Dear Mark,

I read Rescuing Sprite in 2 days, I absolutely loved the book! My dog Lazarus is 14 and I love him beyond words. I got Lazarus at a rescue shelter in Houston TX. He and his brother were abandoned and basically left in house to die. I walked in the shelter unsure if I was up to really taking care of a very sick puppy. I was going through a very difficult time in my life but it was suggested to me by a friend that a dog may be just the thing I need. I saw Lazarus, he was this little puppy that was about 5 weeks old, taken from his mom too soon. He was flea infested, thin, just a mess. I picked him up and held him and I fell in love, but I was nervous I did not know if I was up to this. At the time I had prescription sunglasses and I NEVER left them anywhere they were always with me. I put a deposit on Lazarus and told the shelter I would let them know by Monday, it was Saturday. After I thought about it I became more unsure of what I had done then I realized I left my glasses at the shelter and I HAD to go back. There waiting for me with tail wagging was Lazarus, I said to him “let’s go home” It absolutely was meant to be. Lazarus has brought such unbelievable love and joy into my life.

I made a vow too that whoever, if I was to meet someone in the future that they either bond with Lazarus or they are out. My husband bonded with Lazarus. My daughter since they day she was born they have a unbelivable relationship, Lazarus is her “brother!”Lazarus has had medical problems his entire life because of his horrible entrance into the world. Now because of his age his health is not so great. His heart is healthy but he has become deaf and can only see shadows very bad arthritus and stomach problems. Lazarus still will get a “wild hair” we call them when he runs around the house like crazy but now the house and become about 2 feet. I still love seeing it. My heart went out to you when you had to put Sprite out of his pain. I told my vet that she is going to have to tell me because I don’t think I can do it. Like you I pray that God takes Lazarus when he is sleeping. The Vet thinks that he may have 2 more years it seems so short when I have had him for so long. I know that I am blessed for all the time that I have had and still having. I am so glad that you and Kendall got Griffen. He is the luckiest dog in the world just like Sprite and Pepsi. Your entire family is so special I am so glad that you wrote this book. I had Lazarus next to me while I read and I cried so hard in the end. Thank you for putting your feelings and words on paper it helps more than you will ever know. I am going to try to attach a picture of Lazarus but I am not very savvy with picture attachments. Thank you and your family again for sharing such a personal and loving story.
Most Siincerely,

Maryanne from FL

My co-worker gave me “Rescuing Sprite” for Christmas & I just finished it (in one day.) I am so touched by you and your family’s love for each other and your dogs. I have two dogs that I also truly live for. Luke is an eleven year-old Border Collie that we answered an ad in the local paper for-“Free full blooded Border Collie to good home” (of course, the conveniently omitted the fact that he is as deaf as a post.) We found this out after we got home, but my 5 year-old son said, “Well, he may not be perfect, but neither am I.” So, that began our life with a deaf dog that has turned out to be the absolute joy of our lives. He may be deaf, but is certainly not handicapped. We taught him hand signals that amaze everyone who has ever met him. We constantly get comments such as, “I wish my dog was trained that well; we sent him to obedience school & he doesn’t do near that!” Our neighbors thought that we had invisible fencing for the longest time because he won’t leave the yard (just because he’s not supposed to.) He is incredibly intelligent.

After ten years, enter Bear, 97 pounds of gentle giant. Bear belonged to a friend of mine who died suddenly in her sleep at age 46 from an unknown heart defect. Her daughter asked if we would take Bear. I reluctantly agreed, telling her that it was only with the intention of finding Bear a loving home, after all, Luke had been an only dog for 10 years and wasn’t exactly receptive to others that came to visit. He wasn’t aggressive, he was just not real pleased. We kept them apart for a few days, but with no luck in finding anyone who wanted this “beast”, we finally introduced them. They sniffed for awhile, but showed absolutely no signs of any animosity. I was SO proud of Luke. It was as if Luke knew that Bear had been through a horrible trauma losing his family and he graciously accepted him into his. They are now the best of friends and the closest of brothers. Bear is the ears that Luke never had.

I wish I had known about Sprite during his illness or had been closer to you guys. I am an MRI tech. For many years I have done scans on dogs for my personal vet without charge for dogs lovers here. (Please don’t print this as my employers aren’t aware!) We do it after hours. The outcomes have not always been good, but at least have given peace of mind to many. Now, another vet has caught wind and I’m doing some for her. I’m so grateful that I have the ability to help in some small way. It broke my heart to read of your anguish. I would have been honored to have helped you. If I ever can in the future, I know Kentucky is far away, but I’m here.

My dogs are both up in age and I will one day be faced with your situation.

Give my love to Pepsi, Griffen & your two-legged family.

Much Love,

Marilee from KY

This is our note to family and friends after having to put down our beloved pet – Tucker.

I’m sharing this communication with you because in some way you’ve been closely associated with the Rasche clan through the years and that includes our hound dog Tucker. Tucker hasn’t been doing very well lately as his arthritis has picked up over the past several years to where he doesn’t enjoy his walks anymore and, over the past several months, he’s had an increasing number of incidents with throwing-up, gagging, accidents, and over the past week, no appetite. We had taken Tucker in for an evaluation a month ago but nothing conclusive came from that. Due to the increasing difficulty he’s had over the past two weeks, I took Tucker in for a second opinion that included blood test and x-rays. In short (no pun intended), the prognosis wasn’t good and we knew that Tucker’s time with us would be brief. They discovered a mass that had developed in his chest/abdominal area and due to it his digestive system was compromised. The vet felt strongly that all of his recent symptoms were directly related to the mass they discovered. The only option we were given was to go to MSU for invasive and expensive surgery with no good long term outlook. Read the rest of this entry »

Mr. Levin I have not read your book as of yet,but we have something special in common.You see yesterday I had to put my dog Max down. Max was a loyal and loving frienf for 14 years. I am a retired NYC Correction officer.

During my career I had come across many hardened types and never backed down. With the ordeal of putting Max to sleep left me feeling lost and alone. I miss him deeply.

Al from NY

Mark, thank you for sharing your story of Sprite. I have listened to both Sean and Rush in the past but had not listened to your show (my radio in my car barely picks up any stations). My brother and his wife know of my love for animals and rescuing them. They gave me your book for Christmas and I could relate so much to everything you talked about.

A few years ago I lost my lifetime pet (a cat named Smokey) while I was at college. I had grown up with him from the time I was 3 until I was about 21 when he died. I thought I could never open my heart to the pain (or joy) again because how much it hurt. I was embarrassed to tell people I was so depressed over “just a cat.” So many people did not understand, but now through your book I know there are many who do. Read the rest of this entry »

Mr. Levin,

I bought your book as a Christmas gift for for my husband and both of us have already read it. Thank you for so openly and honestly sharing your story with those of us who also love dogs and have loved and continue to love “particular” dogs. A particular dog in my life was a big, sweet, clownish Rottweiler named Dempsey. We also had to make that terrible decision to have him euthanized when his body was no longer able to support his great heart and spirit.

I think of him often, sometimes with a knife-like feeling of pain, but mostly with gratitude for all the joy and happy memories that remain. I believe that those of us who love dogs have a space in our hearts that can only be filled by a dog’s love. This makes us able to willingly emrace and re-imbrace the ultimate grief for the many joys and fulfillment that we gain in our relstionships with our beloved companions. The new dog cannot replace our previous pet, but it creates its own unique space in our hearts. That space in my heart is currently being occupied by ten year old Gunnar and two year old Tequila and Sammy. God grant that they, and yours, have many happy, healthy years to come.

Claudia from WV