After we had to have our dog Henry put to sleep in 1993 because of an inoperable tumor, we adopted Freckles (he had freckles on his nose) from an animal shelter in 1994. He was a Cocker Spaniel mix and had a beautiful coat. We didn’t know how old he was, but the Vet assumed he was 5 years old.
He loved to go for walks to the big park where there is a river. The dogs are allowed to run there without a leash. So my husband would let him run and he would examine every bush. If he saw a rabbit and it would dash into a bush, he would try to find him, but never did. He would dig and dig, but no luck. He also would try to catch a frog in the river and was determined to get one. After many trips to the park, he finally did, but immediately spit it out. Guess it didn’t taste too good after all.
One night he got sprayed by a skunk in our back yard. When I let him in the house, the smell was awful, as you can imagine. He was rolling on the carpet to try to get the smell off. I had to wake my husband and we gave him a bath, but the smell was still there, It eventurally went away, but I had to have the carpet cleaned.

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I have 2 Marine sons, 20 and 21. Both are overseas this holiday season, with my older son being in Iraq. Please pray for all our Marines. Shortly before my older son left for Marine recruit training in 2004, he found a scared and abused little dog on our porch. She would not come to anyone other than him and he spent hours getting close to her. We kept her a few days and my younger son and I had to leave town a few days not knowing if the dog would be there when we returned. Well, she was, and still is in her home she found!

She just appeared on our little back deck! We took her to the vet and told him we did not see any ads for a lost dog and he said there would not be because he could tell she was abused because she was so scared. She weighed about 15 lbs and still had baby teeth so she was about 16 weeks old. She would go totally under our beds and hide, or go behind the couch she was so scared. My older son named her, it was a decision between Ginger and Sage and he named her Sage. We got her all her shots and while he was at recruit training, spayed. She is brindle in color and from looking up brindle dogs on the internet I believe she is a basenji or a basenji mix. My son nursed her back to health and she slept under the bed in his room.

Gradually she warmed up to us, but is still scared some times. My son had to leave for recruit training and has been overseas since completing his training, now he is in Iraq. We have been taking good care of her though! Some say she is spoiled and found the right home! Both my sons are now Marines overseas. I wonder who could have abused a small animal like Sage, and who would have done that to a dog? When we found her she had no collar or ID. We have no idea how she found our back porch for refuge while scared, abused, and lost, but she made it and is a sweet dog. She keeps us busy while our sons are serving our country and her Marine rescuerer is overseas in Iraq. We are awaiting the day our son who nursed her to health and calmed her fears comes home. It is upsetting that people abuse animals such as this small dog. We can only imagine what she went through her first 16 weeks.

MARIJANE  from KS

Just finished reading your book and was so touched by the life and love of Sprite. When I had to make the decision you made, I was depressed and suicidal for months afterward. But the love of our dogs helps us go on. The author, James Herriott said that there is always one speciald dog in our lives. Not that we don’t love others but there is the one special one. He also felt that the best compliment we could give a loved pet is to get another one. That is saying that the love we got from our dogs is worth the pain of the loss. I would not give up one second of the love or my special dog to replace an hour of the pain. I am so glad that Griffen came into your lives.

JoAnne from PA

I am 19 years old and having been listening to your show for six months. I love it but to be honest the last couple of weeks I have been a little turned off because of the new book. As I heard all the stories about other people’s pets I began to get annoyed. I love our dogs but never understood how others could obsess about them. All at once life changes. I believe that God uses circumstances to give us understanding . That most certainly is the case with me.

Sadly two hours ago we lost or sweet Great Dane, Daisy to Parvo. It was one of the most heart wrenching processes. We did everything possible to save her but it was too late. I was with her every moment. The hardest thing was doing everything in my power to help her but all at once watching her condition worsen. Parvo is so unpredictable at times we would rejoice when we though she was getting better but so quickly we lost her. This is a difficult time for our family. I am the oldest of five siblings ranging in ages 18-10. Death is something that by the grace of God we have not seen in our family. This heart wrenching incident was a wake up call. Lord help me to have understanding for other people’s pain, no matter what. With all that said I will be reading your book. Now I have a greater understanding. For those who feel the way I felt, don’t let a tragedy make you realize how short and precious life is. Take every moment as if it was your last and love everything you have because in a matter of hours it could be gone. Thank you for opening my eyes to understanding Mr. Levin.

Talitha from Arizona

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Kaite came into my life the same year my mom died. That was in 1994. You see, my mom died on March 3, 1994 and Katie was given to me as a gift for my birthday on March 5, 1994. When I first saw this little ball of fur I did not know what to think. Please don’t get me wrong I love animals, especially dogs, but I just lost my mom and I was devasted. Mom battled lung cancer for two years. My family did everything under the sun to save her but God wanted her home. I was exhausted after my mom died and the very thought of taking care of this puppy was not on my to do list. But after I decided to keep her I knew it was the best decision. Katie brought me such joy and love at a time in my life when I needed it most. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful and sweet Katie was. She was certainly the joy of my life. I loved her and took care of her as if she was my daughter and in many ways she was. Katie only lived for nine years. When she was eight she developed kidney disease.

I was again in my life devasted. I could not ever imagine living in a world without her. She meant everything to me. She followed me everywhere. I took this dog everywhere. She loved to go “by-by’s”. Well after the vet could no longer help Katie I decided to take her to VCA in Gaithersburg Maryland. This is a special Vet center for very sick pets. Katie lived for one year after she was diagnosed. When she was dying I would go after work and sit with her in the intensive care unit. On the day that she died I went to visit her not knowing this was going to be the last time I would see my little girl. When the vet called me and said her little heart could no longer take the strain-I could not believe what I was hearing. I saw Katie that night lying still on the table with a blanket covering her. I kissed my little girl and she felt cold. I said my last good-bye. The vet gave me a beautiful book called Dog Heaven. She even wrote a message and signed the book. I would like to send you a copy of this book Mark. I hope you will except it from one dog lover to another. I have faith in God and I know that she is in Heaven with my mom and my dad (who died the same year as Katie – 2003). Maybe one day I will get another dog but for right now I can’t. Thank you Mark for allowing me to share my story with you. I am sending the book Dog Heaven to you as a “thank you” for sharing your beautiful story for the world to read. God Bless you and your family.

Grace from MD