My Friend for Life

Today is one of the saddest days in my life, I had to say good-bye to my faithful and trusted companion of almost fourteen years. She came
into my life when my twenty-year old son showed up at our house with a little three month old black puppy that someone else didn’t want. He was wearing a black leather jacket and she was sitting in the crook of his arm and he had his hands in his pockets. I didn’t even see her at first. I was recovering from an operation and was sitting down, taking it easy. Our other two dogs, Kiana, a Siberian husky/Malamute mix was laying on the floor along with Tinker, a long-haired dachshund. Neither noticing the pup.

When my son came along side my chair, I looked up and said, “Hi, son, what’s up?”. He just stood there with a little smile on his face and then I saw it. The little beady black eyes looking at me from her perch in his arm. She was all black and matched perfectly with his jacket.

I saw her and said, “Take it back!” He then told me she wasn’t wanted by her previous owner and we had to keep her. I didn’t want three dogs, our house was full with the two we already had. Well, that was the day Cinder came to live at our house. My son didn’t care for the name she had and said he wanted to change it but wasn’t sure what we should name her. I said, “Well, let’s let her pick her name. Let’s see what habits or little idiosyncrasies she had and wait a little while, she would pick her own name.

A couple days passed, all of us calling her puppy, when we noticed she would sit on the mantel of the fireplace not just once or twice but most of the time when there was a fire going. Our fireplace mantel was about four inches off the floor and an easy place for her to reach. My husband had a fire in the fireplace most evenings when the weather was cold and so it was a cozy spot. As we tossed a few names back and forth between my husband, son and I decided on Cinder. Most appropriate, don’t you think?

Cinder settled in with the family very well. She got along with everybody, she was always ready to play and be loved by anyone who was there. Kiana took on the responsibility of being mom to Cinder. If you know anything about Huskies, you know they talk. Oh, not like humans talk, but the sounds they make are always the same to the appropriate questions.
– 2 – Read the rest of this entry »

I am a dog lover. I got my wife a yellow lab puppy in December 2003 after much begging. We had dogs in the past together but could never get past the puppy stages and had to take them back. Years ago I had a dog Angel a Spitz breed dog that lived for almost 15 years. She was an outdoor dog and honestly I have always felt guilty she never got the love and attention she deserved. When we got Harley, our Fox Red lab as a puppy we fell in love with her. I swore I would spoil this dog like I never did with my Angel.

Within a few months we discovered harley had a heart murmur that wasnt life threatning but treatable. We werent in a financial position to have the treatment done so we resigned ourselves to living day to day and see how she got on. Well, she never ever showed any signs of any heart problems. She still had the heart murmur but she ran, played catch, did everything a puppy and then a grown dog would normally do. This past year I took an out state construction job that allowed me to take Harley with me on my travels. She would ride in the front seat of my truck, all 100 lbs. of her enjoying her trips with me. Now harley mind you at 100 lbs, would sleep on my lap in my recliner stretched out all 5-6 feet of her. She was smart and probably had a 50 word knowledge of the english language. She was our baby, our child if you will. Her ability to know when something was wrong between me and my wife or when I was sick she would keep her distance waiting for me to get better. She just knew things, Dogs just know things people dont. Now I have liver in Omaha, Ne all 50 years of my life and my wife and I just decided to up and move to Colorado. She moved before me so I could finish up work in Omaha and I moved out mid-August. We always told Harley that we were going to live in Colorado. She would get so excited when I said the name Colorado.

Now in June and then in July Harley had a few heart wrenching seizures that the vets said were just a lab thing. These things just drove me to tears and I felt helpless when she was having the Grand Mal seizures. We went till September 12 without any troubles. Read the rest of this entry »

Thankyou Mr.Levin,
This is a testament to the love and loyalty to and of my friend ‘Raiko’. She was a Husky/Timber wolf mix. The runt of the litter of a friends pets. I first saw her at a party at my buddys’ house when the pups were only weeks old.

She was so tiny and frial that she could barely walk but she walked right to me amongst the other 6 pups. A month later I stopped by my friends house for a few drinks after work and she was the only pup left. Nobody wanted her. I paid him $150 and took her home. The week after I brought her home,she got out of my fence. I walked to look for her to fing a group of kids in a circle kicking the hell out of her. I alone walked into th middle of a circle of thugs and picked her up without saying a word but giving a stare that could kill and went home with my Babygirl. Three yrs. later I had moved into a home that I intended to buy and have moved to a rural area with a Marine friend of mine and his Rottie” William”. Raiko had her first boyfriend! She and William were inseperable. One night after playing a gig at a local club, I came home and went to bed, Raiko at the foot of my bed as always.

At 5am she woke me by chewing on my arm. When I opened my eyes, I saw flames above me engulfing my ceiling. I had just enough time to wake my roomie and get us out before the fire consumed the house. Raiko saved mine ,my roomie’s and Williams’ lives. She died of lymphoma last year. She wasnt a pet. She was my best friend and a loyal companion.

Anonymous from FL

I’m 48 years old now. But I’ve never forgotten the time when as a 13 year old boy I had to say good-bye to my friend Blackie whom I’d remembered as always being there. He was suffering simply from old age(16 man years) and was going to be put to sleep that day that I had to say good-bye and get on the bus to go to school. I tear up to this day when I think about that day, I can remember it like it was yesterday. But I’m thankful for that day, and the lesson that dear Blackie taught me about life and death. Only a couple of years later, at favorite grandfather would die. Of course, there’s no equating the two, but for a young man Blackie’s death made pappaw’s death less devestating. God truly did give us pets I believe to help frail humans deal with death.

Greg from AR

Dear Mark,
I just returned from my Thanksgiving trip. I went to the Dominican Republic and i tell you i am a dog lover and now have a beautiful 3 year old Portuguese water dog and lost my beautiful Yorkshire Terrier Fido of 15 years. The reason i am wriiting you is to bring your attention to the horrific treatment of dogs there. I was there for 5 days and i could not believe all the homeless skin and bones dogs i witnessed in their beaches and roads. I was in tears the whole time i was there. I felt helpless and could not help those poor dogs. Insted of enjoying my vacation i went around town to feed those dogs. I would take my breakfast lunch dinner and give them food. I will not forget the dogs and just want to bring it to your attention about those unfortunate dogs dying right there in front of your eyes. Thank you

Susanna from MD

This was taken from my hometown form:

A Dog’s Purpose, (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. Read the rest of this entry »