I just finished reading rescuing sprite and i thought it was great my very special dog eddie is getting old now. Attached is his picture.

Ryan from CO

Dear Mark,

Thank you so much for writing your book and sharing your heartfelt feelings and experiences with your dogs Sprite and Pepsi. I recently had to put our family pet down on December 6, 2007. He was a beautiful black pug. I had other dogs in the past but I was busy raising my small children so I never got attached to a dog as much as I did with Sammy. He was my baby and we had a very special bond. He would come with us to our daughters softball tournaments and loved to go for rides in the car. He would lay on my lap and I would bring his food and water and wrap him in a blanket when it was cold outside. He was the teams mascot. He loved to cuddle and would sometimes lay across my neck or at bedtime he would find a spot behind my knees. I would carry him to bed like a baby and tuck him in between my husband and I. He would lay there just like a human with the blanket on and we would just laugh in amazement at this dog! I always knew what Sammy needed – he would bark to get my attention and show me what he needed like a lost toy, or more food! We had a family portrait taken this past May in our backyard for my sons 8th grade graduation and Sammy jumped right in. I look at that picture every day sitting on our mantle.

Sammy was only 2 years old and started developing kidney stones. Before Thanksgiving we had the stones removed because he was having problems going to the bathroom. The vet told me his liver enzymes were high and that it was due to a shunt which did not close when he was born – very common. Read the rest of this entry »

I picked up Mark’s book in hopes of getting inspired to write my own “dog story” in the near future. Although my story is tragic, it is a story that needs to be told. It is about a yellow lab named Bodie and about the dark side of dog breeders.

Like others drawn to Mark’s book and this web page, I have always been a dog lover. Growing up, I didn’t know what life was like without a dog. We always had one and our dogs were a part of the family.

When I went away to college I started counting down the days (and years!) until I could have my own dog.

Even though year after year I desperately wanted to purchase a pooch, I knew the responsible thing to do was wait until I lived in a house with a yard, and had the time to devote to a loving 4-legged creature.

The day finally came when I no longer lived in an apartment that wouldn’t allow pets, and felt that I had the time and money it took to have a dog.

Soon after my husband and I bought a house, we decided to get a dog. We wanted a yellow lab and my first idea (since I was going to be the primary caretaker and pooper scooper) was to adopt a dog from our local branch of “Guide Dogs For The Blind”. I soon discovered that the dogs up for adoption there – the ones who are not quite suitable to become sight dogs for anything from allergies to training difficulties – are extremely hard to come by. I then looked into “Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc.” which is a great organization, but I suddenly realized I wanted a PUPPY… a cute little puppy of my own, from scratch.

After a few more weeks of research I finally found what I thought was a reputable Lab breeder, and we brought an 8-week-old yellow lab puppy home on December 9th, 2006.

He was euthanized on October 22, 2007 – 5 days after his first birthday.

His name was Bodie.
He was a “good” puppy… a really good puppy, but he was also a lot of work, as most puppies are. A quiet house and sleeping more than 6 hours in any given night were things of the past for us, but he quickly became best part of every day! That little creature could touch places in our hearts we never knew where there. We loved this dog. Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago I sent you the story of my lost poodle (and rescue dog), Mochi, who ran away from my pet sitter the day after Christmas. This had been one of the most difficult times in my life, not knowing what happened to my poor baby and where she could have been. As each week went by, people around me started to lose hope. We had had temperatures below freezing, hard rain, and even a snow storm.

Every day I did a little something to work on getting her back. I continued to search the shelters, pets for sale ads, and lost & found ads. But the one thing that I did that was most helpful was to never give up hope and pray. Not only did I pray, I submitted to every online prayer request that I could find, I sought out pet chaplains, and went to prayer for pets websites. Anyone and everyone that I could get to pray for my dog to return home, I contacted.

It worked! Mochi is home safe & sound. She was found about 1 mile from my home hiding under a barn. The man who owned the barn just happened to also build cage traps to catch coyotes. The first time he saw her, she would not go to him when called but hid under the barn instead. So, he set one of his homemade traps (with which he had never caught one coyote). Within an hour, though, Mochi was caught. She was ok, a little dirty and very hungry, but OK! After 22 days of living outside, surviving, finding her own food, and finding her own shelter, she is home. I always believed that I would find her and I never gave up on her. I think she never gave up either. She did her part to stay safe and fed until I found her – and I did!

Toi from GA

I loved reading about Sprite. We lost our wonderful Sluggo on Dec 10, 2006 and it was the hardest dog loss our family has had. Sluggo was the first puppy to my boys and helped them grow into caring men. He taught them responsibility, and love. We still miss him. A good dog is the best medicine for a heavy heart. We now have 2 rescue dogs, and they take good care of us. Thanks for sharing Mark.

Lynn from GA

We have 4 dogs, all in the house with us, 3 labs, 1 Westie & 8 horses (not in the house). My son gave me your book “Rescuing Sprite” for Christmas. Loved it!! I know what it’s like to have to put your best friend to sleep. I found this great poem that kind of helps.

Though we will never meet again on this Earth, my friend, your pal
Run in the Mountains, Hunt in the Meadows
Rest in the shade of the pines
Drink the cold streams water,
Stay warm in the clean sun
Smell the birds on the soft breeze.
Rest in peace – wait for your pal
I will come for you, my friend.

LeAnne from CA