We adopted our second Rat Terrier, Angie, back in September of 2009 from a RT rescue. It was my idea to get a second “Rattie” as a playmate for Chupa, our first RT we got as a puppy locally for our daughters 16th birthday. My wife wasn’t too hot on the idea, but when she saw a picture of Angie on the website, she fell in love. Angie was the second worst case of animal abuse they had seen at the rescue. I don’t have any idea what torture she went through, but we do know she was dropped off and left in a cage after hours at a California dog pound.
We went ahead and took a chance on her, so we made the trip from Washington to central California to bring our new family member home. This little dog has made a miraculous recovery from her past abuse in the years and four months since she came home to be part of our clan.
She is clearly my wife’s dog, but every night when we go to bed, Angie comes over to my side of the bed and just looks at me for the longest time, as if she knew it was me that picked her out for a second chance and is saying thank you.

— Kevin & Cassie from Vancouver, WA

This past August, one week past my birthday I had to say good bye to my beloved Misty.  Misty was a 13 year old greyhound.  She was the best.  After her racing career she was taken back to her farm in Kansas and had many babies, 21 over the years.  The guys who handled her on the farm told me she was the best ever brood mom, they let her keep her babies longer.

She brought so much joy to me.  She protected me and my cats, she loved being around the cats and she would let them know when they were being naughty,lol.  One very humid morning in August two years ago, when we were walking, she decided to go a different route, which was fine by me.  Now, being a greyhound, she is a sight hound and can see much further then people, she pulled me into a busy street, jogging up a hilly, busy street on the double yellow line.  As we got closer I saw what I thought was a small white bag, I thought your running after a bag, but as we get closer it was a small white kitten, I picked the kitten up and Misty was so proud, her tail waging and teeth chattering, as we went home.  My dog saved this kitten’s life, according to my vet, the kitten would have died within the hour.  It was like Misty knew that a kitten needed help.

Well, the kitten, Caspurr is doing well, he is a 12 pounds,beautiful all white cat with blue eyes, not deaf, winning cat shows, my sister and her husband are proud owners of their champ, thanks to Misty changing her walking route that humid August morning.

I had no idea that my baby girl was suffering from bone cancer.  We still walked every day, not as fast or long, which I figured, she is 13, she still was eating, but resting more.  On that horrible morning which I will never forget, she wanted to go for her walk, once outside, she turned, fell to the ground, screaming, her front right leg snapped, I got her into my car and off to my vet.  My vet, Dr. Bill Bensen, who is a greyhound specialist, took x-rays and told me that she was suffering from cancer in both her front legs and it had spred to her lungs, I was in total shock, I had no idea, she hid it from me so well, I had to let her go.  I cried for days and I still do.

— Patricia from Windsor Mill, MD

As a veterinarian, Lisa Campbell has comforted hundreds of dog owners over the last 13 years as they make the painful decision to put their pet to sleep.  But who comforts the vet when it is time to say goodbye to her own dog?

Sitting alone at a table in a little restaurant near her home recently, Campbell writes a love letter to Carni, letting her dog know just how much the last 17 years have meant to her.

People stared at her because she was crying, but she didn’t care. The veterinarian had to comfort herself.

“One of the saddest things people say to me is `at the end of the day it’s just a dog.’ In the heartbreaking days and nights before I put my beloved Carni girl to sleep, I thought a lot about what `just a dog’ meant to me.”

This is what she wrote.

“To my sweet Carni: Because you are `just a dog’ you never learned to hold a grudge. You never complained when I hauled you back and forth between California, Oregon, Washington, Oregon and California again. You were happy as long as you were with me and we played Frisbee at all the rest stops.

“Because you are `just a dog’ you never learned anger. You just curled up next to me when we had to sleep in the car because we were `between homes.’ It was cold and snowy those few nights, but you kept me warm in the back of that Isuzu Trooper.

“Because you are `just a dog’ you only knew how to live in the
moment. You swam with abandon in every lake, river, ocean and stream from here to Washington. And even made me go in after you with my clothes on, to the delight of everyone watching on the shore.

“Because you are `just a dog’ you loved me every single second of every single hour of every single day of your almost 17 years. You taught me that we only need three things in life – food, shelter and love.

And that is what I gave you, and you gave me your heart. You gave me joy, you gave me love. And because you are my oldest friend, I am giving you peace.

“Because you are a light that has guided me through almost half my life I won’t watch you just `exist.’ You have put me first for 17 years and now because you are `just a dog’ and my best friend, I am putting you first.

“Your quality of life is more important than the heartache I will forever feel when you are gone. You are more important than the piece of me that will forever be missing when I can’t see your sweet face or watch your tail wag at the sight of me.

“Because, at the end of MY day – just a dog named Carni was all I ever needed. I love you, Carni girl.”

Beautiful.

The veterinarian finishes her love letter, wipes away the tears, and heads off to work at the Camarillo Animal Shelter before ending her day at the Valley Veterinary Clinic Charitable Non Profit, a low cost spay neuter facility in Simi Valley.

Campbell already knows what her day will be like. They are all becoming the same. More people dropping off their pets because they can’t – or don’t want to – keep them anymore.

“It’s worse now than any time in the last 13 years I’ve been a veterinarian,” she says. “These are pets, not strays. They’ve lived in comfy homes, and now they are being dropped off with strangers.

“When I hear people say ‘It’s just a dog’ I want to tell them they’ve come to the wrong person. It’s not just a dog.”

— Steve from Porter Ranch, CA

My best friend for 15 1/2 years, Frank, a dachshund died on Halloween last year (2010). I met Frank at what was likely a puppy mill breeder but I was drawn to him for his curiosity and enthusiasm. These qualities remained throughout his life.

Frank and I spent most days and nights together over those 15 years. I traveled with him back and forth from California to Montana throughout the late 90s and early 2000s. His favorite riding spot was on my shoulders as I drove the truck over the roads.

I was fortunate to have Frank commute with me to work and spend days in the office with me. He was a comfort to my patients and they have remembered him fondly since his death.

Frank enjoyed good health for most of his life. He did have Cushing’s disease and one cataract, but was not slowed by these conditions. Near the end of his life he did suffer a couple of minor seizures. On Halloween evening, he greeted neighborhood kids at the door with his friendly bark. Suddenly, while sitting with me on the couch, snacking on chicken, he went into respiratory distress and seemed to be experiencing another minor seizure. My wife and I rushed him to the emergency veterinary clinic, not with the expectation of recovery, but with the intent to relieve him from his distress and let him go comfortably. On the way to the clinic, he rode in my wife’s lap, next to me. Suddenly he leaped from her arms and struggled to get up on my shoulders. I helped him up and gave him a comforting word. He took 5 or 6 gasps, then died on my shoulder.  I feel that Frank chose his place to die, a place of safety and comfort for so many years.

I know I gave Frank a good life, and he repaid me many times over. I am ever grateful that he chose to be my pet. I shall never forget him.

— Michael from Half Moon Bay, CA

We had to put our Daisy down in August. She was 14.5 yrs old, was a rot mix. She had hip dysplasia for about 10 years but did well on Rimadyl. Abruptly, her back legs began to go out from under her and we had to help her get back on her feet. The vet did a procedure (PRP injections) which helped a couple of days. He added a couple more meds which helped a couple of days only. Finally, she could not stand up long enough to eat or toilet herself, and we had to let her go.  We buried her in her favorite corner of our back yard. For 33 years of our marriage, we have always had at least one dog. I could not stand NOT having a dog. So, 3 days after Daisy left us, we went to the Animal Services of our county and chose 2 dogs to adopt: A 10 month old Rot mix, Mandy, who really resembles Daisy, and a 2 year old male Matlese mix: Percy.  While I still get sad about Daisy, reallly cumulative sadness over all the pets lost through the years, it has helped me tremendously to have 2 new dogs to love.

— Cindy from Ft. Myers, FL

I am fond of dachshunds. After leaving the active Army, I got 3 to keep each other company while I was away working.
For some reason, Fritz suffered some of the same tragedies I suffered in my life, like me usually lucking out. I was run over by a drunk on my motorcycle and survived relatively unharmed due to highway bars holding the car over me. Fritz got run over by a fast moving car and was so low that he was only rolled and survived unharmed. I was drowned as a child and rescued just in time. Fritz fell through ice in a lake and I rescued him (recklessly risking my own). Fritz hurt his back escaping a fire that burned me. He was one of the rare recovery cases as was I.
Fritz loved his ball. I resolved to play fetch with him once to see if it was possible to tire him. We played for hours and hours-he won.
Some people could not imagine themselves getting such an unusual looking dog. You have to have a dachshund to know what great dogs they are. I would have never guessed if someone else had not influenced me to get one. Once they have one, many people never want another breed.

— Brent from Defiance, OH