I read Rescuing Sprite when it was released and laughed and wept all through it.  Didn’t know I would be saying goodbye to my 9 1/2 year old German Shepherd Dog (Maximillian vom Osterburg) six months later.  He died withing a couple hours of Cardio Myapathy.  We returned home from watching my daughter win her first State Championship with her High School Soccer team and looking forward to a great Fathers day the following day.  Max had other plans.  His heart just gave out.  We checked on him every hour all night long.  I was planning on taking him to the Vet in the morning, he seemed OK, just breathing slowly.  I fell asleep and woke up an hour later and he was gone.  He was laying in our walk in closet (he went there during thunderstorms)  The Vet told me there was nothing I could do.  His heart was slowly shutting down.  He assured me just laying with him was the only thing to do. Dogs hearts are different he told me.  I’ll say, they live for our scraps, are so fully devoted and will do anything for us.  This is by far the best deal man has ever made.  We had Max cremated and buried him under his favorite tree where he would often lay and watch the deer in our back field.  Within two weeks my daughter (the soccer player) and I drove 600 miles round trip to a town south of Indianapolis to pick our new German Shepherd Dog (Lucy vom Kriegershaus).  She is such a lover and companion but there isn’t a day that goes by I don’t think of Max

— Todd from Kalamazoo, MI

I am an avid cat lover (sorry Mark). I have 4 cats that I am very attached to.

The one I had to put down 8 years ago, was the one I will never forget. Buckwheat was a beautiful all black cat that I am pretty sure had some Siamese in him. He was so very intelligent. He understood everything I told him and did whatever I asked of him….sometimes willingly…sometimes not so much.

He had a heart murmur all of his life. I treated it w/ medicine but when he was a month shy of his 14th birthday, he threw a clot. He lost feeling and control from his waste down. There was nothing the vet could do and very unexpectedly, without warning I was by myself having to put my beloved baby down. It will be 8 years this October and I still miss him and have some moments of severe grief.

I really got the agony that you, Mark, went through with Sprite (I just finished the book). I don’t know whether quick and unexpected is better than time to say goodbye but either way it is painful.

I believe that Buckwheat is waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge with all the other beloved pets I (and others) have lost and when it is my time, I will meet them there and we will cross over the bridge to the Pearly Gates together. This is a great comfort to me.

In the meantime, I am raising 4 other Kitty Kids and loving every minute. Even when I am threatening them to sell them to the Gypsies for free!

— Chris from Indianapolis, IN

Chrissie has been a part of our family for over 17 years. Chrissie has added so much to our lives. Chrissie is not a good pet. She is a wonderful pet.

Chrissie grew up with our two children who are now in their 20s.. Both were young when we got her.

Anatole France said, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of on”s soul remains unawakened.” I firmly believe this. Pets enrich our lives in ways that are hard to explain and in some ways are mystical.

There are so many wonderful memories of Chrissie.One of the early memories of Chrissie that illustrates her sweet nature was when she was probably a year old. One weekend morning, my wife, JoAnne came in from the backyard holding two baby birds. Chrissie was following JoAnne as she showed me these delicate creatures. She told me that Chrissie had come to her with the baby birds in her mouth unharmed. Apparently they had fallen out of their nest onto the ground and Chrissie had picked them up and taken them to JoAnne.

By the way, we took them to our vet who called one of the bird rescue organizations.

Chrissie never met a ball that wasn’t hers. When I was playing golf regularly, I would practice hitting golf balls in the yard with plastic golf balls. I would hit and Chrissie would run to the ball, get it and take it to a designated spot. Another hit and the same thing. I ran out of balls as she accumulated them for herself. Her favorite toy was a short rope tied in knots at both ends. We would throw it but she would never bring it back. She loved having us yank her around with the chew toy firmly in her mouth.A soft playful growl could be heard as we played.

In her later years,she had seizures,developed cataracts,lost her hearing, and walked slower because of some back problems. However, none of those things seemed to affect her or her personality.

Fortunately we were able to control her seizures with phenobarbitol. And like most Cockers, she was always getting ear infections.

We would get medicine from the vet and JoAnne would lovingly clean her ears to help prevent the infections.

After each cleaning, she would give JoAnne a kiss and head to the kitchen for her treat for being such a good patient.

This happened after baths also. It was a well established routine.

Whenever we leave the house, she is always at the window watching us.

When we arrive back, she is always at the window watching for us and then  greeting us at the door.

I have always feared looking in the window and not seeing her face.

There will never be another Chrissie and we cherish the time we still have with her.

–Walt from Tallahassee, FL

Today I buried my beloved Patches. I held her in my arms as she left her body and buried her under the evergreen trees. Patches seemed to understand English. She loved “Petting Station” and “Bye Bye Nite Nite” (she would climb on the bed and get her goodnight petting. A couple of times she rested her head in the palm of my hand and her little paw was on my wrist. She was a pastel tortie calico. I inherited her from her previous owner who rented a room in his home to me when I first arrived in OR. Like Asha of beloved memory she was a good cat and boon companion. She taught me a lot about interspecies communication and unconditional love.

— Karen from Florence, OR

I’ve been a fan for a long time, thank you for all that you do.

Tuesday, we lost our Maltese Pheebee, unexpectedly. She was 10 + years old, and for the past 2 years was unable to walk. So we became her legs. Although her body was broken, muscles deteriorated from some sort of neurological disorder, cancerous tumor on her back, and a tumor growing inside her, Pheebee was still boss of our home. She had more spirit and desire for life than most humans.

We are not sure how/why she passed, but my wife Donna and I are devistated…

I have your books. Funny, we always dreaded the day we’d have to make the big decision you had to with your little Sprite. And as it turned out Pheebee probably made that decision for us, in her own way.

— Chuck from Westlake, OH

Delila was our beloved cocker spaniel who passed this summer. She was my shadow. I never knew a friend more loving than she. When my grand-daughter was murdered, Delila was always there to give me the love I needed. It’s like she felt my heart and knew my sadness. She will always be in my heart. I truely loved her and I know she loved me. I miss her every day. Thank God for the gift of a friend in a sweet, little dog. They give us so much peace, kindness, joy, and love. Delila was my little love.

— Bonnie from Island Falls, ME