I have to say that my name isn’t important, but most people call me Sam. The names that are important, to me, were and are Bandit, Scarlett, Rascal, Habi, Ash, Rowan, Eureka, Yeowler, and Natasha aka. Weed. These names have brought more than light to my life, they have made my life. Bandit and Scarlett were my brother and sister; they were my best friends and they were my children. These two were the first dogs that I actually thought of as having part ownership in. They were Dalmatian-Labrador mixes and they came to my family from our next door neighbor. We got them when they were eight weeks old and had them till the day they died; Scarlett at thirteen years and Bandit at fifteen years. When Scarlett died, it hurt enough, but she was my father’s dog; the stereotypical Southern Man’s Hound-Dog. Bandit was my dog. He was since the day he came home. He slept with me, was the first one to see me when I woke up and was the first one to see me when I got home from school. When he passed, I thought a part of me had died with him. The more I thought about it the more I realized that a part of me did go with him. No matter what other animal I would have after he was gone, there would never be another Bandit. The day he passed, I was a school. I went to my teacher and told him I wasn’t going to be in class because I just found out my brother I died. A part of me told the lie because I knew this particular teacher wouldn’t have understood if I told him my dog died. But the best part of me, the part of me that wishes I could run in the forest free with my dogs, knew that when the words passed my lips it wasn’t a lie. I was telling the truth. My “brother” had died. My pack-mate had gone. After, I had a blue, bone-shaped dog tag made at Petsmart and it reads, “Bandit & Scarlett/ You will always be loved/ and you will be missed / Run wild, Run free.” I couldn’t think of a better way to put it then I did that day. Even now I have trouble finding a way to express what happened during that time. Thank you Mark for so eloquently putting into print the love a person has for a dog and the loyalty that both share.

Samantha from AR

I bough 2 books before Christmas, 1 for me and 1 for a gift. Sprite looks like our Murphy who died in 2005. His story parrellesl our Patsy, who died February, 2008.
LEARN, her rescue adoption agency posted a nice tribute to her. Link as follows: http://www.labadoption.org/linkpages/Tribute/Patsy.htm

It has been a month since she died and we are on the LEARN list for another rescue dog.. As you indicated in your book, these caring people do wonderful work.

Chuck from WI

Hello fellow animal lovers. As most of us here likely understand, these devine loving creatures we call pets, and even so called wild animals, add undeniable beauty to our world.

I’ve lost a number of pets throughout my 45 years here on earth… since the last loss, I’ve firmly depressed my pause button when it comes to my potential next committed adoption.

I would like to share something very real and miraculously wondrous with you all here. I have been quite involved with first hand experimental research pertaining to what is present within the complex sound frequencies of many animal’s voices…. I use many technical approaches, and computer editing software, along with my inherent sensitivities.

I have found that certain exceptional animals do indeed learn to speak in human language.. and I am NOT limiting this to the basic mimicking of ” I love you ” or some other such basic phrase the animal’s person has coached the animal to repeat.

I am saying that animals… many dogs, are able to produce short embedded phrases within their vocal sound frequencies, which very strongly suggest that they are projecting their thoughts and feelings verbally, much like we as humans do.

I have many evidential audio examples, and I’ve been trying to find other people who would help me put this to beneficial use… especially for the animals, though, for a devoted pet guardian to be presented with what the beloved animal wants and needs to have heard, this can offer glorious benefits to the human counter part as well.

I have learned that this seems to be frightening for some people, but I’d like to ask for this… if there are people coming by the great one’s website who are honestly interested in learning the truth about this phenomenon, and who might wish to help the cause of advancing this reality toward a deeply useful purpose… please do. Audio recording submissions of your vocal pet would be quite welcomed help. I am NOT asking for any fee or payment, this research is for discovering the blessed truth, and I do believe it’s for a higher purpose than entertainment ! Read the rest of this entry »

Dog is God spelled backwards my son pointed out while struggling through Prototype school up in New York 2002.
I adore dogs and animals in general. Dogs have been part of my emotional healing when I was a scraggly teenager and knew I was the last person to be noticed or respected in the high school years.
It was a dog who had been a reject. He had been returned to the breeder due to barking and aggression. (We never saw that in all the years we owned him.) Because he was a reject I knew we had a lot in common. I would have been called ADHD back in the 1950’s, if there is such a thing. I slept only 3 hours per day and was so active it drove my parents crazy. My mother literally gave up on me at age 2 1/2 years old. I grew up feeling as if I had very little to offer the community of family or at large.
King, a purebred Border Collie, had the heart of a champion and the love of God in his soul.
I would cry into his soft black hair and tell him how unfair life was.
King brought me through my teen years with some kind of strength. (I believe God gave this dog to us for me.)
When I left for college in October, 1966 my father would not allow me to go to King’s kennel to hug and kiss my best friend good by. The next month, while I was away at school, King was hit by a car in front of our farm. Even though it is 42 years since that magnificent animal left our circle I can still cry for what he left behind as a legacy to one teenage girl with a lot of “hang ups” and one SUPER dog named King.
I don’t cry very often, but King is still worth the tears that I sit here and shed in his memory.
I am writing a short story about King as there are so many things to tell about him. I hope to submit it to a magazine some day.
Thank you for sharing your inner pain, strength, and passion with those persons that you will never meet.
I for one thank you for your tenderness within your “Redwood” strength.

Ila from KS

My Ruby Tuesday—-Deep in the hills of Osage county lives a pit bull named Ruby Tuesday, she’s a real brownie. She was moaning through the fence in my neighbors yard, her feet were bloody, her body scarred.-So we took her to the vet to see what he could do.I said “How old is she?” He said “A year maybe two.” She was used for the fight ring , thats what the vet said.But I guess she’s got more fight than most cause, she’s not dead.She showed up on a Tuesday so thats part of her name, the other part is Ruby and mine is Jane.-Sometimes, I take her with me she knows just where to sit. She has trouble running cause she limps a bit.-Life is so uncertain with all the ups and downs, you look for a friend but one can’t be found. So I thank God for Ruby she’s always there for me, and I know there’s dogs in heaven thats how its got to be.-They say dogs have a human, someone they truly love, But, I say this human has a dog, sent from God above.

Thank-You

Janie from OK

Mark, I could not pass this book by when I saw it in the bookstore. That face goes right to the heart. Being a pet lover who has loved and lost – this book tore me up. I had my Maggie May for 16 years 2 months. I lost her a little over 3 years ago and I miss her still. She was 6 weeks old when I brought her home. A tiny little blond curly ball. She was a cocker spaniel. My constant companion – my child. She went on vacation with my husband and me, went to family events, and followed me everywhere except to work. When she reached the point when she could not travel I was choosy who kept her, always worried about her. Losing her was devistating. My blessed dog . She gave me so much joy. I have been through illnesses and diseases with my pets, like congestive heart failure, cancer, AIDS, and currently my 6 year old Jack-Russell (Spike) is battling Lupus disease. But loving my cats and Spike and a 2 year old German Shorthair (Shelby) is nothing to what they give me. It’s unconditional love, it’s priceless. I got to page 85 in your book and I cried through every page to the end. I have been there. I have swore I cannot go through this again, yet I do. You hurt as deep as you love. It’s just the way we are made. It’s in our souls.
God bless You. Your family, and Pepsi, Griffen, and the eternally smiling Sprite. This book is a blessing to all of us who love our extended family of cats and dogs. We share your grief and understand. I am sharing this book with family and co-workers. Thank you so much for sharing Sprite and Pepsi with us.
Nina from IN