I saw her on the Internet. A special needs dog named Makayla. Her home was a kennel at a shelter in Tamarac, Florida. I ended up driving an hour and a half to see Makayla. At the time I couldn’t understand why I was so compelled to travel this distance for a dog.

Makayla’s special needs title was factored on her having only three legs. The only background information they had on her was that Miami Animal Control had found her and her dead puppies, the victim, they assumed, of an alligator attack or a more heinous crime left untold.

A few months later I would discover why she came into my life. I found out I had stage 3 breast cancer, a shock to say the least. I was up against a year of treatments, losing my hair, fertility and the life I knew. I now realize Makayla was there to show me that she had a resilience to bounce back from her past. She proved to me that you can go through any hardship and come out happy, and you have to find the strength to face any obstacle that comes your way.

Makayla has been with us for two years now. The joy that she brings to our lives reminds us that shelter dogs need to be saved, and in return they just migh save us!

T from FL

I wrote yesterday about the dogs I have had and lost growing up. I now feel compelled to write about the dog I almost had.
I am a teacher at a school that is set off by itself. In fact it and another school are the only buildings on the road. One day I looked out the window and saw an adorable dog wandering around our parking lot. I watched this dog for a while as students were being dropped off for breakfast. The dog would try to follow the students and would then follow the parents. When no one was in the parking lot she wandered around siffing at the garbage cans. I couldn’t figure out how the dog got there. Read the rest of this entry »

My dog’s name is Spankey he is a working dog for the deaf. I got him from international dogs for the deaf in Henderson co. Three months after Spankey came to live with us, I was taking a nap in my room my husband Todd had been working a lot of hours and had fallen a sleep on the couch I woke up to spankey doing his job he was worning me that the smoke alarm was going off. My husband was so tired he did not hear it and I am unable to here it. He got me up and my husband and we got out of our apt in time Spankey saved our lives that day.

Wanda from NV

We’ve had our cat Ole (pronounced Oh-Lee) for 14 years… he was rescued by one of our friends, her son sat in the snow in a tshirt and shorts for a couple of hours try to coax Ole to come to him… Our friend gave Ole to us cause she knew we were looking for a cat. We think Ole was abused by adults and children… he wouldn’t even come near me when we first got him. But over the last 14 years he has become part of our family. We laugh when he sleeps in all sorts of crazy positions on the couch, when he chases after absolutley nothing and then runs into the refrigerator. We laugh when I gently squeeze his tail and then he turns around suddenly just like The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz but brushes against my hand just before I squeeze the tail again. This week our vet told us Ole has cancer… and he has anywhere from a few weeks to a few months left… I don’t know how to deal with losing him… I don’t really have a good, clear memory of when he wasn’t in our house… I have Mark’s book… I actually bought a signed copy off the website… but I just can’t bring myself to read it yet. I don’t want to lose Ole… he is the first cat we’ve ever had for this long we’ve given cats away or they ran away… but Ole has been with us for 14 years… he is a part of the family… and we’re going to lose him… How do I get through this? How do I make it through? How do I go on after he’s gone? I don’t know that I can… I can’t stop thinking about him and about how much pain he is going to start going through and I don’t want him to suffer but I also can’t think of what it will be like to lose him. I don’t know how to get through this…

Robbie from TX

I have to admit that before this week, I had never heard of Mark Levin. We had a huge ice storm here in Ohio last week that knocked out power to over 70,000 people. I am a teacher and school was cancelled. I decided to head out to the store and find something to do (and keep warm). I got my daughter a coloring book and decided to get a book for myself. The last book I read was Marley and Me. It too is about a dog and I was still in the mood for a feel good book like that one. Rescuing Sprite caught my eye. There was something about that face on the cover that made me want to buy it and read it. It took me almost 2 days and a box of tissues to get through it.
I have always had a dog. We got our beagle, Mickie, before I was born. According to my parents she was quite the pain but I don’t remember that at all. I loved her. She was hit by a car one night when I was in the 6th grade. I was devastated. My other childhood dog, Jet looked a lot like Pepsi. She was part irish setter part black lab. She was a black irish setter. She was the sweetest thing. She was the favorite. One day when I was 14. I let her outside before school. She didn’t come back. Read the rest of this entry »

My cousin bought me Mark’s book for Christmas 2007. At the time, I could not read it because I was right in the middle of the “watch” for the time when my beloved Gerry Lee would have to be put down. It’s been six weeks; I picked up Mark’s book last night and read it in two hours. It was so hard to read. As I read about the torture of he and his family losing Sprite, I lost Gerry Lee again. Reading the book was very cathartic and was a blessing to me. I am so grateful to Mark for writing the book and for sharing Sprite’s story with dog lovers all over the world.

Joy from GA