A very somber day at my house the last two days. Lots of tears shed and memories shared. More tears. Yesterday, 3/26/11, while show shoeing in the Sierras our oldest Chesapeake, Jake aged nine and a half years, expired on the trail out of Lyons Reservoir. It was a two mile hike into the reservoir, all downhill. He was all happy and full of joy chasing snowballs and wading into the feeder creek. He and my other dog, Bear, were running and jumping and having a grand time. On the walk back, my best friend got a little ahead of me and I was a little ahead of my spouse. As dogs are want to do, both Chessies were ahead with my friend. I was chugging along a little ways back with my head down struggling slightly with the climb. And then just within my view from under my ball cap I see one of my dogs lying on the ground like he’s sleeping. As casual as can be. Within a second I see it doesn’t look right. I kneel down beside him and do a First Aid / CPR “shake and shout”. I look in his eyes and it’s obvious he is gone. As I type this I am beginning to leak again. But I have to share the love, joy and wonder of Jumpin’ Jake the Dawg. He was a scraper and a stubborn SOB and we clashed many times. He was very high strung and while he loved pheasant hunting he never was comfortable around the gun. He had some very traumatic times in his all too short life. He was attacked by a swarm of bees as a puppy. He acquired a one in a million autoimmune disease that nearly killed him but for a high dose of prednisone over the course of a couple months. Then he got into some raw trout fish heads near a lake that nearly killed him from the parasites. Yet, through all that he still managed to make two humans very happy. I live you, Jake, and will miss you so much.

— Don from Oakland, CA

Jack & Nuts are Jack Russel Terriers. Nuts came first when my best friends dad passed away. No one wanted the dog because he was a huge pain, ran away all the time and frequently did his business in the house.
I finally broke down and said I would look after the dog until a suitable home could be found. We went on to talk about other things and there was no more discussion of Nuts. When I went to leave that evening, guess who was in the passenger seat, along with his bed, his bones and his food, there was Nuts. Meanwhile my friend had called my young teenage son and told him “mom has a suprise for you”
That was May of 2003. About five years later Nuts was starting to slow down and get fat. My husband e-mailed me a picture of Jack from our local animal shelter, he wrote “Nuts needs a brother”. I called the shelter and was told that Jack had a hold on him and was going to a good family. I thought, well that’s fine then. Several weeks went by and for some reason I went back to the shelter’s website and there was Jack, so I called again I was told Jack still had a hold on him but we could come and visit on Saturday if we wanted. I told my husband, why would we want to visit a dog we can’t have. Never the less, when Saturday came we took the 30 mile ride to the shelter to see Jack.
We took him for a walk, he was skin and bones and had a bad case of kennel cough. We fell in love. Back at the shelter we asked the girl there to please call the people with the hold to see if they still wanted Jack. She said there were actually two holds, she called the first one and they told her they had purchased another dog and did not want him anymore (nice of them to call). Then she called the other person who had the hold and she said she still wanted Jack, so sadly we left.
Less than two hours later my cell phone rang, it was the shelter, it seems the other person didn’t want Jack either, he was ours. We wanted to collect him right away and get him out of there, he had been there so long, but they said we had to wait until he was nutered. So we paid for the surgery and waited for a call. As it turned out the vet could not put him under because of the kennel cough. So I begged, please let me take him home and get him well, I promise I will bring him back to the vet when he is better. They let us go.
Now Nuts loves people, but never got along with other dogs, so I was alittle worried. I brought Jack into the house on a leash and showed him around, to my suprise Nuts didn’t seem to mind, maybe he sensed that Jack was sick and needed love, they got along from the start.
Jack kept us up for 3 or 4 nights coughing and finally got better. Luckily Nuts did not catch kennel cough, which the vet said was a real possibility, even though they both slept with us.
We came to realize that Jack had been mistreated and most likley beaten. My daughter said one day “you know if you yell at him he pees on the floor” She was right, if you as much as rasied your voice to him he would cower down and pee out of sheer terror, it was so sad. After 4 years we still don’t yell at him no matter what trouble he gets into.
I guess it was about a year after we got Jack that Nuts started losing weight rapidly and was thirsty all the time, as I suspected he had developed diabetes. We had all kinds of tests and Nuts had to stay at the vet all day for 5 days, at least we got to take him home at night.
It has been several years now and Nuts has gone blind from the diabetes, but Jack keeps him going, Nuts gets two insulin shots a day and Jack does not like it at all, he barks and carrys on when we give Nuts his shots. I guess he thinks we’re hurting him.
They fight with the rope toy and try to both get through the dog door at the same time when they hear somthing in the back yard, it’s hilarious.
I kow that someday I will be faced with losing one of my boys and I cry just thinking about it, they have brought so much to our lives. Yes, Jack Russells are a handful and not for the faint of heart, but the joy these animals bring can not be measured or equaled by anything.

— Wendy from Florida

Just two hours ago, I had to send my baby dog Piper up to the golden gates of heaven. The gates of heaven are golden because of all the golden retrievers walk through them leaving there goodness along with all other dogs who are not golden but share hearts of gold.
On the way to the vet, I was comforted when I began to think that I am joining a vast array of very special people who love dogs as much as I do.

I believe that dogs are a very special gift from God. Piper stayed with me during the hard times and cancer. I will think of her every day. Piper I love you and I will miss you. Please say “Bark!” to Dad for me. I will always love you…

— Rhonda from Grosse Pointe, MI

My dog Sadie was neglected and kept in a cellar with an outside door for most of her first 3 years. A wonderful vet in Ohio (Dr. Shirley) rescued her. We picked her up 2 years ago. She was suspicious of everyone and growled at first but we immediately found out she loves cheese and behavior changes began thereafter! She’s since blossomed into her own personality – a wonderful little girl, well behaved, housebroken, smart, and a typical Schip.

— Shelly from Atlantic Highlands, NJ

My hubby told me he had an all black cat when he was growing up and one day the cat never returned home.

About 2 weeks after we got married in 1993 I had to stop at the Trumbull Mall for something. While at the mall I visited the pet store that used to be on the lower level. As soon as I walked in the pet store I saw that there was this adorable little black furball with beautiful big green eyes, matching black paw pads, black velvet nose and black whiskers. He was completely black except for two little white spots one on his chest and one on his belly. Needless to say I had just found my hubby the perfect wedding gift!

About an hour later, I walked into our house telling hubby that I just got him the most beautiful gift in the world that I knew he would love. I was right! The kitty and hubby were like magnet and steel!

After pondering a few names we named him Flint.

Flint was with us for 18 years. He was the most incredible cat there ever was. He was my hubby’s best fur buddy. He was such a good cat. He slept under the covers and with his head on hubby’s pillow every night. Every day when my hubby came home from work he was waiting like a dog at the door to greet him. Every night after dinner was “guys bonding time” in that whatever hubby was doing Flinty was right at his side or sleeping in his lap purring real loud. When it was time to get ready for bed Flinty would hang out in the bathroom while hubby shaved and would sleep on hubby’s pjs while he showered. When they were both ready for bed he would run after my hubby and actually leap on to our bed before we got a chance to pull the covers down. What was really funny is if hubby decided to stay up later than usual Flinty would start incessantly meowing at him and then yawn real big yawns in hubby’s face to give him the message that it was time to go to bed.

Flinty like to help me make our bed…when attempting to place a sheet on the bed he would get under it, lay on his back and playfully bat at my hand as I moved the sheet around.

Flint brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. His love was unconditional. He was so smart and I actually think he understood when we spoke to him as he would look at you and even respond with a cute little noise or meow. Even though he weighed 13 pounds before he got sick I used to lovingly call him Furry Munchkin and My Little Baby Kitten of which hubby would tease me and say he’s not a little baby kitten…he’s a big tough guy!

Flint we miss you terribly but know that you are now with God on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. We will forever cherish your friendship and unconditional love and will always remember you. You were truly a gift of God and we were blessed to have you in our lives. We love you and always will.

— Joe & Carol from Shelton, CT

I didn’t know it when I woke yesterday, but it was to be the last day on earth for my sweet girl, Spanky. She was diagnosed with anal gland cancer last summer and surgery was performed. The mass had adhered itself to the colon wall, so it was impossible to remove every cancer cell. I knew it was a matter of time – I was told anywhere from six to 18 months.

Then yesterday, she tore her ACL. I thought we were facing another surgery – until the vet said the larger concern was a new mass on the remaining gland. I was told within 10 weeks, this very aggressive cancer would make my dog horrifically sick. Even with ACL surgery, her leg would not have been healed in that time so I made the most difficult decision of my life. She was not strong enough at 10-1/2 for two surgeries, and the leg surgery was pointless without the cancer surgery. I had her put down so she would not suffer with leg pain, and so cancer could not slowly ravage her body. The idea of her suffering needlessly for even 5 minutes was too much for me to bear.

The pain and sorrow I feel today is beyond description. This is a dog who I got for free from a woman giving away puppies in front of a grocery store and she ended up to be the best dog EVER. I have been around dogs my entire life and I have never seen a more gentle or tender-hearted animal. I cared for her to the best of my ability every day of her life from the day I got her until the day she died. She died in my arms with me singing to her, “She’s my Spanky girl, she’s my honey girl, she’s my sweet baby girl, she’s the Spankiest girl, she’s my missy miss, I love my baby girl, she’s the best girl EVER…” There will never be another dog as tender, gentle or loved as Spanky.

— Donna from Northglen, CO