On March 2,2012, we lost our beloved Zoey.  We adopted her 5 years ago from Prayers for paws, a local no-kill adoption group. They had a bunch of the dogs at a local pet store, trying to get them homes.  My wife and kids went in before me.  I found them all petting an older, large, yellow 3 legged dog named Zoey.  Well, they talked me into bringing her home to live with our weiner-dog.  In short order, she became one of the loves of our lives.  My wife called her my girlfriend. Always surprising us with some of her new “tricks”.  My favorite was getting a sandwich off of the table.  Since she only had 3 legs, she couldn’t jump up.  Well, she figured out that if she pulled the table cloth, she could pull the plate with the food on it down to the floor.  I liked that one.  Because of missing a back leg, her back hips were always pivoted so she could walk.  Eventually, the pain got too much for her.  She could not even do her favorite thing in the world, going for a walk.  Taking her to the vet that day was one of the hardest things we ever did. I totally fell apart when, coming home from the vet, I saw that her big water bowl was almost empty, and reached to fill it for her. That’s when it really hit me. My wife and I cried for days afterwards. We know that she is in heaven, chasing cats, and chewing on knobby rawhides waiting for us.  We all love and miss you so much Zoey.  Thank you for being a part of our family.

— Robert and Michelle from Ravenna, OH

I would just like to say that our 9 yr old lil yorkie Zeba lost her battle with cancer today. She had 2 previous surgeries and an issue with paralysis in her hind right leg. Today she had 3 more little cancerous breasts removed, which went well. Then her little heart couldn’t handle the recovery and we lost her at noon today. She was the sweetest little dog ever and will be truly missed by our family!!

— Lorrie from Blacklick, OH

In memory of my beautiful rescue Hannah Mae who brought hair raising excitement and heart stopping escapades to my life!  She was 4 months old when she came into my life in February of 1995.  She was 18 years old when her physical self left me on Valentine’s Day of 2012.  Her soul and spirit will always be with me.  My rescue, Lucy and I miss her so much.

— G from Pittsburgh, PA

Buttercup is mine and my family’s 2 1/2 year old hound.  Her mom is a black and tan hound and her dad a blue tick hound so she is all hound. She has the best and most curious nose in the world. It keeps her going all of the time. She is very social and lets everybody know it with her bey bark. My girls named her and it’s amazing how a 3 syllable word comes out when you are calling her to come. She also loves the snow!

— Dave from Albuquerque, NM

Echo is a rescued Border Collie who came to live with me in September of 2010.  He was not quite 8 months old and had already had two previous homes.  He was extremely malnourished, weighing only 27 pounds, and was crawling with fleas.  To make matters worse, he had obviously suffered abuse and was very fearful of everything.

When I got Echo he did not know how to play with toys or what should be done with rawhide.  As he gradually gained strength with good food and exercise it was rather easy to teach him to play.  If you know Border Collies, this is at times a regrettable decision on my part.  When BCs are not working they would just as well stay busy playing, whether or not that suits your schedule!

Today, Echo is a very healthy and active 45 pound package of energy and entertainment.  His three main peeves (so far) are bonfires, fireworks and pileated woodpeckers.  These will set him into a frenzy like nothing else.  Not out of fear; just some irrational quirk.  BC owners know about these things. The only thing he is somewhat fearful of is strangers, particularly men, but I think that is due to the previous abuse he suffered.

— Karyn from Cedar, MI

I adopted Laverne (black) and Shirley (blonde) 4 years ago after her owner had died. They are large Labradoodles.
They are truly the best companions and are so loving and just darn good animals.
I recently moved back in with my ex-husband of 22 years. (a long 22 year journey) and he has two little Jack Russel Terriers.  Everyone gets along fine and seeing the little ones playing with the big ones is very funny. I am up at 3:30 AM and take my big girls for their AM walk.  Everyone gets fed at 5:00 AM and 5:30 PM.
I get greeted quite wonderfully after being at work all day. My ex is retired so he is home all day with the girls. He is so outnumbered now with 5 girls in the house.

— Gerri from Emmaus, PA