Our dog Webster was living proof that “on the eighth day God created Rottweilers.” He was a big, beautiful, protective, gentle, intelligent, mischievous dog who loved and charmed every single person he met throughout his life, including toddlers who should have been terrified by his size but instead sensed his sweet nature, called him “puppy” and rushed, fearless, to pet him.

My husband and I have no children by choice, and Webster not only brought great joy into our lives but also kept us from becoming totally self-involved. The demands of caring for a new puppy came as a shock to us DINKs but we stuck it out and were rewarded with ten years of more loyalty, love and laughter than we could have ever imagined. Webster had all the notorious Rottweiler stubbornness and sense of entitlement but a firm but fair upbringing and lots of love and attention (we both work at home) produced a wonderfully mellow and loving dog who still brings smiles to our faces even now when we have been without him for four and a half years. Read the rest of this entry »

I have had dogs throughout my life. Sitting in front of the television at about 5 years old, watching Captain Kangaroo with our family westie Misty. I had a true flat circular “lollypop” that I was treated to, and my little brain thought that Misty would like some as well…so there we were, happily watching Mr. Moose and Mr. Green Jeans, and I would lick one side, and she would lick the other. What perfect friends. One Sunday morning we went to church without cleaning breakfast dishes off of the table, and we came home to find Misty stranded in the middle of the table, mortified, and not sure how to get down. We were all laughing too much to scold her.

Amy from OH

Mr. Levin;

I recently heard you speak of your book “Rescuing Sprite” and your relationship with this wonderful dog on the Sean Hannity Radio program; however, it was your conversation with Rush Limbaugh today that resonated most with me.

Today you spoke of your final days with Sprite, the pain of his loss and the depression that followed – and I had to remind myself that you were not talking about me.

I lost my friend of nine years, Nala, on December 4, 2006. Nala was a Great Pyrenees who was four month away from her twelfth birthday when I was forced to have her put to sleep. Like you said today, I prayed for God to take her so I would not have to end my friend’s life – but I know in doing so I ended her suffering. Doing this was so painful for me and I still grieve for Nala.

Nala was one of three dogs that lived with my family. We still have our other dogs and cherish each moment we have with them. All of our dogs came from shelters.

Nala (and my little dog, Princess) helped me as you describe Sprite and Pepsi helping you. When I lost my job in 2003 and was depressed, Nala and Princess let me know that I was loved and they got me out of bed and motivated through their loyalty and their happiness. I realized that they understood that life could be a lot worse – as it was for them when they were in shelters facing death – and that positive changes come with a positive attitude.

Knowing that there are others out there who love their pets as much as I do Nala (and do Princess and Lily) is a big comfort. I am a 46-year old man and I still become emotional when I think of Nala’s passing.

In memory of Nala and other dogs that have shared my life, I have dedicated my spare time to helping our local animal shelter. I donate part of my photo-hobby website to them and I photograph dogs and cats for use on my site and PetFinder. My daughter and I (and sometimes my wife) work at the shelter to walk dogs, clean cages and bathe animals. We also work at PetSmart to help our animals find homes. I owe it to Nala and other dogs that God has blessed my life with. If you would like to see our shelter animals and pictures of my dogs Princess, Lily and Nala, you may visit my private web photo storage site at: http://digitalimage.albumpost.com/albums.php . I am not a professional and this is not a scam. All I want to do is help all animals be happy and healthy. The dog albums are on pages 1 and 2. Nala has an album, and Princess and Lily share an album entitled “Sisters.” The first page of the six page site is dedicated to the Henderson KY Animal Shelter. All shelter photos are happy photos.

Thank you again for what you said and for your book. I’ll buy it….but I am not sure I can read it right away. It will take some time for me to prepare for the emotions that will overwhelm me. I had to pull off the road today as I listened to Rush because your story brought me to tears.

God Bless you Mr. Levin. Thank you so much for giving Sprite and Pepsi a chance to have a happy life. As a shelter volunteer, I know how important that is.

Kevin from KY

Mark,
My husband and I love all the babies in the world and we wish we could save all of them. But, we know we can not do that so we help any way we can. We have 4 dogs and 2 cats.. All are rescues. The 2 cats came from the Howard County Animal Shelter and all the dogs came to us via different avenues. Our oldest, Maggie (11 years old), had been adopted from a shelter and the people that had her decided a dog was too much trouble and wanted to return her to the shelter. If they returned her she would have been put down.. so my husband and I said we would keep her until they could find her a home.. That was 8 1/2 years ago.. Do you think they are still looking? Then there is Charlie (we think he about 6 years old) ran out from an lane while I was driving down the road. It was 12/18/2006… We searched everywhere, put up fliers, called the animal shelters and no one claimed him.. So, I say he is my Christmas present from God. Winston, he is 3 years old.. He came from the SOS and BARK rescue groups.. in Richmaond VA.. Last but not least there in Madeleine… 4 years old. She came to us from St. Maarten, the Carribean Island. We were on vacation and there were three little puppy girls running on the beach.. We thought they belonged to the people renting the beach umbrellas and chairs.. But, we said they were not his and he was going to poison them… That tore my heart right out of my body.. I cried all the way from St. Maarten to Baltimore.. Once I was home I got in touch with the Animal Welfare in St. Maarten and gave the location of the puppies.. The Lady’s name is Kathy Deher… She was the president of the Animal Welafare.. She recued her from the beach, the other two had been taken by two ladies.. and we felt that they were safe.. So, there was my little black and white puppy. She was taken to the vet and was examined and given a clean bill of health..Then I asked how do I go about bringing her to the States.. American Airlines will transport animals traveling alone… and the Carribean does not have rabies, so no quarrentine. So, it took 3 weeks for her to arrive because it need to be 85 degrees or below where ever she was departing and arriving and she was flying from St. Maarten to Miami and she spent the night in Miami and flew to Baltimore the next morning.. Everyone was so nice and especially kind to her. We have kept in touch with her Aunt Kathy (Animal Welfare). Then there was my Mickey, black lab, we is my heartbeat.. He passed away October 4, 2005, at 13 1/2. I think about him every day and I miss him so much.. He is the love of my life… I know how hard it is… I cry everyday.

Susan from MD

I have just finished reading, “Rescuing Sprite” and it has to be one of the best books I have ever read. Only someone who has experienced this kind of relationship can truly appreciate every thing this family has gone through.

I have a beautiful English bulldog. Her name is Katie. My husband and I do not have children, so she became our daughter. We both worked so we worried about her being lonely during the day. After all, she was at home by herself everyday from 8:00 to 5:00. So after about a year, we decided we would get her a little brother. We found the perfect bulldog for her.

We named him King Charles but it was obvious he was a Chuck. After Katie got used to him being around, she soon fell in love as much if not more than we did. These 2 dogs were inseparable. They spent every waking hour together and Chuck slept with his head propped up on Katie’s hip. Every step I took, they followed. They even went to the bathroom with me.

One time Katie had to spend the night at the vets. She had to have surgery on her tail. Chuck spent the night walking the floor looking for Katie. He cried and howled all night. The next day when Katie got home, Chuck ran to her and one of the sweetest sights I have ever seen happened. Chuck put his mouth to Katie’s ear as if to say, “where have you been”. Katie turned to Chuck and did the same thing. I guess she was telling him everything that had happened to her. They walked into the backyard together, just enjoying each other’s company.

Katie had a few health issues, eye surgery, 2 more surgeries on her tail, just seemed like she always had something going on. Chuck never saw a sick day in his life. Then one day my husband let them out to play in the backyard while he ran an errand. He was gone approximately 30 minutes. When he came back, Katie and Chuck did not greet him at the gate. He knew something was wrong. When he went into the backyard, there lay Chuck with Katie beside him. Apparently he had had a heart attack. My husband tried mouth to mouth resuscitation on him to no avail.

We were devastated but Katie was hysterical. She knew what happened, she had witnessed the whole thing. The vet gave us a pill to give her. He said she would sleep for about 3 days, but after she woke up, she would be calmer. He was right she was calmer, but so sad. She actually had tears on her face.

It’s been 3 years now. We’ve looked at getting another dog to keep her company, but we can’t seem to find one that Katie approves of. Some people think that their just animals, but dog people know what a connection you can have with your dog and the connection that 2 dogs can have to one another.

Regina from TN

Dear Mark, just wanted to write and thank you for writing this very special book! Having lost my dear “Aspen” 3 yrs. ago and never really feeling like anyone understood the loss i felt, I know you do! I seriously started crying half way through the book and didn’t stop for a few hours after I had finished it! It felt like a cleansing of the soul, very deep, and much needed! Aspen was my “heart” dog, she was their when our son left for the military and our daughter left for college, our house was so empty but Aspen our 7 yr. old American Eskimo helped to fill the void! When she died at the age of 10 I didn’t know if I could recover and certainly never wanted another pup! losing them was just to hard!

Luckily after 1 1/2 yrs. we did get another pup “Sammi” has come into our lifes and if Aspen was my heart dog, Sammi is my “Soul” dog- Read the rest of this entry »