I have many stories, at my age, of dogs loved and lost. But my Sadie is the reason I bought your book. I adopted Sadie, a Min-Pin, in 2000. My son had bought a puppy from the breeder and when he picked up the pup, the owner told him she and her husband were splitting up, so they had to get rid of all the dogs. She told him Sadie was 3 years old. She wasn’t, she was 5-6 by this time. My son offered her to me and into my life walked the most amazing little dog I’ve ever had. I took her right to the veterinarian and had her teeth cleaned, the works. She had a small heart murmur at this time. I had her spayed, too. Five years later, she had her teeth cleaned again. Meanwhile, it took about 3 months for her to stop looking for her previous family. One day, I noticed her eyes seemed to be bloating. Indeed they were. She went to the eye specialist on Long Island, the best in the country. He pronounced auto-immune disease of the eyes and prescribed daily eye-drops and salve, for the rest of her life. As soon as we began treatment, she realized it was helping. She would turn her head from side to side so I could put the drops into each eye. She kept me on schedule with her medicines. Then, in 2005, about 3 days after her regular heartworm medication, although I didn’t connect the two at the time, she became weak, dizzy, disoriented, and started vomiting terribly. For a 12 lb dog, she lost 4 lbs in 2 days. She was so weak I thought she was going to have to be put down. I couldn’t face it. The vet told me if she could only keep something down, anything, she could make it.

I fed Sadie Pedialyte and Gerber’s baby food, on my finger, until she kept a mouthful down. She lived through it. Now, in 2006 I moved to Florida (with her). She really liked it here, felt right at home. But the heart murmer kept worsening. She was started on heart meds. Every day she took her medications like a champ. She knew I was helping her. She was the love of my life. In March 2010, one night I got up in the middle of the night and she had a seizure. I knew it was time. She didn’t come out of it. She couldn’t stand or hold her head up. I drove her to the Emergency Vet where we said good-by in a small 4-8 room. I still cry for her, but I have a new puppy. Just like you. Thank you, Mark for your wonderful words, sharing your heart with us.

— Carolyn from Cape Coral, FL

Well when I met my wife she was living in Miami and I was in Orlando, On the weekends I would drive down to see her and we would always go to pet shops looking for a special little puppy to take home. After many trips back and forth, we could never decide on one especially because of the costs. One day my soon to be wife’s friend came home and told us about someone she new that had chihuahua/ mini pins for sale, so we wanted to see them. Well out of all the new pups there was only a couple left and my wife brought one of them home. PANCHO. At fist I was uncertain about the little guy and a bit hesitant to keep him. But then I thought this poor little guy needs someone to take really good car of and that person was me. This little Guy brings me so much Joy and wants nothing but love. My wife and I have had Pancho for 10 years now and he has to be the best dog in the world. Great personality and what a lover!!! Just like a person.. We love you P nut!

— Justin in Orlando, FL

Baxter is our boy (rottie) who was rescued from a bad owner who let him run loose. After his 3rd run in with a car and pins holding his back legs together the Vet convinced the owner he would be better off with a fish as a pet. Baxter came home with us and became an agility pro and loved jumping and tunnels. He has been a constant friend and companion. He was diagnosed with cancer 6 months ago and was only given 4 months. He is still doing fine although a little slower. We hope he will make it to his 14th birthday in November. We know the dreadful day is coming but have a lifetime full of great memories!

— Randy in Peachland, BC, Canada

The Kitten That Adopted Us

Twenty three years ago my wife & I had been married two years and had been in Alaska for a year. In our first year there we had adopted a husky and an angora mix kitten. We, my wife more than I, were feeling guilty about leaving our kitten home alone when we took our husky out to explore Alaska. Valentine’s Day was approaching and I decided to add a playmate for out kitten to my wife’s gift. I went to the shelter to look for one and looked through all the kittens they had. I had selected one and was filling out the paperwork to have them hold it for me as it was not ready to be adopted yet. As I was walking out of the cage area, a tiny calico that would have fit into my hand, reached through the wire of the cage, pawed me on the shoulder and let out a pitiful mew. I melted, cried and asked if I could take her home.

Sascha, the name we gave her, not only adopted me, she even adopted our husky. We had an oversized show kennel that we kept our husky in when we weren’t home and anytime she was in there and the door was open, the calico would go in and sleep with her. I even had to cut one of the bars out of the bottom of the cage and there were many days we would come home from work and find her in the kennel curled up with the husky and both of them asleep.

After our children were born, she took to them as well. She was VERY tolerant of being cuddled by them even when they were young. My son, in the picture, would lie on the floor and use her as a pillow while he watched his videos. She never as much as bared a claw at the children, no matter how much they “loved her up”.

As she got older, she developed diabetes and required insulin injections twice a day. She was so tolerant of them, if she happened to be purring at the time you were going to give her injection, she never stopped. We had eleven wonderful years with her before her kidneys shut down.
The little boy in the picture is now a young man headed to basic training and then to serve in the Navy.
She’s been gone for a while now but looking through the photos when our church was preparing a photo montage for all the graduates this year made me a little nostalgic and grateful to have had such a sweet kitty in our lives.

— Chris in Helena, MT

My Chocolate Lab, Fudge, was taught that she could not go in the pool unless she was given permission, which consisted of calling or sending her in, or someone throwing a ball in. And she was pretty good about playing by the rules.

One day I was sitting in my home office watching her browse around the yard while listening to some terminally boring conference call, and all of a sudden I could see her tail go up, “On Point” as it were.

She rooted around in the bushes beside the deck for a minute and came up with a bright yellow tennis ball. Must have come over the fence from the kids next door because the only ones we had were pink rubber, they survived her mouth better.

So here she is, proudly walking around the pool chewing away at this new prize and suddenly it was just like in the cartoons where a light bulb lights above the character’s head. She stopped, kind of glanced left and right, turned, threw the ball into the pool, and then jumped in after it.

I only wish I had it on film.

Jim from TX