First, I want to thank you Mark for this site. The stories from the other listeners are truly heart wrenching, but the feelings are universal for all dog lovers. My husband and son adopted Patches from the Humane Society on December 13, 1996, a Christmas surprise for our then 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter. Patches was about 4-5 months old and little was known of her history. My husband fell in love with her the second he saw her. Like many strays, we didn’t know her history though and the first two years she ran away every chance she got. It was almost as if she didn’t trust us to take care of her despite all our love. Then Christmas Eve of 1998, while walking in the woods with my husband and children, she stepped on a piece of glass and tore one of her pads on her front paw. The blood was incredible and my husband carried her for about half a mile home. We took her to the local vet hospital who sewed up her wounds and we spent the next two weeks carrying her up and down the stairs. It was at that moment that I think she realized that we truly loved her and would never let her down. From that moment, to the present, she has never left on her own accord, despite many chances (when the kids fail to lock the fence behind them).

Despite the fact that she is still afraid of sewers (we think she may have been thrown in one as a pup) and fire alarms, she is truly one of a kind. I urge everyone I meet who is contemplating owning a dog to go the local shelters where hundreds of loving, wonderful animals await a loving home. My recently retired mother-in-law, who volunteers at a local shelter brought home a retriever/hound mix, Molly, who has added to our extended family. I have many Patches stories to tell and will attach a picture on the next posting. Again, Mark, thank you for everything you do. My husband and I listen to you every night on WABC. Keep up the great work and I can’t wait for your book to come out. I have at least four people that I want to purchase it for, not including myself!!!

Yolande from New Jersey

I don’t have a dog story but I have a cat story. I know how you feel about Sprite. I had a black and white cat named Pepper when I was growing up. I was 7 when we got her and she was a kitten then. She was my best friend. She lived to be 18 years old. I was so sad when we had to euthenize her. When she got old, she developed Diabetes and mouth cancer. I had to feed her baby food the last few month of her life. She was a people cat. She was very loving and loved to lay in your lap. She gave me unconditional love. It must have been hard for you to write about Sprite without crying because it’s hard for me to write about Pepper without crying. I look forward to reading your book and I’m going to ask for it for Christmas. I lost my best friend about 10 years ago and it still makes me cry when I think about her.

Virginia from VA

This is Baxter, my 5 year old bassett hound. Baxter is an extremely loyal and faithful companion. He loves people (especially kids), other dogs and even our cat. He comes to work with every Friday. He is a hit wherever we go and he loves the attention. He loves Halloween as he gets to greet 200+ kids from our front porch. Did I mention that he is a chick magnet? Baxter rocks!

 Jim from Ohio

I live on a property outside of town here in Nevada. The owner has a dog, Dingo, which is
a mix of mainly Australian Healer. He is a tough dog, but he is old, 13 years. Recently,
he has gone both deaf and blind. It breaks my heart. Dingo and I have gone on walks nearly
everyday in the last 4 years. Sometimes I would take him on extended hikes in the high desert.
My last big hike took us to a canyon about 2 miles away. We crossed it at a relatively easy
spot and climbed up the opposite canyon wall to peak overlooking Washoe and Paradise valleys
near Reno. This rough and rocky terrain, difficult for me in boots and even tougher on
dog paws. But Dingo stuck with me. We rested at the top and I gave him some of my water.
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I became a bird owner quite by accident. The amazing thing is that I never realized how incredible these animals are! Do you know what is it like to roll over in the morning only to notice that your little cockatiel is snuggled right next to you? The minute he sees my eyes open I get greeted with the sweetest “HI” you’ve ever heard, and I swear that he’s smiling at me. When I came home after work I would see him in the window calling to me (yes, he knew my car) and when I got through the door he’d coming running to greet me with a big “HI” and then proceed to talk my ear off. My JR has since passed away in a very cruel fashion and it still hurts to this day to recall those moments, nearly 9 years ago. He introduced me to the amazing world of birds and showed me just how awesome God was in creating these perfect animals.

They are highly intellegent and very affectionate and I honestly don’t know what my life was before them. I thought was a dog and cat lover to the core, had no understanding at all about the amazing world of birds and now I can’t imagine my life without them. I had grown up with cats and dogs, all of whom we adopted (or they adopted us) and I find them to be very special too. I only wish more people could understand that birds are here for us too, just like our beloved dogs and cats. The one thing that is truely amazing is that for such little guys (or not so little in some cases) they live pretty long lives. My cockatiels will have an average life span of 20 years and my African Grey will be about 70! What is really incredible is that with each passing year they do get smarter and smarter, it’s a great thing to experience.

Thank you for letting me share, I miss my JR most of all but i know one day I will get to see him again, in the mean time I have more of God’s amazing creations to keep me smiling, learning and sharing .

Andrea from Hawaii

This is my dog, Dakota. He’s the light of everyday. He is always either sleeping, playing, or whining at your feet. He’s the best kind of annoying. It’s amazing how much you can love an animal, but I love Dakota like a brother. He is amazing.

Renee from IL