and knew it was meant to be.
To see Hope now, you would think she has been with me all of her life.

I am greatful for both Bella and now Hope. They have taught me patience & compassion and have brought more joy to my life than I could ever imagine.

Ronnie from New Jersey

In 1962, a friend of mine had a three month old pup, part fox terrier and part who knows, that was rather sick, and he was going to take it to the dog pound,which would have been a death sentence. I rescued the dog and took it to a vet, who said the dog had distemper and recommended it be put down. I asked the vet if that was absolutely necessary, and he said I could keep it warm and nurse for a few days and see if there was any improvement. If not the end was inevitable. Fast forward—the dog lived 17 years and 5 months. I named her Lolita, allowed her to have a litter of pups and then had her spayed. I lived on a lake in Arkansas in a beautiful wooded section adjacent to Little Rock, and during her first five years she was bitten twice by copperhead snakes. Each time,she would crawl under the house and stay for about ten days. Each time I thought was the end. However, each time she would reappear, hungry and ready to face the next crisis. The next crisis came when the school bus ran over her four years later. She then proceeded to live a happy accident free life for several years until she developed heart failure and breathing problems. The vet said her early bout with distemper contributed to her ailments. At age 15 she began having seizures—-light ones at first , several months apart. Then more frequent and she began experiencing pain with them. The vet told us after one particularly rough one that the next one is when we should put her to sleep. We agreed. One afternoon we heard her moan , and it was obvious it was time. I told my wife that I would take her, and after it was over I would bring her back so we could bury her at home. She was unable to move, so I got a clean white sheet and laid her on it, as her shroud. I went to get the car keys, and when I came back, she was standing up looking up at me.Her expression told me “I want to die at home”. I knelt, she put her paw on my thigh and that was it. We wrapped her up and buried her. She has been greatly missed, and if I live to be one hundred, I will never stop wondering what her last thoughts were as she looked up at me with those big brown eyes.

Ron from Mississippi