Dear Mark,
My family and I own a 12 year old mix named Lexi. She has been such a blessing in our lives. When I first moved to Florida, I knew no one and was extremely homesick. I found Lexi, a puppy then, at a school where I was teaching. I brought her home and she quickly became a part of the family. She helped me through some pretty tough times. Lexi has been very sick recently with kidney failure and a rare muscle disease. We have been doing everything in our power to care for her illness and keep her comfortable. We realize she doesn\’t have much time and we have all agreed that we will not let her suffer. I picked up your book, Rescuing Sprite, and read it all in one sitting.
Although I cried all the way through it, I am so glad I read it. It has helped me to see this experience in a different light. I\’ve realized that we\’ve given Lexi all the love we could and she has done the same for us. I\’ll always cherish the time I\’ve had with her and never ever forget the joy she has brought to my family. I\’m not going to lie, it\’s going to be tough when the time comes. We\’re really going to be hurting, but we\’ve decided as a family that we\’ll always have a dog. I can\’t imagine my life without one. There are so many amazing animals that need love and someone to care for them. After the greater part of the pain subsides(it will never completely go away, as you know), we\’ll open our hearts up all over again!
Thanks for your inspirational book.
Angela from FL
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In 1999, following a separation from my husband, I promised a dog to my ten, nine year old daughter. Since I was employed full-time and she was in school, I insisted we adopt a housebroken dog from a shelter. For some reason, she had decided upon a husky as the breed of choice. Having always had a dog in my life, I was receptive to acquiring one, but did not know anything about the temperament of the breed. I suggested we go onto the website of a well known animal organization in the area, PAWS. Several co-workers, in past years, had adopted healthy, pure bred dogs from this shelter.
The first dog that appeared on their roster was Aspen, a siberian husky. Immediately, my daughter exclaimed that was the dog! We contacted the shelter and after jumping through hoops, interviews, and a home visit, we came home with Aspen. We were told at the time Aspen was approx one and half years. We have had her ever since. She has helped me through my divorce, through the loss of jobs, through catastrophic illness, and has always been there for me with a smile on her face and at the ready with a kiss. She has been the biggest blessing in my life next to my daughter.
In the past two years, I moved into a pre-war apartment building, third floor. In Sept 2007, I left for work one rainy day, as always. Around 11 am, I receive a frantic call from my upstairs neighbor, a nurse, that Aspen fell out the window to the asphalt driveway below (approx the equivalent of 4 stories). She scooped the dog up with the aide of a male neighbor and rushed her to a local vet. When I arrived at the veterinary hospital, I was told the dog survived with 2 broken teeth and bad bruises, but no broken bones or internal injuries.
Aspen has completely recovered (minus the loss of 2 teeth!) and has returned to her normal, loving, active self. It was a miracle she survived. After reading Mark’s book, Rescuing Sprite, I dread the time when she becomes ill as a result of age and the end draws near. I can’t express enough how much I identified with Mark’s emotions and deep love for his dogs. They are truly a gift bestowed upon us.
Jeanne from NY
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I am so sorry for your family’s loss. Awhile back, I read “Marley and Me” and cried so hard I couldn’t even talk when my husband came around asking what was wrong. I vowed to avoid any more dog stories with a sad ending. But, when I saw Sprite’s face on the cover of your book at the library last week, I couldn’t resist – he had the same beautiful eyes that our dog has. So once again, my heart broke reading about someone else’s lost love.
Dogs are amazing, and I’m sure whatever I say will only be a repeat of what many people have already written you. I believe God put dogs here on earth as am extension of himself and a way to give man the peace, comfort and love that He also showers on us. There is absolutely nothing more beautiful than those deep, soulful eyes staring straight back at you when you hold your doggie’s head on your hands. Our blue beagle, Dakota, is 7 years old and is extremely headstrong but loving and devoted. I don’t even want to imagine our home without him.
I’m still recovering from the loss of my childhood friends – Shep (died at the age of 16 when I was in grade school), Max and Chubs (died during my college years)..their losses still manage to choke me up and I too have doubts and regrets about what my family could have done to prevent their deaths. It never goes away, but then again, that’s what life is about…..loving and losing, then loving and losing some more. I have no doubt that “Doggie Heaven” is connected to our heaven…..and when we pass, our silly doggies will be waiting for us with their goofy smiles on their faces, tails going like crazy!
Colleen from KS
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Dear Mark, It is 12:51 PM on Monday, 11/17/08. I am waiting to take my precious Annabelle to her last appointment with our vet at 3:10. Since June, we have noticed Annabelle’s odd behavior. She started walking with her head drooped. She can hardly stand up without falling down. She can only walk if we have her on a leash to keep her upright… On top of incontinence, thyroid issues, giardia and arthritis, she has suffered the embarrassment of wetting and vomiting on herself!
We have tried and tried to restore our Annabelle to the quality of life she enjoyed a few short months ago… We just knew that she would bounce back if we would do “this treatment” ~or~ “that treatment”! She has not eaten in four days. It is obvious that her precious body is shutting down… The only reason she is still with us today is because our vet was closed for the weekend, and there was absolutely, positively NO WAY that we would take her to a stranger for her last appointment! We have enjoyed our precious Annabelle since we flew her down to Houston from Syracuse, NY in January, 1995. She was only a few weeks old. So many people told me, and I have read, that we will know when it is time to let her go… Read the rest of this entry »
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Hi Mark….
I had read your book about Sprite even before getting my little rescued doggy, Taffy. The organization that we got her from lied to us about so many things. The biggest being that she was totally healthy. We got her Jan of \’08 and she went to Heaven this past Saturday (11-15-08). She was sick when we got her. To this day we have no vet records that were requested. She was such a wonderful dog. Got along great with our existing dog, our cat and even thought she was mommy to one of our guinea pigs.
From the get go she and I had a bond. I deal with depression and stress. So we were helping each other along the way. She had Pulmonary Fibrosis which is a build up of scar tissue in her lungs and bronchi. She just couldn\’t breath at the end there. She was still happy and still just wanted to be with mommy but for very short time periods then had to lay down. It just wasn\’t fair to her to allow her to go through what she was going through. Read the rest of this entry »
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I wrote a cookbook for dogs entitled THREE WHITE DOGS COOKBOOK. I was recovering from cancer and in researching this disease, I discovered that cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs today. I have been making my own dog food for years and my Bichon Frise lived to be 22.
I compiled my recipes into a fun book also filled with dog jokes, sayings, trivia, astrology, and much more. I am donating a portion of the proceeds of the ibook to the National Canine Cancer Foundation for their research in the cure of this deadly disease.
P.J. from AZ
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