Our darling Tuffy came to us as a stray puppy when my boys were very young. He was a wonderful part of our family.

On Aug. 9, 2006, our home burned. We were not able to get Tuffy out, and he perished in the fire. The loss of everything we owned did not compare with the loss of our pet, even though we did not have insurance. The grief was unimaginable. We are supposed to protect our beloved animals, and we were unable to do this.

After a period of several months, we adopted another mutt from our local animal shelter. Tipper is shy and this makes her bark and growl at anyone who comes to our house. But we love her.

Please adopt a dog from a shelter if you looking to expand your family!

Bonnie from TX

When I was growing up, my family had cats. Mom and Dad worked, and we didn’t want to leave a dog home alone all day. My older sister and I have many happy memories of the various cats we had to play with, and the distinctive personalities of all of them.

My senior year of high school (1978) started out with a series of accidents that, once all was said and done, we could only throw up our hands and chuckle at. First, Ebony, the cat we had at the time, was hit by a car and broke its leg. The doctor was able to fix him up, although my Dad balked at first about the hundred-dollar cost. “I could buy five new cats with that much money,” he grumbled, in long-suffering “Archie Bunker” fashion. (He was not wealthy, and was more of a dog lover.) Then several days after our cat came home, my Dad broke his arm and couldn’t do his job (driving a cab) while he recovered. So the den became a kind of infirmary, with Dad in a cast and the cat with a pin in its leg! It was oddly amusing to come home from school and see the two of them hobbling around the house together, keeping each other company. And Dad and the cat became fast friends! (I also took my brand-new driver’s license and totaled Dad’s car around the same time, but that’s another story. He was very forgiving, though.)
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My condolences on losing your best friend. Our family lost it’s 1st dog in March of 2006. He was a golden retriever named Riley. Today is his birthday and he would’ve been 14. He had several battles throughout his life with cancer and always seemed to amaze us by pulling through like a champ. On his last day with us, he somehow waited until we all got home and passed away on our living room floor. The last thing he did before he left was to pick his head up and look at my 11 year old daughter and give a yelp as he said goodbye.
I know how you and your family are feeling as I tearing up writing this almost 18 months past his death. The enclosed photo is of Riley at 10.
Take care my friend and patriot as we all grieve with you.

Todd from WA

Hi Mark, I want to share with you the story of my best friend Chico. Chico was a chihuahua about 5 lbs, hair as white as snow and you could always tell when he was most happy because he would seem to smaile at you. I got Chico as my first real pet, sure we had animals all my life but none of them were mine. I had some surgery done and was sleeping on the coutch when my mother came in and woke me and said,”Get son, we are going to get you your very own puppy”. Words cant discribe my emotions that night, I was happy, I felt a since of releif from the pain of surgery, I could’nt wait to go find my dog. I brought Chico home and he even though he was just a small pup he sat by my side while I got over my illness, everyday.

Chico and I grew together for the next two years and could not have been better friends. Then it happend, my two labs had attact poor little Chico one afternoon, breaking six of his ribs, fracturing his spine, and left him to die. My mother found him under some bushes crying for help, and then she called me. I came home as fast as I could to find Chico on the floor crying out of pain with every breath he took. when saw me come through the door it was like all pain had left his body, his tail wag a few times but i could see it in his eye that he was ready to go. I took him to the vet where they told me his chance of survival was low, and that they would try everything to save him. I sat in the waitng roon while they gave him some pain killers and they walked me back to see him. I held his little head in my hands and told him he was safe and that I would see him really soon. Later that day the phone rang, it was my mother, and she said painfully,”Son chico did not make it”. It was the hardest day of my life, I cried for houres and houres for my loss. I have come to terms with my labs and understand that its the nature of the beast and that i must go on with my life and keep chico close to my heart.
Thank you mark for all that you do,

Tyler from GA

One more little addition for this site, old and author unknown:

MAN’S BEST FRIEND

THE ONE ABSOLUTELY UNSELFISH FRIEND
that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his Dog. A man’s Dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the sores and wounds that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If misfortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful Dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble Dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even in death.

Matthew from MI

My son said that “Gizmo” won the billion dollar dog lottery. He came to live with us on our 20 acres – lived out his 14 years with us in peaceful surroundings. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be with nearly all the time. He kept us warm in bed and laughing at his attempts to catch the crows and chipmunks. Arthritis, weight loss and weakness from kidney failure finally rold us it was time to end his life. Still alert, He went with the same grace in which he lived. It’s been nearly three weeks now, and the pain is still intense. I’m walking the trails alone, but it isn’t the same…we miss this wonderful animal.

Byron from OR