Mark – Love your program. I am 66 years old and had to “put down” my Jessie yesterday. One of the toughest events in my life. I did get her to 16 1/2 years old. Not bad for a baby dog – a true mutt- rescued just be fore she was to be drowned. I’m devastated. I couldn’t read your book before, because I knew what was coming. I will do it now. I miss her!

Best always
Roger from VA- retired USAF

Dear Mark:
About a week or two ago I submitted a story to your website about our family pet, a Boston terrier named Teakup. Afflicted with Hemolytic Anemia in 2003 this was a dog that without the care of a great vet and lifelong drug therapy would have died five years ago. We had to put him to down today. We had seen him getting weaker and weaker over the past few weeks after a recent fall down a few steps. He fell because he had bone cancer on his right leg, could not support his weight well, and was unable to climb the steps in the usual way because the bone between his knee and ankle had become deformed. My wife blames herself for not carrying him that night, but it would have only allowed him to live a little longer in great pain. The bone cancer had spread to his lungs and was metastasizing in ball sized tumors. Our vet explained that he had only one or two more months to live and while we could give him additional drugs there was no guarantee that it would relieve the pain that would only increase as he neared the end.

Teakup was a dog that despite his own illnesses, and the great pain he had been in recently was always there to greet you when you came home. He was always ready to sit on your lap when you wanted to take a nap, or take a walk if you were so disposed. And he was always ready to lick your face when you were sad or cuddle with you if that was what you needed. We said goodbye for the last time today. It will be odd to not see him searching the house for a spot to lay down where the sun was strong and pouring through the windows. That was his favorite pastime. He was our sunlight and we will miss him very much.

George, Karen and Kristen from NY

My cat is psychic. His name is Hercules and he knows when I am low. In bad times I used to think to myself that I wished I had someone to just put their arms around me and lo and behold, that is when Hercules does his thing….he puts his arms around my neck and sits as close to me as he can. Sometimes I wake up and his head is buried in my hair and his kitty arms are around my neck. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night, he always has his arms out to hold me. We lost his “cat brother”, Zeus, of 19 years not long ago, another wonder animal for sure. Since then we put eachothers’ arms around eachother. He never put his arms around me until Zeus passed on to his reward. Now we comfort each other. If I could I would have thousands of cats, they are very much God’s creatures, but alas I am just one woman so I donate to cat causes (and dog causes) which is all I can do. Pets are not only our “fellow prisoners of earth, but our equals in love and care.

Wendy from CA

One christmas my mom and brother were finally interested in buying a dog for the family. Christmas day the 3 of us went to a breeders home where we all soon fell in love with our new 6week old Boxer, Maximus.
He was such an amazing dog from the start. he always listened and got along great with my labrador, Lexy. They always had to be the center of attention around everyone, but still loved being in each others company.

In August of 2007, a tragic accident occured.
i woke up to my mom screaming at the top of her lungs. i knew something was wrong and my brother and i darted out of our bedrooms.
After that moment, everything felt like a slow-motion scene in a movie.
we ran to the backyard to find our poor Maximus had fell in the pool and couldnt find a way out.
That day crushed all of our family! it was so difficult to not refer back to him in our memories and just want to be with him all over again. He was only 2 when he died and we were not given enough time with him at all!

Now we have lived on that experience and grown from it. Recently we added the new addition to our family, also a 6week old fawn boxer, Leonidas.
He is our new pride and joy. Obviously he cant live up to Maximus’ great love, but he can create his own place for himself in all of our hearts, just like Maximus did.
thanks so much.
your book was amazing and i read it over and over again.
Danielle from TX

I loved Mark’s book – I read it Saturday so everything is still very fresh. I wanted to “Thank-you” for sharing this wonderful story. A couple of times the book suggested maybe no-one would care to hear this- not only was I thrilled over your book I am envious of your ability to LOVE so strong. Not everyone is so lucky. God Bless you and all dog lovers. Your book will save another dog from dying lonely.
Lynn from IL

On March 14 2008 my wife and I had to put our dog, Shadow to sleep. A week before he had eaten snail bait(extremely toxic) in our yard, placed there by our gardener, unbeknownst to us. He became very ill, at which point we rushed him to the emergency vet. hospital. They knew what it was immediately and treated him accordingly. He stayed over night and appeared to be fine. Unfortunately, the next week he became very ill and we rushed him aback to the vet. hospital, where he was for 4 days. All his organs began to fail, he lost the ability to make red blood cells. They gave him transfusions, gamma globulin and everything they could think of, to help him make it. It was to no avail. It was one of the hardest things in my life to do, to tell the vet. to end his life. My wife and I and our two daughters who are grown up and live in L.A, and have three dogs themselves, have been mourning ever since. My life feels so empty. A dear friend gave us Mark’s book and I just finished reading it. I cried over and over again.It had a profound effect on me in my healing process. I just want to thank Mark for his openness in sharing with us, a piece of his soul that all too often no one ever does. It was one of the few books I’ve ever read that actually touched a part of me so deeply. I’m very happy that he didn’t stop the book project. I’m buying two copies of the book and I’m sending them to my daughters. I know it will do the same for them as it did for me.

Ken from FL