Dear Mark and family;

I ordered 3 signed copies of your book to give my husband and two boys (26 and 33) for Christmas. I just finished readingRescuing Sprite, and grabbed a flashlight and waded through the snow out to the spot in the backyard where our beloved Spooky is buried.

We rescued Spooky from the most horrible trash filled house I’ve ever seen in my life, when he was only 8 weeks ago. He had worms, ear mites and all sorts of things wrong with him, but a kind vet treated him and I took him to live in a group home for mentally challenged people and gae him to Robert, who needed a special friend. [ Keeping him in our family was not an option for us, as our older son had displayed severe allergic reactions to chickens, turkeys and guinea pigs, and our pediatrician had advised us never to get a dog.] Well, the situation with Robert didn’t work out, so we retrieved Spooky 4 days later intending to find him another home. However, our family had fallen in love with this little black ball of fur, and he became a Mooradian. The pediatrician advised that if Spook didn’t sleep in Stephen’s bedroom that perhaps the allergies wouldn’t bother him, but from day 1, Spook slept on his bed. Thank God, the allergies never developed. Spook was a mixture of cocker, poodle and chihuahua and only weighed 18 pounds, but it was 18 pounds of unconditional love. My husband and I had it all figured out — Spook’s life expectency was 12 – 14 years. That would mean that when our younger son, Greg, went to college, Spook’s life would be over, and his father and I would be free to travel, etc, not tied down by feedings and walks, etc. Well, the boys were both out of college and Greg was an ensign in the US Navy and assigned to an atomic submarine, so Spook adopted me and became my dog. Not willing just to sleep in my bed, he wanted to sleep with his head beside mine on the pillow, or better yet, right on my head. Cancer reared its ugly head, and Spook went through 3 tumor removals,
but it never got him down. Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished your book, Rescuing Sprite. I was moved to tears, sobbing many times. It touched so close to home for me.
I recently (Aug. 16, 2007) had to make the dreadful decision to have my Yorkshire Terrior of 13 yrs.(Brittney) put to sleep. I had to go through many of the same agonizing decisions leading up to “the day.” It has been, to this day, the worst thing I have ever had to do.

Just like you, I questioned myself as to if there was anything else I could have done for her. Sometimes I feel as though I have let her down. I couldn’t help her when she needed me most. I feel the guilt of all the times she was there for me when I was sick or hurting, and in her major time of need, there wasn’t anything I could do for her. She loved me unconditionally…no matter of my many moods (good or bad) or how I looked on any given day. She never judged me.

I thank you so much for writing this book. It has reassured in me that I am not alone and that others (many others) are grieving just the same. I now know I am not alone in feeling what I’m feeling. Our pets are so much a part of our families, they are our children.

I miss my Brittney daily, I have her buried in my side yard and go out and talk to her often. She will forever be a part of me and who I am today. She taught me love, compassion and forgiveness.

Someday I hope I will be brave enough to bring another pet into our home. I miss the sound of tags jingling, and the patter of paws in my kitchen, I even miss the tiny little nose prints on my patio door. But right now the pain is just too fresh. I can’t imagine having to have to go through this pain again.

I am so sorry for your loss of Sprite and thank you so much for sharing him with us (your readers). I will treasure this book always. It will hold a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf.

Sherry from IN

Hi Mark,

I have to admit I am not someone who’s listened to you forever. My Dad actually turned me on to you and I’m glad he did. He knows how I feel about animals (dogs in general) and told me how awesome you were and how much of a dog lover you are.

So here I am! I’m hooked!

I have 2 dogs but would love to have more. My oldest dog is named “Mattie”. She is a 7 year old Jack Russell and hates all other dogs, except my other dog, “Chubbs”. Chubbs is a 4 year old fox terrier/chow mix and boy is he a sweetheart. He has a personality all his own. I have my own business here at home so I’m here with my dogs everyday. They follow me from room to room and go with me everywhere in the car. My youngest son, who is 14, says all the kids call me the “dog lady”. It really bothers him but it doesn’t bother me. I told him I don’t think that’s such a bad thng. I told him dogs are better than people most of the time anyway. I love my dogs more than anything. I told my husband when I die I want my dog’s ashes put in with mine. He thinks I’m crazy but I’m completely serious. I like the quote from Will Rogers which goes something like this “if they don’t allow dogs in heaven, I want to go where they go”. I sure hope they allow dogs in heaven because I want to be in charge of them all!

I could go on and on but I know you’re a busy guy. My nusband bought your book for me and I had him get another for my sister-in-law who recently had to put her dog down after 14 years of a happy life. I could tell she was still grieving so I thought your book would help. I’m not finished with it yet, I’m only in the beginning but I love it so far. You sound exactly like me with your dogs. My husband was also reluctant to let me have a dog and now we have 2 so that’s not too bad. I feel the same as you though, as far as going to the shelters. I have often thought of volunteering there but I”m afraid my heart couldn’t take it. It would be breaking everyday! I told myself if I ever win the lottery I’m gong to open a “no kill” shelter. Until that day though, I just try to keep my eyes peeled for any animal being mistreated and reporting it immediately. We all have to remember….dogs have no voice, they depend on us to speak for them and I vow to help as many as I can.

Thanks for letting me share my story with you. You are an awesome guy.

Your dog-loving friend,

Melody from KY

My Fiance and I started our search for a dog about 3 days before we got Tank. We had visited 2 Animal Shelters on Long Island before trying North Shore AL and once I saw him I knew he was the one.

When I first saw Tank he was in a cage (cell?) with another dog which told me that he’s a dog friendly pit and I know they are typically people friendly so I asked to see him. As I’m following the NSAL Volunteer to an open area to see him I noticed he was missing his back leg although it didn’t slow him down at all.

The story as NSAL has told it was that he was adopted out of there as a puppy and brought back to them after being hit by a car which is why they had to amputate one of his rear legs. I decided that the dog didn’t seem to mind that his leg was missing so why should we.

After spending an hour with Tank in the open area we decided to adopt him. I didn’t know that adopting him would bring 3 Volunteers there to tears and they even gave us a very generous gift basket with toys and supplies inside.
We have had Tank now for about 4 months now and he’s been great. I only wish I had a larger yard for him to run more often.

Tank is an American Pit mix and a little over a year old.

Kevin from NY

My son drove me Wednesday (1/2/08) to a 9:30am appointment at the Metropolitan Veterinary ER for Lucky to have an Abnominal Ultrasound.
LUCKY HAS CANCER!

He has a 5+ cm mass (a little less than 3 times the size of my tumor) on his Spleen and there are nodes surrounding his liver. The Physician siad that the mass an nodes can be surgically removed and then followed with Chemotherapy. I told him I DID NOT WANT LUCKY TO GO THRU THAT SINCE I’VE BEEN THROUGH IT AND LUCKY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SUSTAINE IT. I don’t want to put my Lucky through all that. He told me that I could get him on a steroid treatment (which woul be small pills) and he would start to feel better and start to eat . . . BUT . . . the Cancer would still be in his body and the mass would become much larger. Eventually, I would be back to square 1 but in a worst condition.

I’ve been crying since Wednesday and my son has expressed his pain with being ANGRY WITH THE WORLD. His thinking is that; “we can put a man on the moon but CAN’T CURE CANCER”; countries such as Japan, China and Russia have their citizens live to be very old and don’t have Cancer in their country as we do here; we have Microwaves that give off Radiation, our foods are artificially grown and chemically spread, etc. and with all the research and technology, they have not directed any research on curing animals with CANCER.” Read the rest of this entry »

Our dog Rocky, a Sheltie, was adopted from the Humane Society when he was about a year and a half years old. And from that moment on our lives changed forever, and for the better. It was hard to fathom the possibility that someone gave up this beautiful animal, but we felt it was fate that he had come into our lives.

Rocky was amazing. He was extremely beautiful. He had an adorable face with a lovely coat of white, black, and brown. He was such a good boy, and loved the affection of his family. It will be a week since Rocky has been gone, and it is still hard to believe. He had a wonderful life, and enriched ours. He had overcome so much with medical issues, and the last 4 months were the best of his life. It was a miracle that his health and spirit improved. We believe that we gave him so much love that it restored his life. It sounds selfish, but 4 months was not enough. We wish we could hold on to him longer. We will love him forever. He touched our hearts and our lives, and for that we will be so grateful. We miss you Rocky always and forever.

The Mortman Family from FL

In memoriam: March 9,1995- December 29, 2007.