I just wanted to tell you a story about my little girl, a shelty shepard mix.  Her name is Pearl and she was a throw away.  A little over a year ago my youngest daughter almost hit a box on her way to high school, as she approched it she saw it move, she pulled to the shoulder of the road and checked the box and found a little puppy inside covered in oil.  She brought it to me and we have been so blessed with her love and devotion.  As a Jew I believe G-d smiles on those that help the difenceless and she was just that.

— James from Asheboro, NC

Hokey-Pokey

The latest spirit in our frayed family sneaked in on little cat paws.  Pokey was rescued from an abandoned barn, and was two-plus pounds of fluff.  The idea was to keep him at the farm where my daughter boarded a horse, but all was not well with Pokey.

Or me, either. At 59, I had lost my senior human resources job, was helping a dying aunt who had no children, and looking for my next job.  Not exactly the perfect conditions to welcome another lost soul — but who can resist a tiny cat with six toes, a white bib and serious medical issues?

Three years later, Pokey has gained ten pounds, despite seizures, a low thyroid and significant plumbing problems.  Daily, we shoot meds down his little kitty gullet.  Consequently, he is relatively healthy, but vulnerable.  Thanks to our vet, some feline specialists have consulted free of charge, as our cat is such a rare case. As one vet mused, “What if the Hokey Pokey is really what it’s all about?”

— Georgian from Wallingford, CT

My Blue Healer got ran over by a car she was just a pup 6 months old . This was my wife’s and my first fur kid in 2000. She worked as a firefighter and a EMT/IV tech at a chemical plant. She told all the guys at the fire Dept. how upset and sad I was ….One night they called me and told me to come to the plant they said they had something for me. I showed up and low and behold in the floor of their kitchen out crawled a basset hound pup out of a dog food bag…he tripped on his ears. I named him Jack after a friend.he was my best friend.then in Aug. 2012 he was diagnosed with cancer ( Interoperable ) The vet said he only had about a month to live . he was born on Nov.25th I prayed he would make it to see his 12th birth day . With cortisone and prayer he did he was happy and played. He  got up on the morning of DEC. 6 and was was in server pain so we made a final trip to the vet…..I couldn’t let my little buddy suffer . He was the best dog that ever owned me.

— Charlie from Fall Branch, TN

We recently had to put our baby girl Scout to sleep when we found out that she had abdominal lymphoma. She had been throwing up and having diarrhea for a couple of months and after $2,000 in vet bills, the ultrasound showed the cancer in her stomach and intestines. They were going to evaluate her for chemo but she was in so much pain and discomfort that we concluded it was time to give her some peace. It was the hardest thing my wife and I have ever had to do and almost a month later we both still cry almost every day when we think about her. She would have been four on 9/11/13 but died three weeks before her birthday. May she rest in peace.

— Lou from Spokane, WA

We had Nicki, our precious Yorkie for 11 1/2 years. She was still puppy like. Playful and loved to go!

She went out her doggie door to do her business on a Friday night and a coyote jumped the wall, grabbed her and was gone before we knew it. I am so heart broken I doubt I ever recover.

— Jo from Mesa, AZ

My husband and I have taken in stray cats and dogs all our years, and it broke our hearts every time one passed away or had to be put to sleep.

Morgan, out precious black lab was a joy to us.  She had been abused by her original owner.  When the breeder found out he took her away.  Our Lab, Jake had just died and Morgan came into our lives.  The breeder gave her to us and said to just love her.  She was four months old and so lovable, but we learned that she had some problems.  There was no way she would get into a vehicle, short of being lifted in, and she was petrified of noises, and very shy.

Morgan loved playing frisbee and was such a gentle soul.  She loved to be hugged and sleeping on our bed.  But she also found security in her crate.  She loved the three cats we had and they loved her.  She would step within a fingernail of them without hurting them, and they in turn would not move an inch.

Morgan had the saddest looking eyes and we often wondered why.  What had been done to her?  That mad us love her even more.  She lived a good life and gave us so much love.  She began having spells and  would go outside and hide under the deck. We had to gently talk to her until she came out.

Her favorite place to sleep was on our bed or in the living room next to the sofa.  On February 22, 2012, it appeared she was sleeping by the sofa.  I called her for breakfast and she didn’t come.  I turned to call her again, and I knew she was gone.  Sometimes I feel we didn’t do enough for our little girl who had been abused, but she knew we loved her and she loved us.

— Sandra from Southwick, MA