We are dog lovers, and just lost our “baby”. His name was John Doe. We took him in almost 2 years ago, he was dropped off in a rural area, where we live, abused and malnutritioned and we adopted him. Having 3 dogs already, I told my fiance that would we care for him until we found him a good home. I told her do not bring that dog into the house, because I knew what that meant, but she did any ways. When her friend at work was willing to take him, I just couldn’t let him go, so 4 dogs now.

He lived a good life, was spunky and a lover. His brothers loved him, and they’re getting old …

John Doe liked to chase/race vehicles, we tried to train him not to, to no avail. But today, he ran underneath my truck and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop. End of story, still grieving for my pup! The attached pic is John Doe years ago after we adopted him, along side his big brother Miko. This is my sad sorry, I really miss him.

God Bless from a dog/animal lover

— William from Belgrade, NE

This is a picture of Molly (in the front) & Wee Laddie (in the back). Our girl Molly went to Dog Heaven on Sunday after 17 1/2 years as our best friend. We miss her very much as does Wee Laddie. We were very fortunate to have her for such a long time and she was remarkable – she was in great health right up until a few days before  she passed away. Molly, we’ll never forget you!

— Jeanne from Drexel Hill, PA

I am writing from Puerto Rico, these are our little dogs. They are a god sent for us.  2006 my wife got operated with a tumor in her head the doctors had to open her twice because there were two things wrong a there was water and they had to put a tube from her head to her stomach and remove the tumor. These dogs the female is called tuqui  (tukey) and the male is Casper. They are my wife’s body guards when she goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night they follow her one would guide and the other would fallow and would sit like bookends in the bathroom.  We always celebrate their birthday which is January 29 2006.

— Manuel from Ceiba, Puerto Rico

Our oversized yellow lab, Ed, was 10 years old.  He had had a great life in rural NJ running the deer and turkey and playing with my kids on sleighhills and hayfields.  Last year he slipped and tumbled down the stairs.  It seemed as if nothing was wrong at first, but over time, he lost the use of his hindquarters.  We coped as best we could but it just wasn’t working. He could not even pee without being held up.  Sadly our situation did not allow us to care for a paraplaegic pet, so we had to let him go with dignity.  When he was put down, I asked the vet to clip some of his long thick shoulder locks for us to hold in his memory.  I gave some to each of my three children.  The following Hanukah, my son (who is an avid fly-fisherman) gave me a shadow box with four beautifully tied trout flies carefully mounted inside.  He had made them from Ed’s hair (Lab hair is quite buoyant).  I was so deeply touched by what my son had done in Ed’s memory that I wept.  My wife insisted that he enter the flies in the NJ state fair.  He did, and the display  won 1st place and a special award for creativity.  The ribbons hang on Ed’s shadow box which hangs over the desk in my home office.  I know that he was very pleased and was grinning from floppy ear to floppy ear.

— Dave from Newton, NJ

Today I had the sad duty of putting my faithful hound mix “Rip” to sleep. He was about 15 years old and suffering from the end stages of heart disease. We first met while I was hiking in NY’s Catskill mountains where he was apparently abandoned and left to starve in March of 1998. He followed me on the trail and I gave him some food. He followed me back to my truck at the end of the hike and when I tried to get in he was laying across my feet to prevent me from leaving him. I made the decision to keep him and brought him home. When I took him to the vet for treatment and shots the vet told me that he would probably turn out to be the best dog I ever had, and he was right. Since that day “Rip” has hiked many thousand of miles with me. We have visited some 35 states together. We were inseparable. Our lives revolved around each other and I have to tell you that finding him turned out to be a great blessing. I look forward to meeting him again at the Rainbow Bridge where we can continue our journey together.

— Doug from Port Charlotte, FL

We now have two dogs, a 12 year old chow mix, and a 1-1/2 year old labradoodle.  Both are extremely valued family members, and our treatment of them is reflected in the looks of love we get every time they come over to have their ears scratched.  We’ve had many dogs over the years, and have had to endure the pain of putting them down at some point, the last being our beloved lab, Belle.  She developed cancer, and it progressed so fast there was nothing we could do, really, but try to keep her comfortable as possible.  We loved that dog; she traveled with us all the time in our RV, and was an excellent travel companion!  The vet had to drain her lungs several times over a six month period to allow her to breath properly; after each treatment she would be happy and energetic and playful, just like always.  But after a while her energy changed, and we could see her condition again taking over.  I took her into the vet one morning, the day before we were leaving on an RV trip; I wanted her to go with us, and was going to ask the vet for one more treatment.  Another patron there asked me what was wrong with Belle, and after explaining he said to me “I know you love that dog and want her with you, but I can see how sick she is and what you’re doing to her now is not right. You’re just prolonging her suffering by going through this again and again.”  I sat there for maybe 15 minutes just thinking about what he’d said, and when the vet called me in I advised him that Belle was again suffering from liquid on her lungs.  I asked her if she felt I should put poor Belle out of her misery, and the vet said yes.  So she proceeded, and injected the chemicals into Belle.  Belle watched me the entire time, her big beautiful eyes locked on mine.  But it only took a few seconds, and she laid her head down, closed her eyes, and she was — peacefully — gone.  I cried (I’m crying as I write this), the vet cried, all the office staff cried, everybody in the place cried as this big, beautiful animal departed this world.  It was probably the most painful thing I’ve ever had to do, and I was raised on a farm where animals were treated like….well, animals.  My children were mad at me for months after that for not giving them a chance to say goodbye to Belle.  Our second dog, Pepper, went into such despair that her friend didn’t come home that she stopped eating and even stopped moving until I finally carried her to the vet to be examined herself.  When we arrived, there were other dogs there and Pepper immediately perked up; she just missed her friend, Belle.  We all cried over that realization, too.  Thanks for letting me share.

— Mike from Manassas, VA