During our married life, we have had many wonderful pets, most of whom were rescued. As each one passed away, our hearts were broken, but the loss of our German Shepherd, Sheba, was the hardest loss of all. She was very special and came to us in a very special way.

Sheba lived next door to a very precious lady friend who was in my Bible Study group. Every week Elsie would come to Bible Study and ask all the ladies to please pray for the dog next door. She had told us that her neighbor, a former Army dog trainer, was in the process of a divorce, and wasn’t spending much time at home. To “get back” at her husband, the dog was being abused by the wife and was being kept tied on a very short chain. She couldn’t get to her food or water, and was forced to lie in her own feces. Elsie would sneak over under cover of darkness and feed and water Sheba, clean her up, and then sit with her for hours at a time in the dark. So, every Wednesday the Bible Study ladies would pray. . . pray that Sheba’s chain would not get tangled up, pray that the bees would not sting her, pray that Elsie wouldn’t get caught in the yard, etc.

Then one week Elsie said that she couldn’t take it any more. She asked that we pray that the owner would come to her and say, “Elsie, if you can find a good home for Sheba, I’ll give her away.” We all thought that this was a little bit much to ask for since this Army dog trainer had spent many hours training Sheba, but Elsie insisted that we pray to that end. Well. . . the next week Elsie came in beaming! She said that the owner had come to her door the night before and said, “Elsie, if you can find a good home for Sheba, I’ll let her go.” She asked that we pray that “someone” would be willing to take Sheba. Read the rest of this entry »

She was more than a Springer Spaniel – she was my navigator- always at the bow of the boat. She loved to fish, and put her head under water looking for them. The air bubbles looked like a diver donw there. She listened to everything I had to say, and a little wag of the tail meant she understood.

It was 2 years in May since I lost \”Pokie\”. A cross in the back yard marks her final resting place, but she will forever be in our hearts. I\’ll never forget my friend and partner. I miss her as if it were yesterday.Good bye Pokie. Your spot in the bow of our boat is still yours. It will be there. We love you.

Capt. Jim from FL

A friend of mine sent me your book about Sprite after I lost my golden retrieve, Tucker. I couldn’t read it for months because I “knew” where it was going.

Finally, I got myself together and read the book. Tucker was such a prince. He saw me through an awful divorce. My husband of 34 years sent divorce papers to the front door 5 years ago a few days before Christmas. There were so many nights that just cuddling up with Tuck on the floor of my bedroom was the only thing that got me through the ordeal.

When Tucker was diagnosed with cancer, I was heartbroken. He was so much braver than I was and the day I had to put him down, I knew he was grateful to be released from his pain and was so forgiving for what I had to do for him.. The second anniversary of his death is coming soon…Dec. 1st and I still miss my boy. Thanks for letting me share my story with you, the way you shared your family’s experience with Sprite with so many of us.

Karen from NV

Mark,
I want to thank you for your wonderful book “Rescuing Sprite”.
I’m 46 years young, and have had a dog in my family pretty much all my life. Last week ( on Nov. 13, 2008) I had to put my Brittany Spaniel, Gunner, to sleep. He was exactly 2 months from his 14th birthday. The picture I’ve sent was taken about 2 weeks ago, and it shows Gunner relaxing with some of his favorite toys. I stopped in at my house from a job site ( I’m a self-employed electrician, maybe Jerry the wire nut?) and discovered that Gunner had started having seizures. He had 3 major seizures in less than an hour, and I held and tried to comfort him while all this was happening. I knew I was losing him, and had to wait almost an hour before my wife could get home and be able to drive me and Gunner to our Vet. I didn’t want to leave his side, as I knew that HE knew I was there with him.
Dogs are the buddies we have when the rest of the world seems to be so crazy and out-of-control.
Thank you for the thoughtful writing in “Sprite”. I bought a pre-ordered copy on Amazon when it was announced for sale, then I bought an autographed copy when they became available. Outside of the fact that I enjoy you writings (I bought, read, and love Men In Black), I knew it was only a matter of time that I’d have to face with Gunner what you experienced with Sprite.
I was just about to re-read the book when the reality came last week.
Just knowing that someone like you are able to express from your perspective, the way I feel about my best friends, helped me prepare for the inevitable.
My wife and I are holding our 12 year old Springer Spaniel a little tighter, and want to thank you again for a place to share.
God bless you my friend, and here’s to many more years of continued success, and lots of furry friends!!!!

Jerry from PA

T-Bone is Bulldog that is about three years old. I rescued him from a ranch out east from El Paso, TX. This \”Ranch\” hosts dog fights on a monthly basis and on its grounds lay remnants of a bloody nightmare. Skulls and bones riddle the land scape.

When I first arrived there it seemed surreal. I saw many dogs locked up and changed along w/ a horse. I noticed T-Bone was chained to the ground w/ no shade or water. He was very skinny and dehydrated, his nose was cracked and had many cuts and bruises around his body. This made me extremely upset and I told the the owner of the place I was taking the bulldog, he said to go ahead but they lost the key to the lock around the neck. I left and came back w/ bolt cutters and freed him, but as I did T-Bone attacked the horse and a big fight started. They wanted to shoot T-Bone but did not in fear of shooting the horse.

T-Bone and the horse were bloody but the horse won once the horse kicked him in the face and he flew back. I tackled the dog before anyone could take a shot on him. I picked him up and took him home. His face and ear were cut and was unable to put any pressure on his front left leg. I live a very modest life but I scraped up the $1200 needed for tests, xrays, surgeries etc. I am proud to say that when I got T-Bone he was only 65 lbs. and now he is a healthy 85 lbs. He is the most gently dog I have ever met. He is wonderful w/ my daughter and my wife. He is even potty trained lol.

There is so much more to this story and detail but I dont bother to bore you w/ a book. But I do want to say Thank you sir for who you are and what you are doing. Luis A. Loya former Airforce Airman current Texas Guard

Albert from TX

I must admit that writing this is an attempt to deal with and think through my thoughts and emotions.   This is so difficult.  Tomorrow my dog Sasha of almost 18 years will be put to rest.  Sasha is an Akita / German Shepard that I found at the ASPCA in New York.  I love Sasha more than most things in life and she has brought me joy, companionship and unconditional love to last a life time.

Unfortunately a combination of factors including her hind legs are all but gone, she has lost her hearing, she can not control her pee or pooping and we often find her sitting in her stuff because she can get up. Her quality of life is not good and the visit on Monday to our vet confirmed my biggest fears, that its time.  It is very hard to believe that this is the right thing to do for her. Knowing that her physical presence will be removed from my life for ever is unbearable to me, but those are my selfish emotions and it’s unfair to Sasha to think that way. Yes I will always have the memories but today as I write this, that doesn’t help me.

Mark, I thank you for providing an outlet for dog lovers to share these very difficult times and situations with others.  I hope this starts to bring some closure. My wife and I are going away for a few days to deal with our emotions, and look at our relationship and how this difficult time can bring us closer together. I will most likely have another dog in the future but I have learned that as dog owners we owe it to them to make sure we provide quality of life, which may include proper training, proper diet, enough exercise and so on. I say this because this is our responsibility and of course THEY DESERVE IT.

Once again, THANK YOU.
Warm Regards,

Adam from NY