Just finished reading Rescuing Sprite. As a owner of 3 unwanted dogs, it amazes me how these animals enter and change our lives. A friend, who grew up on a farm on the Wash coast, told me of a dog he owned. The dog a stray, wandered on to the farm and befriended the children as they played. He would always show when the kids went out to play. They were poor but they fed the dog table scrapes. The dog slept outdoors in the woods. His father,who was very stern, thought the dog served no purpose on the farm and also was evil because it had one white eye. He tried to chase the dog away by kicking the dog, hitting it with a shovel, and even shooting at it a couple of times. There was a large stream on the farm with a deep hole the kids could swim in in the summer. In the winter,however, it usually overran its banks. One day his younger sister came home muddied, scratched, and with her clothes torn. The nest day his father followed the childern out to see what happened. His sister was not with the other kids, He found her standing in the water trying to walk out further in to the stream. A few steps further and she would have fallen into the hole and been swept away. The dog had her by her dress and was pulling and dragging her back. The dog who usually ran away at the sight of the father, did not let go until his father picked her up. He told the childern to bathe the dog and when they went home they found his father had made a bed for the dog in the kitchen. Afterwards, dog and his father became inseparable. He would always feed the dog from his plate. Later, he apologised to the childern for the way he had treated the dog, for he was sure that God had sent the dog to protect his family. My friend said that was the first and only time he had ever heard his father apologise for anything.

H from AR

I lost my dog Bandit yesterday. He was my best friend. My wife recently lost her Dad and now she is devastated with the loss of our pet. You said last night that you read these emails. I am so sorry you lost Sprite. Keep up the good fight Mark. I fight it here. Jihadist are fewer in this Country because of efforts by my family. 100 are in jail or deported. I have sent 12 soldiers to Iraq and Stan. Daughter fixing to be translator for Army. She speaks 8 languages that are Arabic in origin. We are kicking ass. Daughter did undercover for FBI in stings. We are serious about taking down Jihadist. I am not a crackpot. Ask James Baker who I now work for at Luminant Energy in Texas. Or ask the FBI about Beka and see their reaction.

Roderick from TX

Dear Mark,
I am writing you to tell you of the loss of my partner Banker. Banker, a belguim malinois, was my police K-9 of 6 years. He died of a brain tumor that was very sudden. We have sent many men home to thier families safe and removed a lot of bad elements from society.
I held my partner in my arms as the decision was made to put him down. I could not let him suffer nor be selfish to prolong a debilitating painful life. He served proudly next to me and would have given his life at anytime to save mine. I know that I will see him again at the rainbow bridge in heaven. Here is a poem that sums up Myself, Banker and all police K-9’s:
Guardians Of The Night

Author – Unknown
Trust in me my friend for I am
your comrade. I will protect you
with my last breath When all
others have left you And the
loneliness of the night closes
in, I will be at your side.

Together we will conquer all
obstacles, And search out
those who might wish harm to
others. All I ask of you is
compassion, The caring touch
of your hands. It is for you that I
will unselfishly give my life And
spend my nights unrested.
Although our days together
May be marked by the passing
of the seasons Know that each
day at your side is my reward.

My days are measured by The
coming and going of your
footsteps. I anticipate them at
every opening of the door. You
are the voice of caring when I
am ill. The voice of authority
when I’ve done wrong.

Do not chastise me unduly For
I am your right arm, The sword
at your side. I attempt to do
only what you bid of me. I seek
only to please you and remain
in your favor.

Together you and I shall
experience A bond only others
like us will understand When
outsiders see us together Their
envy will be measured by their
disdain.

I will quietly listen to you And
pass no judgment, Nor will your
spoken words be repeated I will
remain ever silent, Ever vigilant,
ever loyal. And when our time
together is done And you move
on in the world Remember me
with kind thoughts and tales,
For a time we were unbeatable,
Nothing passed among us
undetected.

If we should meet again on
another street I will gladly take
up your fight, I am a Police
Working Dog and together We
are guardians of the night.

Read the rest of this entry »

As I came up my driveway one day I noticed a little kitten in my backyard. I crawled over to her on my stomach and eventually caught her. She was shy but wanted to trust me. I eventually calmed her down, fed her, and petted her for a while. Her bones at the time felt like they were ready to break.

She was almost starved to death when I found her. After 3 days of good feeding she was healthy and energetic.

Now, 3 years later, Mandy has had three litters for a total of nine kittens, and 12 grandkittens. (we haven’t kept them all. We found good homes for them)

She’s content and enjoys life as the queen of our house. She loves us and is the best cat ever!

Daniel from MI

Mark, My wife and I are dog lovers. We’d rather spend the day with our babies than anyother thing on earth. We call them our babies. So, we now have two babies. An eight year old Shih Tzu named Tootsie. A six year old Schnauzer mix named Fuzzie. Both rescues that we adopted from The Ark. A no-kill shelter in Huntsville AL. Your in-laws might have heard of it. We lost a baby two years ago. A small Terrier mix named Peppi. The pain and anguish we felt for this lost was explained well in “Rescuing Sprite.” A great book. The worse pain I’ve ever felt in my life. We also took in a Shih Tzu that someone threw away last Oct. Found him on the side of the road. Named him Buddie. Found out he had heart worms after his first visit to the vet. Buddie was treated for the heart worms. The treatment was success. But he had to much damage to his heart. Buddie passed away om 12-22-2007 at 6:30 AM. During the same time I was reading “Rescuing Sprite”. Your book hurt but helped during this tough time again. So I’ll say thank you Mark and Sprite. May God bless your babies and all the other babies that have gone on. And may God look over the babies we are blessed to have now.
Sincerely,
Johnny, Dianne, Tootsie & Fuzzie from AL

Thanks for sharing the story of “your” Sprite. I had a Sprite too,he was a black Belgian shepherd that lived next door. I called him Spritey the Wonder Dog or Gentleman Dog. He will be gone 2 years this St. Pat’s day. He was the dog of my heart, though I didn’t own him and I miss him still.

Donna from MT