Although Mark Levin is known as a constitutional lawyer and a nationally syndicated broadcaster, he is, first and foremost, a dog lover. In 1998, he and his family welcomed a half-Border Collie/half-Cocker Spaniel they named Pepsi into their lives. Six years later, his wife and son persuaded him to adopt a dog from the local shelter, a Spaniel mix. It turned out he was older than originally thought, and he was the most beautiful dog they'd ever seen. They named him Sprite.
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Back in 2004 we adopted a husky named apache who had been abused and negglected. He was the best dog i ever owned in ’06 we had our son and from the time we brought him home Apache was very protective of him. Just before our sons 1 yr in Nov of 07 Apache was diagnosed with Blastomicosis and was treated but did over come the disease and in Feb of 08 died and i am still so upset about it and think about him everyday.
Sarah from ND
I rescued an american pitbull terrier in 1994 from a horrific situation, only intending to foster him until a good home was found. We immediately bonded. He opened up a whole new world for me. I volunteered with a pitbull rescue group and rallied with our local police to take the fighting of these dogs more seriously. Bronson, was my best friend. Despite the scars, he was kind, gentle, and loyal. I was fortunate to be a part of his world for five years. In April of 1999, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. With weekly chemo treatments, whole food and lots of love, he held on for five months. Sept. 21, 1999 was the day he left me and took with him a piece of me. I promised him that day that I would continue to educate people and rally to place good dogs of this breed in loving homes. A day does not pass that I do not think of him and now know that he had a mission somewhere else and needed to move on. I have since lost his partner and best friend, Lucy, to cancer last Feb. We use to refer to them as the bookends, because they were so similar in color and looks. Lucy was another pitbull rescue we adopted a year after Bronson. After Lucy\’s passing, I felt that all connections to Bronson were now gone. Your book is so touching and makes me realize that we truly have a spiritual connections with our canine family and we are so lucky to have been chosen to be a part of their very short lives. My resuce continues..As, yes, the grief is unbearable with the loss, however, the joy they bring is so great. I adopted another pitubll mix from the state of Georgia. She was a cruelty seizure and near death. She has truly flourished and fits in so well with our other two dogs. I have since placed many pitbulls in good homes through volunteering with local rescue groups.
And so my mission continues….
Stephanie from NY
Last year, I wrote my heartwrenching story of losing my miniature poodle, Rush Limbark, at age 18…he passed away at home, and my husband and myself were devastated. I wrote to you personally about how hard my husband was taking it, and you were gracious enough to write back.
I wanted to let you know that earlier this year, some purebred German Shepherds were removed from a home that was neglecting them…a pair of grown dogs, and several puppies. All of the dogs were in bad shape, but due to the magnificent work of our local ASPCA, they were saved. On the Friday before Mother’s Day, my sweet husband brought home one of the male puppies from this desperate family of dogs…He was a sweet, 6 week old puppy, needing a lot of extra care….happily, he is a 9 month old puppy, weighing 80 lbs,and happily chasing our two cats around the house, who actually love him dearly, and eat out of his bowl with him. His name is Stefan, but his nickname is “Snookums”.
He is the sweetest tempered dog I’ve ever known, and our vet loves him to pieces.
By letting my husband grieve, and not putting a time limit on either of us grieving, we were able to accept this needy little puppy into our home, and to love him as equally as we love our other pets. We will never forget Rush…in fact, my husband made a marker for his grave in our backyard…and it’s been quite a change from going from a dog that weighed about 15 lbs, to one that weighs 80 lbs at last count!
He is the love of our lives, and I can’t thank you enough for your sweet and caring personal note to me, when I was grieving so badly from the loss of Rush.
Thank you so much for all you do…and have done for our family.
Soon, Stefan will begin his training, a bit later than usual for a dog his size, but because of the special care he needled because of low weight, and the bad conditions he was living in, it was necessary to wait. Even though there are many things he needs to learn, he has learned so much just from the loving home he has now. I am disabled, and he has learned not to jump on me…in fact, he treats me as if I were made of cut glass! On the other hand, he jumps and leaps all over my husband, and during the summer, he learned to grab the hose from my husband, and chase him around the yard, spraying him and then giving it back so my husband could chase and spray HIM….
It’s been a loving, growing relationship, and our two cats learned early to treat the little sick puppy with special care…urging him to eat, by teasing him, and then gently cleaning him like his mother would have. They slept with him to keep him extra warm, and he loves them like small brothers and sisters….
Thank you, thank you, thank you….we have a special dog to love, an extra family member who loves us unconditionally, and we know we have saved a lovely life that otherwise might have been lost due to neglect.
We love him, and Stefan sends his best to you, for helping someone to save his life, because of you.
Barks, licks, and hugs….
Gabrielle and Salvador from CA
Just recently had to put my Greyhound Hershe to rest and my loving husband bought me this book and I just want to say Thank You! We had rescued her 5yrs ago and she was/is the best.Unforntately she past away without worning and it has been really hard to deal with because we were not expecting it,it’s been like someone just ripped our hearts out,but anyways Thank you.
Bronwen from FL
My dog archie the conservative boxer died yesterday my wife and i are completly devastated as we were very close to him thats all i can say now my eyes are still wet.
Grieving in FL
We had the most amazing Sheltie! Her name was Shasta. We got her from my brother when she was only a few months old. We had helped him choose the puppy a few weeks earlier. He called one day to ask if we wanted the dog because it was too stupid and untrainable. Within a few days, I knew who the stupid one was!
We took the puppy home and within a few hours had her sitting and laying down on command. After a few weeks she was perfectly trained and turned in to the smartest dog I had ever seen. When we would straighten up the house and collect her multitude of toys, we would place them in a paper grocery bag. We could ask her to go and retrieve any of her toys by name and she would do it. Her head would disappear in the bag and thrash around and before long she would proudly drop that toy at our feet.
We had friends and relatives who were amazed by her and frankly, would come to see the dog and not us.
She lived to the old age of 15 when we finally had to put her to sleep. It broke our hearts to make that final decision but knew it had to be done. I hurt so bad I swore I would never get another dog. 10 days later I went to the pound “just to look” and returned home with a sweet mut that had already been rejected twice and would have been put down shorlty. We have had her for about 8 years and we still marvel at how sweet and well behaved she is. How others could have abused her and rejected her I will never know.
Thanks for all you do Mr. Levin!
Mark from NV
