Right now our hearts are breaking. At 4:45 P.M. on December 7, 2007 we put our beloved Oliver to sleep forever. We got Sir Oliver III in October of 1995 when he was 2 years old at a garage sale. The sale had many cool things in it and then the couple added that the miniature long haired dauchshund was for sale. He won our hearts immediately. The funny thing was that we were not looking for a dog but there he was. The couple were both crying when we left with him. And what a journey we had with him!! For $75 what a joy he was. He won many a heart over to him, even those who were not ‘dog people’. The memories and stories about Oliver are priceless to us, and ,as you know, they live in us for our lifetimes.
We bought your book and have already read it. It, too, is priceless.
Keep up with all the good work that you do. We really do appreciate you.

Susan and Ken from KS

Dear Mark,

Ken Kersten, my childhood best friend, pal of 50 years and father of 12, sent me your book last week. He heard about you and Sprite while listening to Rush Limbaugh’s show. Ken said your story reminded him of us and our beloved companion Paco (like “taco”).

Paco was a Lhasa Apso with a “haircut and an attitude”, handsome, and loyal to a fault (see attachment).

There is nothing like the bond we shared. We were graced by Paco’s presence for nearly 19 years. The joy he brought into our lives was immeasurable and I am still devastated by his passing. As we have no children, he was “our boy”.

There are so many stories I’d love to tell, but I still have great difficulty in speaking about him. He was a “real” dog in the best sense of the word, but he had a few quirks. Everywhere he was became his domain, though he was a gracious guest. He had a Napoleon complex highlighted by a bark of a dog three times his size. He was stubborn (another story) and fearless to the point of stupidity. Thank God the real “big dogs” (German Shepards, Doberman’s, etc.) didn’t accept his challenges. At 18.5lbs, the odds weren’t in his favor. Read the rest of this entry »

Shadow was a beautiful young male Keeshond. He was well-behaved but couldn’t resist sneaking out of the yard whenever he found the opportunity. He was not a digger, he would check the gate frequently. He had gotten out before and had been hit once by a car, breaking his leg. He healed and was a very happy dog still. He got out every once in a while when kids from the elementary school would come by and pet him thru the fence. I guess some felt that he wanted to get out of the backyard (and I can believe that). The day finally came when he got out and wandered farther than usual. Why? Because he met a friend, a little poodle. They had a big adventure at a local park which was across a major street. On the way back, the poodle (and possibly Shadow too, we never found out for sure) was hit by a car. Shadow had the sense to go to the back door of the restaurant I worked at as a busboy.

I was not there that day but the eyewitness accounts told the following story: Shadow was scratching the back door to the restaurant until someone came out. Shadow pulled the employee out to the curb where a crowd had gathered to witness the poodle that had just been hit. As Shadow looked on and waited for the owner of the poodle to try and help his dog, the co-worker of mine gently stroked Shadow, not knowing where he had come from or anything about him. At one point the owner of the poodle looked up and said to the onlookers, “she’s dead.” Shadow fell over on the spot and also died. Tell me dogs do not have feelings. Thanks Mark for your book and everything else you do. God Bless!

Mark from OR

Today we lost our beloved nearly 13-year old pup, C.J. We have a family contracting business begun by my Dad nearly 60 years ago, and the happiest years have been the last 13 that we’ve had C.J. and his mother and father as “shop dogs”.
In 1994, my Dad (a lover and supporter of shelter dogs like no other) took in two shepherds that had been abandoned in a house near our business. At first, my brothers, who run the business, were concerned about liability and just the hassle of having pets at the office. We have 35 employees and everyone became attached to the dogs immediately. Shortly after Misty and Buddy moved in we realized that Misty was pregnant.

What a delight when, on a very cold January 1995 day, Friday the 13th in fact, ten wonderful puppies were born in a warm cozy shed on our lot. The next several weeks were the best of my career there, with 10 beautiful puppies and their parents to love each day. Because of our connections to the community, the pups were all adopted by great families. My parents’ neighbor, an elderly man, adopted the biggest pup to replace his beloved dog Chuckie who had recently passed. The neighbor realized quickly that he couldn’t handle a puppy, so we welcomed C.J. (Chuckie Jr.) back gladly. We lost Misty soon after but Buddy and C.J. ruled our shop for the next 12 years. All of the grandchildren fell in love with these wonderful family members as well. Buddy passed last winter, at least 14 years old, and this morning his son and our dear, dear shop pup joined him. A wonderful life, indeed, but not nearly long enough. I can’t believe he’s gone.

Tricia from NJ

Our precious little girl is named Wicket. She is a 14 yr old Pekingese. Our son named her Wicket because she resembles the Wickets in a “Star Wars” movie. At first, I was angry when our son brought her home because I didn’t want any more pets to take care of but she soon became the love of our lives. Her spirit and determination has been unending. You see, Wicket was born a “swimmer” which is a birth defect in which her leg muscles and tendons were not properly formed and she scooted around on her belly similar to a turtle. Our son brought her home because the breeders were planning on killing her that evening with a hammer. They didn’t want potential buyers to know the mom gave birth to a defective pup. My husband felt a special bond to her right away since he too has a deformed leg and foot. He decided to create a set of braces for her made of leather and snaps. We put them on and took them off every two hours for about a month. The vet said it was an ingenius idea and that it just might train her muscles. It worked!

Thanks to the grace of God, Wicket’s determination and weekly steroid shots, she is a typical little Peke! She loves to run, go for walks and have her nightly wrestling matches with my husband and her toy dinosaur. She has travled with us to many states and Canada. Recently, we bought another baby Peke to help keep Wicket feeling young. At first, Wicket didn’t like the idea but Gracie has grown on her and is very protective of her. These two have given us just as much joy in our lives as our 5 granddaughters!

Thank you for allowing us to be part of your animal-loving family.

Janice from CA

Hi Mark,
I just finished reading you book last night and was moved to tears. I feel almost as though we’re old friends now . We had to put our dog, ASTRO, to sleep on Sept. 21 this year and everything you wrote about what you felt is the same things I felt.
My husband and I don’t have kids or any other animals so you can imagine how astro was such a BIG part of our lives. He was a yellow lab mix, 9 years old, and he was my baby. We got him when he was only 6 weeks old. Our good friends has his dog mother and when she had puppies Astro was a wedding present to us. I could have never imagined the kind of impact this dog would have on us. He was so smart and friendly and of course showed us unconditional love everyday. All the neighborhood kids came to our house just to see Astro.

As he had had some hip joint problems in the past, and a few ear infections,we could have never have prepared ourselves for what was to happen the week of Sept. 21. He was doing just fine, chasing squirrels, playing with the kids in the neighborhood, full of kisses for everyone. Then he started acting like he had pain in his abdomen.My husband and I thinking he had just ate something he shouldn’t in our woods went with him to “wee wee’. And when he did it was pure blood. We immediately took him straight to the vet. A week later and after several x-rays, blood tests, etc. exploratory surgery showed advanced kidney cancer. We were devastated. We opted not to bring him out of surgery after being told it would just be a matter of days before he was in bad pain. All of a sudden the 9 years we had with him seemed so short. But I guess 19 years wouldn’t have been enough time in our hearts.

The grief has been horrible.

My husband and I could barely function for days.
Lying in bed not long after about 12:30 am one morning not able to sleep is when I saw you on the repeat of Hannity and Colmes talking about your book and your Sprite. I immediately got online and went to Amazon.com and ordered it. You have managed to put into words every emotion I have experienced. I will never forget Astro and the love and bond we shared.Your book has helped me deal with my grief a little and let me know how I’m so not alone. And for that I “thank you”.
p.s. wanted to send picture, computer messing up.

Donna from KY