Mark –
My Irish Setter “Formaggio” was diabetic and epileptic. She was on insulin and seizure meds in her old age.
My wife and I knew it was time when she became so weak that she could no longer walk. This was very difficult since we had her since she was a pup. She died at age 14 years. It was good that she was able to die at home.
I agree with you, this was a very difficult decision and one of the worst days of my life.
Our Setters have been a constant blessing in our lives with unfailing companionship – a true gift from above. Keep up the good work.

I resisted getting a dog for years, even while my kids pleaded for one. I just did not want to be bothered. When I heard you talk about your Sprite, though, it affected me, and I caved in. We adopted a one-year old bisenji-boxer mix from the pound just two weeks ago. The kids are thrilled, and our house is a happier place.

Sean from AZ

I love dogs too, Ruby is our family companion, but ours is a horse story as we live on the plains of Colorado. Dogs and horses are so intelligent and understanding. I hope you see why I’ve chosen to share our horse story.

Emily & Izzy

In the summer of 2004 my four children and I started volunteering at Rocky Mountain Foal Rescue, near Falcon, Colorado. I had seen a newspaper article about the organization, that they were looking for volunteers for cleaning stalls. I decided it would be a good way to introduce the kids to horses and the work that is involved with owning horses, prior to getting horses of our own. Little did I know the consequences of getting involved with a group that does such excellent work.

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“I wanted a girlfriend not a dog.” That is what summed-up my feelings when I started to date the woman that would become my wife. It was only compounded when this 60 pound neurotic chocolate lab named Rose that would bark at me every chance she got. If I did not let her sit between us she would bark, if I walked past the cookie jar without giving her one, she would bark, she just liked to bark at me. This went on for a few weeks, and I almost had to call off our relationship because of it. But one day I came to the door and there was no barking, instead Rose came running towards the door with her tail wagging, and she instead of sitting in the middle of the living room she slid into at the door.

From that point Rose accepted me into her family. It was a tough test, and I passed. She was already getting older when I met her, and she had stopped playing. So all I knew of her was her eccentric activities, her maladies and having to rush home whenever there was even a hint of a thunderstorm approaching. She did not make life easy, but she did make life better. I learned from her how to care for someone more than I cared for myself. With her I could no longer be a selfish she demanded your attention. She taught me to care for someone I loved when they needed my help and could not help themselves. She was and will always be my best friend.
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Mr.Levin,
First of all your a great American sir! I listen to you every night.
Mark, my story is about my little buddy Divot, a jack russell, who my kids were crazy about, of course so was I, from just a puppy he didn’t want dog food but he would eat everything we did, he was very healthy and full of life! one day when I gave him my plate after dinner I watched him eat, he ate the salad first..lol then he ate the vegtables, then the mash potatoes, he saved the meat for last, thinking this was just a fluke, everytime I would feed him I made sure his plate was fixed like mine and he ate it in the same order each time, he saved the best for last and then would come beg for some desert, he was my buddy and my best friend we went everywhere together, he didn’t need a chain he stayed at my side, he loved to get under the covers when it was cold, and thought my pillow was our pillow. I could pat my chest and he jumped into my arms ready to go, he understood commands by just pointing, he knew he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen when we were cooking or eating so he had his little stake out place close by he knew that after we ate he would be taken care of, he liked milk with his dinner.

One day my son came home after he bought a new truck big tires and lifted we lived in the country so Divot had the run of the property, he didn’t recognize the truck coming down the drive way to our house, he ran out to it, barking and didn’t realize the size of the tires and ran under the truck and was ran over by one of the tires, killed him instantly, when my son realized what happen he was on the gorund crying uncontrolably, I heard the wailing and crying from inside the house, when I went outside, my son and I cried in each others arms for the loss life of our little buddy, he was the best, when he was a puppy we got him a little tom cat for a buddy, named Duggie, they grew up together and both went on country walks with us together, they were usally always chasing each other and hanging around with each other if I was working on one of the cars they were under it with me, well after Divot was buried, Duggie must have thought he was lost and went to look for him, Duggie never crossed the big highway, but a week later on 4th of July we found Duggie dead on the highway I picked him up and took him home and buried him next to Divot, I sat by their grave site and just wept, it seems for hours, I miss my little friends, they were buddies their whole life here, Duggie thought he was a dog, he didn’t come to here kittty kitty, but if I whistled or called his name he came running, just like a dog would, This is so hard for me to write about the lost of Divot and Duggie, a week apart from each other, I’m sobbing as I write this, this is first time I have been able to put this in writing. Thank you so much for allowing me to do this, you know I think it is helping me to deal with their loss…
Mr.Levin The Great One..
thank you so much for being our voice of reason and telling the big dopes how we all feel about them trying to tear our country apart! 

Jerry from MN

My beloved Patches she is a Bassett Hound is gone now. I found her as a stray at a plant nursery. I had to have her put down. She went blind from a tick disease called Erlickea. I started taking her to the vet in June of 06 because she seemed to be losing weight. In July she still didn’t seem herself and i took her back to the vet and finally by August the vet decided to check her blood for the tick disease. By then she was bleeding from her eyes. My heart was just broken when i learned she would never see again. It has been very hard for me to forgive the vet for not checking her sooner when i first took her to him. I live on a county road with lots of room for her to roam and i couldn’t bear to fence her in. But one morning i couldn’t find her and she was about a half mile from my house and couldn’t find her way home. I was so thankful the coyotes didn’t get her. That was when i had to make the decision to let her go or keep her penned up. I will forever remember her chasing the butterflies in the hay meadow. She was so faithful each day when i returned home from work she would be sitting in front of the house and run to greet me as soon as i opened the car door. I still miss her so much even though its been 15 months.

Linda from Texas