We brought Paisano home when he was 15 weeks old and he was as cute as could be. We then realized that as cute as he was, he was at least that much work to train and exercise him. At times I was frustrated and just thought he’d never settle down. Obviously, we would crate Paisano when we would leave and it was one of the hardest things for us to do. You see, he would get extreme anxiety when in the crate and he would be soaking wet from drool when we would return home. It just killed us to see him like that. Well the day finally came when he was a year old and we gradually began to leave him out when we would leave. Sure we lost a few pieces of paper occasionally, but nothing more! From that point on he became the most wonderful dog to us. From his excitement when we would return home, to his absolute loyalty and undying love, to his cuddling, and, yes, sighing when he was annoyed, he was a huge part of our lives.

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This year my wife and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Just after we started dating, her beloved Yorkshire Terrier named Vicki got away from her house. My wife’s father found her the next day on the side of the road. Apparently she had been hit by a car. A few months went by and she decided to replace Vicki with another Yorkie. She heard about a new litter of Yorkie pups that had recently been born and we went together to see them. There was one particular pup that immediately took to my wife and she knew that was the one for her. She took her home and named her Magnolia or Maggie for short. Eventually my wife’s parents adopted Maggie’s brother and sister.
By the time we were married, Maggie had grown up and was a great little dog. She literally became an integral part of our new family. A few years later, she developed lumps on her chest. She was diagnosed with mammary cancer and had surgery to remove the lumps. Fortunately she made a full recovery and continued to live a normal life.

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I adopted Camilla, my prairie dog, when she was two months old in the Spring of 1999. She was only as big as the palm of my hand. Camilla lived in a two-story ferret townhouse in my living room and no matter where I was in the house she was always watching me. When I whistled to Camilla, she would bark back to me. Camilla loved to cuddle and be held. While being cuddled, she would wait until she thought I was asleep and then she would make a break for the dog food – a treat she was not allowed to eat. I would find her sitting in the middle of the dog food bowl stuffing her face with the curious dogs watching her. Camilla loved to chase the dogs all over the house. She just wanted to inspect her paws and she was not afraid of anything or anyone. Camilla lived a healthy 8.5 years (which is a good life time for a prairie dog) until a tooth infection took her last week. I miss her very much and can’t take my eyes from the bare spot where her cage used to be. I wish the government would recall the ban on the sale of prairie dogs as pets. It was put in place during the 2003 monkey pox scare. The threat of monkey pox has clearly passed (and was a result of the sale of african animals, not prairie dogs) and prairie dogs are being butchered and poisoned for sport in the US when they could be adopted into loving homes not only in the US but in Japan. All one has to do to see what great pets they make is watch youtube videos of prairie dog pets.
Thank you for your show and for the opportunity to post a message about Camilla. I look forward to seeing her and Lucy, my dog, in heaven.

ADB in WA

 Hi Mark….awhile back I had to put down our black German Shepherd “Wolf”…what a sweet dog he was….I’m a songwriter and this “poem” I wrote reads more like song lyrics but wanted to share it with you…Mark, thank you for all that you do!…seems whenever our country needs people to stand up there are always people who fill the gap…we have a long way to go to get back to where our country needs to be but you are more than doing your part!..thank you sir!…now the poem….

Said goodbye to an old friend just the other day;
He thought we were goin with a stick to play;
I felt like a traitor as I led the way;
held him in my arms as he slipped away.

Now who’s gonna help me feed the horses?
Now who’s gonna help me get their hay?
Now who’s gonna greet me with that happy cry,
Anytime I’ve ever been away?

Now who’s gonna be there to accept me,
Just as I am, no questions ever asked;
Hope you never say goodbye to such an old friend;
to do so is the most heart wrenching task.

As his last breath left him on that morning;
My mind remembered all the times we’d played;
A better friend no one could ever ask for,
I cried and whispered in his ear; “it’s ok”

Now who’s gonna help me feed the horses?
Now who’s gonna help me get their hay?
Now who’s gonna greet me with that happy cry,
Anytime I’ve ever been away?

Now who’s gonna be there to accept me,
Just as I am, no questions ever asked;
Hope you never say goodbye to such an old friend;
to do so is the most heart wrenching task.

Ernie Birney 1997

This is my boy, Buster. We have another dog, Guinness. Buster is the result of my husband wanting another dog, although he never mentioned it before, as I was the doglover in the family. We got Buster from the SPCA, he was 20 pounds, and so cute there in his cage. His little card said, “Family does not want.” Well, we wanted him, and he is such a joy. He has one ear that flops over, and the cutest face. I enjoy spoiling both of my dogs, because no matter how bad the day is, they will make you smile. They also get you out exercising!

Julieann  from Deleware

My story is another cat story and it is about my kitty cat Holly. Holly got a rough start in life, but I am glad that I was the one who got to have her all of her remaining days. When she was six months old someone dumped her off at my vet’s office. The policy of the vet was to put animals to sleep who were abanonded there, but my friend Cassie who worked at my vet’s office decided she was too pretty to put to sleep so she tried to keep her. Unfortunately for Cassie it didn’t work out. Her two year old son scared Holly and Holly hid under the bed. Cassie thought I would be the perfect home for Holly since I had no kids. So when she asked me if I wanted Holly I said sure.

I already had one other cat and I always thought that of the two Holly seemed more fragile and would be the first to go. I was very wrong. My other cat – K.C. – passed away in 2003 when she was 4 years old. That left me and Holly. We were both depressed. At first I could not see the good in K.C. going first. But as the years went on, I did see the good that came of it. Holly became this whole new kitty. She was playful, funny, followed me around everywhere, and a lot smarter than what I had given her credit for. The bond between her and I deepened with each passing day. I believe God uses animals in our lives to help us through the struggles that we face and I believed He used Holly to help me hang on through some tough times. I always called her my angel in kitty cat’s clothing. I also called her my little talker girl because she meowed constanty.
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