This is a poem I wrote when my dog Zoey passed away at the age of 12 —

Zoey, A Dog

Nov 5, 1992 – June 8, 2005

Zoey was no ordinary dog,
She was a noble independent creature,
Never wanted to be a pet,
Never really agreed to be a pet.

She was picked from a litter,
As the liveliest, most active of the bunch.
We brought her home and
Our problems began.

She would NOT be controlled,
She would snap and rebel at a hand on her,
She would find a crack and run away,
She chased away our cats.

But we grew to love her,
And out of respect for her
And her desire to be free,
We reached some agreements.

First came the dog trainer,
“Sit”, “Heel”, “Stay”
“Good Outside Potty”
“Good dog Zoey” Read the rest of this entry »

In about 1964 I got a toy fox terrier from a lady I worked for. Me and my sister were raised by our grandmother. I got out of Clyde high school Clyde, Tx I joined up and was gone for 4 yrs. Granny of course had Birdie Jo my dog. Got out of the service got married and moved to ft. worth went to college and worked.

Make the story short Granny Scott died at age 83 Birdie was by then about 13 yrs old. Granny died in the afternoon and Birdie died that night. Their is a God she ask for Birdie and God made it happen. So I know their is at least one dog in heaven. She had a chair by her bed with a towel in it for birdie to sleep next to her. I remember she had to help Birdie get into the chair becasue she had a hard time jumping into it. Mark I listen to you every night. You are the best.

Richard from TX

I have a dog her name is sadie and i am a dog lover to and in your book sprite died of the same thing my grandmother (which is now died ) from.

my name is wil and i am 11 years old and i love your book!!

Wil from TX

Raven was adopted on Halloween in 2000 from the local Humane Society. She was around 7 months old and had been beaten and was emaciated from intestinal worms. She was afraid of all people and mostly just wanted to hide all the time. Along with these came terribly destructive behavioral problems but also a desire to please me like nothing I’ve ever seen. She wanted to be a great dog. She just didn’t know how and I had to learn how to listen to her.

In a very short time, Raven became one of the most wonderful dogs I’ve ever known and is truly the best friend I could ever ask for. Her unwavering devotion to me brings tears to my eyes almost daily. Thanks Mark for sharing your stories and reminding us how special our dogs are.

Kelly from MD

Dear Mark,

First, I’d like to say THANK YOU for all you do! From your outspoken comments about our failing U.S. system(s) to our wonderful troops that protect our freedoms! You, Sir, are an asset to the true American way-of-life!

I am a dedicated listener to your great show, I only wish it was 3 hours instead of 2, but be-that-as-it-may, you do a great job! Keep it up!!

OK…. on to the story of our wonderful and loving dog. I hope this isn’t too long, but it’s a story worth it’s weight (in our opinion). We have yet to purchase your book, “Rescuing Sprite”. I think we would like to, but like you, loosing a dog was a very hard and traumatic time in our lives, and we’re not sure if we want to re-live it again right now. I have heard so much about your book, and know that it would be an added asset to our library. So, we will be getting it soon I hope, before they are all gone.

One day while living in Arkansas and working as a District Manager for a company, my wife-to-be and I were driving about conducting the business of the day in a rural area. It was a beautiful, yet chilly, winter day in late January of early February of 1992. As we were rounding a corner my wife spotted a dog at the edge of the tall grass next to the road. I can still remember her words…. “Oh, look! Isn’t he cute? He’s looking right at us, I wonder if he’s lost?” I was more concerned about getting done with the task at hand and simply acknowledged her statement. Then, to my dismay, she said, “Let’s stop and see if he needs help before he gets out in the road.” To that, I said what I thought was a very safe and cunning answer, “OK, let’s get done with what we need to do, and if he’s still there when we come back through, we’ll stop.” After all, we were about to get married, and the last thing we needed was a dog! Or so I thought! Read the rest of this entry »

Someone gave me your book for Christmas and a dog figurine.Brought back memories of my Margarite I lost 2 years ago.I still miss her so much.Her sister Salina is still with me and we have bonded even closer since we lost Marg.Wonderful book.Dogs are family and best friends.

Rocky from AL