Mark, thanks for letting us see a side of you we men have but don’t often let out.
My wife & I began raising labs in 1973…how faithful & loving
few years ago we had a choclate litter. One little guy sudenlly became sick. All he could do was lay on his right side, and follow me with his left eye. Kathy said: “you have to put the little guy out of his misery”. Kathy, I’m praying that God will heal him, I can’t. Several times a day I would go to the barn, and cry out to God like I wouldn’t let mysel if others were listening. For days he didn’t move, but he didn’t seem to hurt. As I prayed for that little guy my faith grew. This time when I went out he was up on his side with his head up, first times in days. I kept praying. Later I go to pray and he’s sitting! Thrilled (faith boost) I reached down and loudly exclaimed, “I can see you standing in Jesus name”. I got a flake of hay to feed our horse “Music” 50 ft. away. To my great excitement, when I got back the little guy he was standing watching me!
Others I ended up crying over, but I was sure thankful God touched that little pup when there was no hope without Him.
Father, thank’s for caring for our pet friends too.

Ron from ID

We rescued our dog, Tucker, from the dog pound the day before his scheduled execution. He was still a pup and barked and yelped all the way home, I thought “My God, what have I gotten into”. Tucker not only became my best friend but a true member of the family. He was so thrilled when I came home, no matter what mood I was in how low I felt, Tucker was there to greet me with a wagging tail and bright eyes. We walked the trails along Lake Michigan together, we camped together, we watched football together. I still smile when I remember him trying to eat moths around my lantern on one special camping trip. Tucker gave my family 100% of his love and total devotion for 15 wonderful years. His mood turned sour and he started limping in his old age, when he started nipping at the kids when they went near him, we made the decision to start looking for a home for him with no children, we desperately wanted him to live every day he could. We tried for months, but found no new home, the decision was made in Spring of 07 to put Tucker down. I made the appointment, then we had a possible lead on a home, so the appt. was canceled, only to have the new home fall apart. The appt. was made again, this time it went forward. The vet was so gentle, so understanding. I was prepared to give my best friend a stoic goodbye, but I broke down like a little boy when I saw him slowly lay down for his final sleep. He passed looking straight at me, I’m haunted to this day. Tucker was one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I can’t wait to walk next to him again in Heaven. Thank God for dogs, what better friend could a man ask for? Thank you alod Mark, for letting us tell the stories of our best friends.

Curt from MI

I can so identify with your love and loss with Sprite. I sent in a story about my Golden Retriever named Sierra, who made it three weeks short of 18 years. A definite miracle dog, as my Vet called her.

Very shortly after her passing I ran into some people at church that were raising a Service Dog for Canine Companions for Independence. Long story short, I “reluctantly” volunteered to raise and train a service puppy (after all, I just lost a dog after 18 years – and now had to give one up after 16 months).

Let me tell you that it has been the greatest joy of my life and I am blessed over and over again with being involved in this program. CCI gives dogs, at no charge, to disabled people primarily in wheelchairs. And these are incredible, dedicated, and loving dogs. Their web site is www.cci.org is you want to read more.

Right now I am on my THIRD pup named Zena – and you actually met her briefly. I was at the Freedom Concert in San Diego and brought her with me. Unfortunately you were rushing off, but took the time to give her a brief pat on the head. She got to meet Sean Hannity and she enjoyed the concert as well. That’s the great thing about raising these pups, with their vests you can take them most everywhere.

God bless you for adopting and giving a wonderful life to Sprite. I ordered the book and can’t wait for it to arrive. As a grown man it’s hard to say that I will have the tissues ready – but I will.

Bruce from CA

My husband Rusty and I have been married for fifty years, and have had many pets, both dogs and cats, over the years. We loved them all, and still think about and miss every one of them.
The most recent was our last cat , Penny. She was rescued by our son, when he was in college, from the students that lived next door to him in the student apartments. She was just a tiny kitten that was abused by them. They left her outside most of the time, never fed her much, played catch with her, threw her off the second floor balcony to see it she would land on her feet, and finally, he was told that they put her in the microwave and turned it on for a second to see what would happen. That was all he could take, and told them they didn’t deserve to have her and he took her to his place.
At Christmas he brought her home, and when he went back to school, she stayed with us. Penne then lived with us for the next 18 years.

One day we noticed that she was limping and the vet found that she had a tumor on her hip. All the tests showed that it was inoperable. He told us that she was not in pain. For the next 3 months she gradually became less able to get around. Her leg and foot swelled to twice its size, but she kept trying to walk even though she dragged her leg behind her. She seemed happiest when I would pick her up, carry her around, and talk to her, which we did many times everyday.
Finally , when she could no longer get up at all, we knew that the time had come to make that awful decision. When the time came, we took her to our vet. I held her in my arms and told her how much we loved her and didn’t want to do this. She never took her eyes from my face, and when that moment came, the light just suddenly left her beautiful eyes and she was gone.

That was April 12, 2006, but I feel the pain in my heart right now as much as I did on that day.
We will never forget her or any of the other wonderful pets we have had over so many years.
We loved and miss you all.

This picture is of Penny on her last day with us.

Colleen & Rusty from IL

I’m one of those people who can’t pass by a pet store without going in just to see the puppies. A couple of days after Christmas, I was at the mall when I spotted an exuberant Golden Retriever pup beckoning me inside with her wagging tail and soulful brown eyes. There was no resisting this visit—Goldens have been one of my favorite breeds.

I felt an immediate spiritual bond between the pup and me. It was a quiet day and the manager let me play with the puppy in the back room for almost an hour nonstop. When she got tired, she curled into my lap and nuzzled her nose onto my arm. The manager was quick for the sale, saying that he had never seen a better match. I regretfully had to decline.

He responded, “Too bad. It’s probably the last puppy in Orange County. All our puppies are gone by Christmas Eve and it’s the same for almost all other pet stores. The only reason this one is here is because her shipping information got messed up and she just arrived this morning—too late for Christmas Eve. Even so, I guarantee that she will be gone by tonight.”
(more…)

My dog’s name is( Buddy).He is not the most likable dog but I picked him and have been responsible for him. He failed dog training 101 because of his nervousness, I guess. Buyddy did nip him when he tried to grab his leash. Buddy was scared, The trainer said he used to put dogs like Buddy down because people gave up on them . That is why he was training dogs and peopl e. He said people get a dog and then just leave them outside on a leash and never give them attention. That is why they keep barking and then nieghbors complain , so they get rid of the dog to solve the problem, I guess. I have been taking him to work with me when I clean the school 2nd shift (2:30-11:00) He sits out in my vehicle and waits for me to come out and visit and let him out to potty in the field. I do keep a bag on me to pick up after him.He is 12 yrs old now and has Lupas. We have him on 1/2 a pill of prednazone per day which helps him thru this. I don’t want to put him down . We already had to put our other dog down (Samantha). We buried her in the backyard. She was from SC when we worked for Habitat for Humanity. My wife and daughter will not go with me when the day comes to put my Buddy down. They said it was too much putting Samantha down.

So now Buddy comes home with me after a hard nights work. Gets in the house and drinks lots of water,eats and then lays next to our bed and sleeps knowing that he has done his job to watch over my vehicle each night. Oh. did I mention Buddy also has seizures which last around 15 minutes. This happens once in awhile. I just hold him and try to help him thru it. He’s my dog, seizures,lupas and all. Yes he is and he knows I won’t leave him or drop him off at the Humane Society to be put down.

Former Army Veteran,

Mike from OR