Mr. Levin:

I’m a Philly Boy too. Front and Tabor in North Phila.

I doing business as a real estate broker I have to log onto the County website on a regular basis. On the side of the page is the “adoptable pet”. When I see the adoptable pet I usually say a prayer and I’m on my way. One day their was this goofy looking skinny dog marked as “Urgent”. I went to the shelter and bailed him out. I have two rescued cats who didn’t take to him very well. My mother who already had a dog allowed me to kennel him at her house. We a couple months went by with me walking the dogs every day and the day came that my mother’s dog Ginger had to be put to sleep. I helped Ginger thru it for my mother who had recently lost my step-father to cancer.

Well about a month has passed and there is one goofy looking dog named Gabe who has been adopted by my mother I walked him today. and that skinny 57 pound shelter dog with days to live is now 80 pounds and can poop with the best of them.

I bought Rescuing Sprite for her after Ginger was gone and it really helped.

I listen to your podcast every day and don’t miss a minute. I also listen to another podcast who was nice enough to read my letter. In the letter I asked that they announce www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Free donations to shelters with a couple of clicks of the mouse.

How about a Levin Surge for our four legged friends?

Thank You Very Much

John from NC

My little maltese, tiki is my indicator to the best people in the neighborhood.he is a friendly happy dog.he waits for the school bus to come every day to greet the kids. when he is not out when it comes, the kids ring my bell and they ask if tiki can come out and play.when i walk him he must stop whenever someone comes along to jump and wag his tail. if the person does’t react with a smile or a pat on the head, i know that person is not friendly.he can make anyone with a good heart happy.

Anna from FL

“Remember when he would jump up in our laps when we were on the couch?” “Yeah, sure do”, I whispered softly, watching with a heavy tightness in my chest at the slow deliberate circles Buster was turning in the grass. His supervised evening ventures outside to poo, pee, sniff and scratch were the only joys left in his little life. Well, that and the one small handful of Honeynut Cheerios we treat him with each day. Being now totally blind and suffering from painful hips that just won’t stay in their joints made this last pleasure not quite as enjoyable as it once was for him. “Poor little feller” Ricky’s deep reassuring voice broke the unspoken sadness we both were experiencing. “Go get him, momma” Sighing deeply, I arose from the steps to gently retrieve my little grey headed baby from his obvious predicament … hopelessly lost in our large backyard.

Ricky had put his foot down “No, Prissy We are too old and set in our ways to have a baby For heaven sake, our children are grown already” Not one to give up easily I begged “Please, PLEASE at least think about it ” Now, ten years later, I realize Buster was the only soul on earth that would have ever been able to fill the void left in my heart when I realized (finally) that my children could pretty much take care of themselves. I remember the day we picked him out as any mother would remember the birth of her children All twelve puppies came running up to us at the same time, small quarter-cup sized bundles of pure energy, each one stumbling over the next with a “pick me, pick me” look of excitement in their eyes. Because they were so very small, four together wouldn’t have made a pound, they were kept on a counter in a large but shallow sided box in a room connected to the breeder’s house. “How do you know which one to choose?”, you might ask. “They all look just alike ”. Well, ever heard of love at first sight? Corny, I know, but the truth I began picking them up, one by one, waiting to feel the familiar tug on my heartstrings, when suddenly, as I reached down to pick up one of the larger, healthier looking pups, Buster, looking like a small butterbean with large ears pushed him aside and leaped into my hand As I brought him up towards my face, he began covering my cheek with huge “puppy suger” filled kisses ………….TUG BIG TUG There went those heart strings…….

Buster was the runt. Although smaller, he was smarter, feistier, and much more determined to go home with us than his larger siblings. Large brown eyes of pure excitement gazed at us as if to say “Mommy Daddy You have finally come to pick me up ” As I tucked his tiny body into my sweater sheilding him from the cold outside, I was overcome with a sense of protectiveness that only a mother can feel. So it was, the beginning of one of the sweetest relationships of my life. Read the rest of this entry »

We too welcomed a rescue dog into our lives in 2004, a little chihuahua, Molly, who was used for puppy mill purposes only for the first 5 yrs of her life. she did not know how to bark or walk on a leash but she was the most beautiful multi color dog we had ever seen and she too did not have a mean bone in her body, what a joy, loved to be held and loved and gave us so much love in return.

Mol-Mol was dx with liver cancer inOct 07 which was a shock and it was inoperable. We sought a specialist opinion but the sad facts remained. We spent as much time with her as we could, loving every minute but knowing what the outcome would be. She fought so hard to stay with us but stopped eating on Jan 5 and proceeded to have a terrible seizure and we neededto put her down on Jan7. We have a wonderful vet who came to our house for that final act which was peaceful and the only humane thing to do at that time.

So as we continue our travel through grief I found your book about Sprite. Your chapter A Hard Fall perfectly described our feelings about how God could let this happen to such a wonderful girl and why so soon she had to be taken away from us, those 3 years were so very short but we too were so blessed by the gifts she gave us. Thank you for writing your book, I get comfort from hearing that other people love their dogs as we do and that that void will remain for a while until we have completed our grieving process so we too are healed and remember only the very best memories that our Mol-Mol so willing gave to us. Thanks so very much and may you and your family always be blessed with special animals in your lives…

Pat and Steve from CT

I was on my way to Pa.with my wife Elaine, to buy my third Norwich terrier puppy in one year,when I heard your conversation with Rush concerning “RESCUING SPRITE”.My kids, all daughters, Jean 48, Dinah 44 and Alison 42 gave me a copy for Christmas. I give you their ages to give you an idea of my vintage. After reading it I felt compelled to write you about my “EBE”. I have a 16 year old Norwich female named “A.J.” that these same daughters gave to us as a 4mo old puppy. I’m a practicing veterinarian in Blythewood S.C.and golf whenever I have the opportunity and A.J. is my constant sidekick. About a year ago it became obvious that I was going to lose my sidekick to the ravages of age and I couldn’t bear the thought of being without her at my side. My wife began a search and found a litter in Md. The breeder was an 86 year old practicing physician and her kennel was on Old Jerusalem rd. and the litters grandfather was “Jerusalem’s Ebenezer” and thus I named my little female “EBE” and we proudly drove home with her approximately 3 weeks before your “SPRITE” left you. A.J.and my wife’s sidekick “KELSEY” accepted EBE without even curling a lip and A.J. soon taught her golf ettiquette and I rode to work with two dogs in the passenger seat instead of one and two dogs on the golf cart instead of one.

She soon became my constant companion as A.J. had been, A.J. would sleep under my desk and EBE would accompany me into each examining room as if she was a quality control supervisor, when I went into the bathroom she would be in there before I was, when I was in the swimming pool she was at the edge as close to me as she could get. When I did my morning exercises she knew when I was on my last set and would grab the sleeve of my tee shirt in her teeth and tug until I got up and took her and the rest of the dogs out to get the morning newspaper. She woke us in the morning with her kisses and licked us good night before she snuggled between us at night. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a photo of my beautiful daughter Molly and beloved English Mastiff Jack. He is the biggest baby and only wants to please. We love our companion, protector, and family member dearly!

Brian from VA