I’d like everyone to meet Mandy, AKA “Alabama”. The unconditional love that she gives, I’ll never be able to repay. I thought you would like to see a picture of her with our birds that she loves to herd through our livingroom.

Jeff from New Jersey

Oh gosh, I’ve had wonderful dogs all my life and now I’m 70. Which great story to tell? I have several but will tell only one this time. Our English Shepard , Freckles came to us by chance, and she didn’t like having to give up her first loving owner…so she tried to find him and left us several times. Neighbors called us and we found her several times as far away as 4 and 7 miles. She was nice to us and our two young boys but she was very unhappy. She finally left again about Dec. 15. and this time we received no calls. We were sad but hoped that somehow she would make her way to New York and find her beloved master. Not much chance since it is 1500 miles but stranger things have been done by dogs. We had a terrible winter that year in Nebraska. Cold…so cold. Snow…lots of it. One day in early April, I looked up from my work to glance out the window and there stood Freckles….one foot in the air to take her next step, but pausing just beyond the gate into the yard. I could not believe my eyes, but I screamed to my little 3 year old son, to come quick, Freckles is back! She heard me scream and as we ran out the back door…..she turned and bounded toward us but never stopped until she made it into the porch and literally tumbled onto her old bed which we had not had the heart to move since she left. We all cried when we realized the terrible condition she was in. A bullet hole through one leg just below the knee joint and litterally covered solid with mud and cockle burs on her underside and legs. She was so thin….she definitely had been on her own all winter…four and a half months! She was so glad to see us….never again did she appear depressed or missing her previous owner….she was ours now….or better still we were hers! Over the years she was a faithfull friend to our three children….protecting them at least three different times that we observed, when she thought they might be in danger. She lived to be 16 and was nearly deaf and had poor vision. One Mother’s Day we went to the city for dinner, and came home very late. Next day our oldest son Eric, 16 found her on his way to school, in the ditch near the road by our house. She had been hit by a car. Later that morning the neighbor came by and was in tears because he had hit her with a trailor that was behind his pickup….she didn’t see it and darted out too soon. He felt so bad because she wasn’t dead, but very injured…and he had to get his rifle and put her out of her pain. We buried her in the grove and put a marker there for her. I know I couldn’t have raised my boys without her loving protection and care.

Ginny from Nebraska

I used to have a German Shephard named “Adam”. He was skinny, a little on the timid side, and pretty silly. We lived next to an elderly couple who had an adult son still living at home. One night, the son was in his backyard sitting next to the fence, playing his guitar and singing to his girlfriend. He obviously didn’t impress his girlfriend much because on the other side of the fence, in my backyard, my dog was sitting there howling his head off.

Ron from Texas

I’ve been a cat owner my whole life (am retired) & the greatest cat I ever had was a purebred chocolate sealpoint Siamese whom I named Hershey. Nearly 5 yrs. ago when he was about 10 mo. old he showed up at my door as I arrived home from work. I later learned a neighbor moved & abandoned him. He had never been outside before that. He had been neutered but it was possibly a “defective” procedure. He had two huge disadvantages: he was extremely territorial which led to his being injured a lot, (fights) plus he suffered from stomatitis, which is akin to his being allergic to the plaque on his teeth. For 4 yrs. I did all I could to handle the very expensive vet bills & had a great vet who was sympathetic to my dilemma. My income was very low but Hershey was worth the sacrifice. He chose to be mute most of the time & when hungry, just stood by his food dish. I’d never had a cat that licked my face as he did & he slept with me every night & never woke me in the mornings when I could sleep in. Late last winter, tho, he again was injured & needed a lot of treatment on his gums. Sometimes his mouth would be so painful that he could barely eat or swallow. I had retired by then & most of my income is spent on med. ins. premiums. His bill was going to be over $500. so despite all my efforts to try to find another home for him with someone who could afford all his vet bills, nothing turned up. It was the most anguish I had ever experienced, realizing I had to euthanize him just because I could no longer afford to treat him. That is real pain, beyond an animal for whom there is no other choice than to euthanize him/her because of old age or disease. Mark, there’s no way I can ever read your fine book because I can’t bear the sadness in it. It tears me up to even read headlines of abused animals. I hope this doesn’t have to happen to anyone else.

Linda from Colorado

No joy can replace the unconditional love of our dogs. We have a continual canine family of creatures we could never live without.

Sammy, our 7 year old cattle dog lives to run and will be having surgery to replace her knees this week. Her life is our life and we can’t wait to help her through her conditioning so she is ready to run and chase the deer when the snow falls.

Making the rest of her life the best it can be is our Christmas for ’07.

from Washington

In bad weather Dasha gets her exercise by walking on the treadmill.

Charles from Ohio