Dear Mark, I just finished reading your beautifully written book and of course fell in love with Sprite,I listen to your show every evening on my way home to Westchester county from N.Y. my wife and I treat your show as a learning experience. We have two dogs a lab and a husky mix who is a pet rescue.

In our town of Larchmont N.Y. our entire family is involved in pet rescue dogs and cats,the animals are brought up from South Carolina (a kill state) and put up for adoption we are happy to say we saved 660 dogs and 280 cats last year. My daughter who attends high school is involved in animal rights and she volunteers her time with our local shelter and humane society.

We love saving these animals who offer there love and affection in return. Mark you and your lovely family gave SPRITE all the love and happiness a family can offer in SPRITES own way he will never forget you. Sincerely,
Elliot from NY

I have been attempting to read rescuing sprite since December. Each time l read a page my eyes water up and i have to put the book down.As a police officer in yonkers,ny for 28 yrs.l have seen a lot of sorrow but the loss of my little buffy 10 mos. ago still has me crying. She had also been abandoned and apparently abused as a pup when i found her. She was a 18 lb. llasa apsa and as l found out later, was a producer of gaul stones.

After two surgeries she again had more stones and the vet told me she would never survive the surgery. She was in great pain and l had to put her to sleep. I am so heart broken. My only regret Mark is that l couln’t go into the room with her and the vet and allowed my wife to stay with her. I am ashamed of myself for being such a coward.aI even saved some of her stones and a lock of her hair so they can be placed in my coffin when my time comes.
GOD bless you Mark, l listen to you every day.
Paul from NY

Hobbes was a Lab/Shepard mix. He was 4 1/2 years old but acted like a 6 month old until the end. I got hugs every day after work and he thought his 50 pounds classified him as a lap dog…. and it did in our house. Every annoying thing he did I would give anything to have him do again. The hardest thing I have ever had to do was to go pick him up off the shoulder of the road. We wrapped him in a blanket, I put a big raw hide bone between his legs and we took him to the woods and laid him to rest. We still have our puggle(free from a grocery store parking lot), our spaniel mix from the SPCA, and our most recent, a Pekinese from the SPCA-she gets her stitches out tomorrow from getting fixed…. so still a dog filled world… just missing our Hobbes….
Have not read Rescuing Sprite yet but I intend to…. anyway… just thought I’d share.

Patrick from VA

Patrick from VA

We have lost our Thunder , a 12 year old Doberman, Then Samson at 11 years old, also a Doberman. We are interested in getting a sighned copy of your book as Ben would like to have your autograph. We have heard you on all the shows and what a kind ,Great ONE YOU ARE.Our dogs brought us such joy and Love.

As a Hospice Caregiver for 40 years that is the way I explain my grief when I lose a patient . It is the same feeling I had even as a young girl losing my pet.,. A member of my family. I myself am a hospice patient now.Thank you for sharing your love and story. We need that in our world today more than ever. God Bless you & Yours,

Doris from AZ

Hi Mark,
Just like everyone else on here, I have to start by commending you on an unbelievable book.
My fiance and I now have a one-year old yellow lab. His name is Trooper and I must say, he brings so much excitement and laughter to our lives. Even during the times when he is extremely mischievous (and there are many of these) we somehow find ourselves laughing only minutes later.
In reading all of these stories, I really do feel for the people that have lost their animals. It makes me realize that its not going to be forever with little Trooper and hopefully I gain the comfort that most of you have found through the book and this site.
Anyways Mark, keep up the excellent work. I listen to you every night before bed via the computer and there is no one I enjoy listening to more.

Take care,
Ryan from NH

Gaylen had for years claimed not to be fond of dogs. After several years of threatening to bring home a puppy, he finally said I could if…. I looked half-heartedly for the next several years. On one of many trips to the Humane Society I walked by a red pup with a white blaze which ended at a small upside down heart on top of her nose. The label read “Staffordshire mix” and I refused to consider it. No Pitbull mixes for me! My five year old grandson pulled me by my shirt-talil to the window this pup was behind and demanded I look at this one. What a pretty little girl she was. We played for a few minutes and I knew this was the one. Gaylen said to bring her home if I was determined to do so.

Within days Sissy became extremely ill to the point of death. After trips to the vets office, a vet tech. at our church overheard that Gaylen was home sitting with our sick puppy. She followed me home and after a quick exam, recomended that we allow her to take her in to be put on IVs. Gaylen held that puppy, towels, and blankets for hours on end. Without going into detail I will say she is alive and very well. However, she does have seperation anxiety and to comfort her, we would borrow my daughter’s Boston Terrier to babysit.

On our 4oth anniverary Gaylen bought me my own in- house baby-sitter, Ruby is a whopping 11.5 pounder. Ruby tackles Sissy (30+ lbs) and Sis rolls onto her back and rocks Ruby back and forth forth. Sis goes absolutely everywhere with Gaylen. She’s a great girl and so very obedient and gentle with everyone. She’s afraid of everything from shadows on the wall at night (she sits and barks once, waits and barks again once until I get up and escort her to her bed) to Gaylen if he stands at the top of the stairs. (There might be stranger danger!, and she will not go up to see. Ruby, the Boston terror, is a delight as well. She’s a clown and a sneak but loves her family and we love her. Gaylen
cried as we read your book. His comment as we finished it was, “I don’t think you really know how to love until you’ve loved a dog.”

Gayla from KS