Portia was a wonderful dog, and we lost her about two months ago. We brought her home with her sister, Pfennig, in 1996, so she was with us for 11 short years. We bought two beds for them, but one bed was always empty. Actually, both beds were usually empty (at least when I came home from school). Portia was a loyal friend and an accomplished hunter–her favorite twilight activity was crab hunting on the beach (she’d always get several, even towards the end). Once, she even caught a squirrel. I’ve never seen a dog do that. One day, I came home from school and my parents gave me the bad news. I loved that little dog.

Sam from VA

One day I was thinking about how loving dogs are, and realized that DOG spelled backwards is GOD. Dogs are so much like God. Think about this:

Dogs love you unconditionally.
Dogs forgive you right away.
Dogs are always there for you and never leave you.

Those and many more are certainly traits of God as well. So my feeling is that God gave us these wonderful animals so that we could experience His love and his presence here on earth. Maybe it’s just me….but it’s something to think about.

Diane from LA

Little did we know that as we sat together in the Bahamas at the Atlantis about 5 yrs ago while watching your son swim (remember that the pool attendant accidentally moved your camera and you thought that I stole your chair ) that we both shared a passion for dogs…something that never came up in the conversation. My degree is in Animal Science and was poised to enter Vet school when events in my Dad’s life changed those plans. I had worked every summmer in the early 70’s for a local vet and became convinced of my calling to care for dogs. It never was to be but my love for dogs has and always be …In fact it was my goal to retire to the country and have exactly 26 dogs and name them after each letter in the alphabet. I too, have a story of having to put down a beloved pet “Sandy”…looking into to her eyes just in those final moments made feel as though she was saying to me “it’s okay”..I clung to that self imposed “bandaid” for weeks. I was a zombie. I feel the tears rolling down my face as I write this to you….there is so much more …I just can’t continue….

Raymond from LA

Mark, my heart goes out to you and your family at the loss of Sprite. It is a pain unlike any other. What I most want to do is thank you for shedding more light on the joys of adoption. As you have seen, shelter dogs/cats/whatevers are, without a doubt the best. I have a 12lb, one-eyed min. poodle. He lost his eye to abuse. This is, he has no idea there’s anything different about him. The other is a poodle/schnauzer mix, without a tail of any kind, who has been the sweetest, best, angel. thanks for speaking for those who can’t.

Bonnie from LA

I have loved animals since I was a little girl. When I was around five years old my dad brought home a puppy that a man was giving away in the street, that we named Poochy. My mother was not an animal lover and had no patience for a puppy who was chewing everything in sight. One day she called the ASPCA and a man in van came to take Poochy away. I remember the man saying “why do you want to get rid of this dog, he seems like such a good dog?”. I don’t really remember my mother’s answer but I can tell you that watching the man take Poochy away haunts me to this day. I’m crying as I write this and it is forty years later. I knew from that day on that I would never treat an animal as just object that is disposable. A year later my father brought home another puppy we named Cinzia. I’m very happy to say that even though my mother did not want an animal in the house my father and I would never let what happened to Poochy ever happen again. Cinzia lived to be 16 and died of old age. When she died we were heart broken, even my mother, but we were grateful to have her for 16 wonderful years.

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In 1992 a dog was tied to a stop sign. My friend took the dog in and days later
had puppies. My dog Buddy was one of those puppies. 15 years has gone
by and Buddy was a great member to my family. He passed away in his sleep on November 2nd 2007 and he is dearly missed. I saw Mark Levin on Hannity’s show and it touched close to home for me, so I thought I’d share my story. Perhaps help others who have lost a pet. I thank God for sending me a great gift.

Joe from IL