Our dog’s name was Sara, a mutt whom we loved dearly. She gave us her undying devotion and was funny besides. When it was time, my husband took her to the vet who put her to sleep and left her there. When our daughter-in-law’s chow, Chewy, for self-explanatory reasons, became old, ill and had every operation available to keep him alive, she had him put to sleep and cremated, keeping him in the living room in a beayiful urn. But 10 years ago she called that her husband, the father of her 2-year old son and the older of our 2 sons, was dead, it was devastating beyond expression or belief. We all felt nothing but numbness. The funeral was a blur. Our remaining son, who was the apple of our older son’s eye and vice-versa was like us. Totally bereft of any emotion. Our deceased son’s name was Steven. His brother’s name is Doug. It has been 10 yearsn since Steven w ent homer but we all shall always remember how he lit up any room when he entered, how he always said, “I love you,” at the end of a phone call whether it was me or his father. Read the rest of this entry »

Mark,

I picked up Rescuing Sprite last night and literally could not put it down. By 2am, I finished it cover-to-cover, and was literally soaked in tears.

I am a dog lover myself and own two dachshunds named Maedchen and Belle. After reading it, I am honestly a changed man. After closing the book cover, I immediately loved on my dogs and took them out for (now then) an early morning walk. Your book makes me appreciate my dogs, family and life in general, more than ever before. It reminds me just how precious our time on this world truly is.
Thank you so much for sharing your heartfelt story about Sprite. I know you and all the others he touched will forever miss him, and I wish you all God’s blessings.

Preston from TX

Mark, I just bought your book this morning and my friend recommended I get your book. I was in tears while I read your wonderful story. It is nice to know that other people feel the same way and experience the same grief when losing a pet. We had to put down a dog almost 10 years ago and it was such a devasting moment in my life. Now I am faced with that again with my (2) 13 year old Lhasa’s. One of them is in bad health with diabetes and we don’t know how much longer we will have with her. We also have (3) Saint Bernards. One of my Saint Bernards whose name is Winston is 3 years old. He is my world. He has such a huge heart and it is almost as like he has a human’s soul. He has changed my life and I cherish every moment I have with him and the rest of my “kids”. I know Winston is only 3, but there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the terrible day when he is no longer in my life. The grieving process starts early when you have a pet while they are still alive and I truly believe that. I always joke with my husband and I tell him, the day Winston goes, I will need to be heavily medicated because I can’t imagine the grief that I will experience with losing him. Your story was amazing and I will tell everyone I know that is a dog lover to buy your book. I have it sitting on my coffee table. I wanted you to know that I don’t read books that often and it has to be a good book for me to read it and one I can relate to. I related to your story more than you can ever imagine. The most important thing we can all do is cherish everyday we have with our beloved animals and shower them with love while they are here with us. Thank you again for writing such an amazing book.

Allyson from TX

Mark,
I heard your show for the first time last week on my way home from class. I caught you in the middle talking about Sprite, I was taken by the passion and love that you displayed for your dog.

The story that I want to share with you is about our dog Lucky. During the winter of 2004 my fraternity Kappa Eta Kappa (KHK) decided to find a dog for the house. She was a three year old chocolate lab that we rescued from a puppy mil, she was used and abused as a breeder mom for two years of her life. When we met Lucky she looked sad and was sharing a cage with an old yellow lab we knew we had to take her home and rescue her. When we got Lucky home she was scared and confused about her surroundings. We found out over the next few days that she had been malnourished and beaten. She would hardly eat, never smile, and would never leave the corner of the room she was in.

Within two weeks she was eating regularly, within a month she was all around the house saying hello to all she found. As the summer the fallowing year passed Lucky became more and more of a handful and a joy to be around but not all of the members of the fraternity thought we could keep her, after much debate we decided to give her to our local coast guard station were we met a group of men who were deserving and respectable. As a plus one of the men also had a chocolate lab that Lucky gets along with like a brother. I get to see Lucky every now and again and she is happy and healthy in her new home. Mark i feel i can relate to you having taken a soul into our homes loving them and becoming part of out family only having them taken from us to early. Today I have two dogs my a shieba enu named Leo and a new jack russel/ fox terrier puppy named Ivan

Chad from WI

I live in a household with nine cats and at one time two dogs. We live in the country and unfortunately irresponsible people find this area a preferred place to dump unwanted pets. With the exception on one cat we took in from a friend all the rest have been animals that have strayed up to our house or we have found wandering around this area.

One day about seventeen years ago a stray dog wandered up to our house. We had been living here about a year at the time and already had a dog and five cats. I didn’t really want to take in another animal but I couldn’t bring myself to be mean to this dog. We fed her and let her stay in the yard. She became our dogs, a pit bull that I raised from a puppy, best buddy. The pit bull was another rescue from a guy that lived next door to a friend. He was going to drown all the pups from his female pit bull. I named the pit bull Hammer because his head, when he was a pup was the shape of an anvil. We raised Hammer with love and kindness and had no intention of turning him into a mean dog. He was a great dog and never bit anyone. He loved playing with kids and was never too rough with them. In fact I was often amazed how much patients he had with kids because they sometimes got pretty rough with him. Read the rest of this entry »

I received this email, and had to forward it to you, Mark. I dont know this family, but knew you would enjoy it. Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith , ‘ in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’ Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I’m easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

Tommy from NC