Mark, I so much enjoyed your new book. ” Rescuting Sprite”

I know writing the book brought moments of joy, but I also know it brought moments of sorrow. I can think back to the time I had a St. Bernard and how much fun we had togather. I remember one night I came home from work and found Berne laying in the frount yard. I called to him but he just lay there. This concern me because he normally was all over me. As I approuched he stared wimpering and looked at me saying something was wrong. I then notice the blood all over him. I rushed him to the vet hoping I was not to late. The vet looked at him and said there was nothing to do for him. I was told to keep an eye on him, if he could still go the bathroom he may be ok. I took him home and made him as comfortly as I could. I was up to check on him about every hour. He seemed to be resting comfortly. This went on for about two days and on the third day my wife called me at work to tell me that Berney was not home. I thought at first he was feeling good enough to walk in the woods which he love to do.

I started calling him and searching out the woods, but no Berney. It was dark by then so I headed back to the house. Before going to bed I left him fresh water and food thinking he may come in and be hungry and thirsty.
I was up several times during the night hoping he would be in his bed, but when morning came he was still not at home.

I told my wife I was going to check out the pasture across the road. The grass was tall so I saddled one of the horses we owned and set out to look for Berney. After about two hours I was ready to give up, thinking he would come home when he got hungry. About that time I saw him laying in the grass under a small oak tree. I knew he was dead by the way he was laying. I got down and checked him over. At first I started cussing and then it was crying. I left him there and went and got my truck and loaded him in the back. Why would anyone want to hurt my dog, he was like a big baby and would not hurt anyone. I took him out in my pasture and found a nice cool spot under a large oak tree. As I cryed I dug out a nice size hole I warped him in a clean blanket that he lay on when I would let him in the house. My wife and I had his funeral right there under that oak tree. We each said goodby to Berney. I piled some rocks over his grave and put a cross on the tree right above his head. He as a good dog and I know God took him to heaven to be his dog.

Mark, I have had several dogs over my 68 years on this earth, but have never had to put one to sleep. I can’t imagine how this must feel. I loved Berney and he loved me and if he had lived long enough I may have had to make that decision. I would have to face this by not think I was ending Berney’s life but giving him a chance to fell like he did when he was young and he can do this by sending him to God Almighty who can take care of him where as we can’t. Barney is gone but you can never lose the memeries and through photos he can still be part of your life.

I have never listened to your show because of my working hours, it comes over WBAP 820 am out of Dallas, Texas.

Thank You for writting this book and sharing your life with Sprite with me and anyone who reads this book.

Gene from TX

Mark- I just wanted to tell you that I just finished your book, Rescuing Sprite, and I am still wiping away tears. What a fantastic tribute to a top dog! You should know how much your book will touch dog lovers for ages. I also lost a dog, Charlie, the best beagle in the world and he is never forgotten. His dog tags hang from the Christmas tree each year. We have since rescued two more dogs, Teddy and Lilly who could not be more loving or loyal. I am so glad to see you support shelters and animal rescuers-these animals need all the help they can get. Thank you for touching my heart in such a sweet way-keep up the good work!

Ann Marie from PA

Dear Mark,

My mom just gave me this book for Christmas and it only took me 2 nights to read it! Through all my 2 boxes of Kleenex, I just could not put it down. I am a first time dog owner and Tex, my 9-year-old mini daschunds, is the greatest gift I have ever received. He is a healthy little guy, thank goodness, but I dread the day he will not be with me. Dr. Lori, our vet, jokes with me that she has to handle me with kid gloves because I am so attached to my little Tex. I just keep assuring her that Tex is going to live as long as I do. After reading your book, I know this will be true for he will live in my heart always. I am passing your book to my entire dog loving friends and I am attaching a picture of Tex! Have a wonderful and blessed New Year and please have a radio station in Charlotte, NC pick up your show!

Natalie from NC

“Indy” was a rescue pup, chosen by my son and brought home in spite of my desire to return to the shelter and exchange him for his brother whom I liked better. Little did I know what he would bring to our lives during his three too-short years on this earth. From the beginning he “sat” on the steps, his bottom and a rear paw on one step and the other 3 paws on a lower step. When you played with him he would “snarl” at you in a funny way all the while wagging his tail. And he had the softest ears and he had the look….you know….the look…the one that says “I understand” “I love you” “you’re the best”.

This past August he got tangled up with my other dog, Moriah, on the sky lead. She was a lot heavier than Indy (she’s an 85 lb. Black Lab and he was a 50 lb. Collie/Shep) and he got twisted up and we think he panicked which either broke his neck or strangled him. Finding him that way was the worst thing I have ever known. I miss him every day and hope he is a kindred spirit that I will meet again. I found this poem that really touched my heart and thought I would share it with you.

“It’s only a dog” is what everyone said, as sobbing beside him, I stroked his still head. Only a dog with his own special charm, so cute when he rested his chin on my arm.

He was only a dog that would lie at my feet, went to bed with the children, guarded their sleep. He came at a whistle, his tail waving high, no emotion but love ever clouded his eye.

Only a dog, that was easy to see. He wasn’t a purebred, had no pedigree. I buried him out by a tree near the wood. Regained my composure, as best that I could.

Without even thinking once I reached the gate, I turn and I whistled, then caught my mistake. My whistle unanswered, no welcoming bark, the silence was roaring, and tore me apart.

Only a dog? He was only my heart!!

Cindy from OH

She came to us two days before Easter, 1995 and left us two days after Christmas, 2007…today. She was the family dog and the finest one we had ever known. She came at a happy time, but a time that this family needed her. Our oldest son was in college, we had one in high school and one in middle school. For some reason, the family that had her at birth let her go at 6 weeks old and she was truly a baby…a little brown teddy bear that we held up to our face and she smelled like only newborn puppies can and she made a little grunting noise. She was the regal dog, the only pedigree we had ever gotten. Two years before we had to put our little mut, Muffin, to sleep from old age. she was fourteen. This time we wanted the dog’s dog…a Labrador retriever. We drove to Pennsylvania and picked up the cutest dog we had ever seen, paid $350. for her, brought her home and named her Smudge. She was a great dog who’s sole purpose in life was to retrieve a ball and get in the garbage. She was a wonderful swimmer and spent a few hours at the local mud hole retrieving balls from the pond. She also loved the snow, sticks, sleeping by the fire, and her best friend, Pokey, the crazy black lab we got two years later. At about six months we noticed that she was limping and found out that she had a condition in her lower leg joint that rendered her with arthritis at a year old. We opted to not operate on her, and for the most part, I am glad we made the decision, though she would suffer with pain in that joint and in her hip toward the end of her life. The next twelve years went very quickly and we saw two of our parents die, our two other children go off to college, and our grandchild born. Our grandson, Gabe, loved her and Pokey. Through all of the ups and downs of daily family living, Pokey and Smudge were there, except for this one, of course.

In the last year Smudge began to show signs of failing health. We had a hard time accepting it. She had a hard time getting up (and down) off of the floor. The six or so months before today, we daily picked up poop in the middle of the night, sometimes several times a day.This is the same dog who would never….I repeat…never go to the bathroom in our house. Our vet did not quite understand it, but I think that the pain in her hips and leg somehow rendered her partially paralyzed and she had lost all control. Read the rest of this entry »

On November 8, 2006, we put our dog, Mika, to rest. This is the tribute I wrote on her behalf 24 hours later.

My Mika

To tell this story properly, I need to go way back in my youth to my very first dog, Charlie, a collie dog that my parents got us shortly after we moved from the only neighborhood I had known to a new city. I was about 8 years old. My brother was 3. Charlie was a great dog for us. In retrospect, he had a lot of “Marley” in him! I remember the time he ate an entire outdoor wooden couch! Anyway, we loved Charlie with all our hearts. A couple of years later, my Mom and Dad had some problems and Mom took us away to live in Texas for a year. Dad stayed in Illinois. So did Charlie. It was a tough year, but in a year we were reunited as a family, except for Charlie. We were told that Dad gave Charlie to a family out in the country. I guess Dad was having a bad time of it and caring for the dog was too much. I tell this personal part of my life only to establish the special attraction dogs have had for me. As a kid growing up we never did get another dog, though my brother and I sure wanted one.

Flash forward to my 30’s. I’m married now and my daughter wants a dog. We found a very attractive 6-month old cocker spaniel and named him Jiggers. As daughters are disposed to do, Monica soon outgrew her devotion to her dog, at about the time she discovered the males of our species, if memory serves me correctly. But, that was okay as Loretta and I adored Jiggers. Jiggers was a bit unusual for a cocker as he never had even a cross moment in his life. He was ever happy. After about 14 years, something was tugging at my heart, however. Read the rest of this entry »