We rescued poor Lucy our 5 year old (we think she’s about 5 anyway) Shar Pei a few months ago. Lucy was about to be put down. She was used as a breeder and had been found wandering the streets in LA. She had been chained up for a long period and has a permanent scar around her neck where her fur won’t grow back. After all this she has some issues, but slowly her little personality is coming out. She loves to come out into my woodshop and keep me company. She is turning into a real love! Truely amazing for what she has been through.

Craig from CA

Dixie was the most wonderful dog I and my wife ever knew. She was a border-collie/lab mix we took in as a pup with a red ribbon around her neck, shortly after we were married. We could barely feed ourselves at the time, but couldn’t resist her, at first sight. She always liked to fake us out with a lifted paw for a handshake, only to lower her paw and head for a pat when we reached down to her. We recently lost her after 13 years. She was a living chronical of our marriage, and lived to see our first son who was born 6 months ago. She will always hold a warm place in our hearts. Thanks, Mark.

Shawn from TX

Ranger is the dog that got my then 11 year old son through a year of nightmarish chemotherapy.
Ranger is a 4 year old Goldendoodle that came to us as a reject from another home. He was thrown out for being a busy puppy. We took him in despite the fact that we already had 2 big dogs and needed another dog like we needed a hole in the head.
He was meant to be here.
My son Jake was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoblastic Lymphoma one year later and Ranger was his guardian. His chemotherapy was nothing short of hell and his dog sat with him, laid with him, kissed him, and listened to him the whole time. NHL has about a 70% survival rate and Jake and Ranger beat it.
Ranger is a special dog with a special place in all our hearts.

— Angie from Greenwood, IN

We had to put our beloved pets down together two weeks ago and it has hit me like a ton of bricks. I just read Rescuing Sprite and it was very helpful in my grieving process with both tears and laughter. Sophia the blond Chow & Lab mix was almost 16. I rescued her from death row when she was still quite young. She was abused and left in a vacant house for several days when the owners just left. Her barking saved her life and now the silence in our house is deafening. She was fading over the last several months and then we found out Vinnie the Newfie and Lab mix had an inoperable malignant tumor on his rear hip and leg diagnosed back in November. He was a gift from a family member and 11 and we had him for almost 9 years. Our other dog Siena was killed by a hit and run driver in 2006 when she was 8 after she escaped out of our house. I was crushed since she was my Dog. But we had her Brother and Sister to help ease the pain and now there is no barking or begging or jumping or anything. They all had reasonably long lives and knowing we had these last few months with the last 2 didn’t make it easier but it will get better and they were so happy up until their last moments. I truly tried to live in the moment with them during the last months which helped. That’s the way our pets live so it helped me focus on the now not the dreaded day that was coming. My Wife and Daughter and I all said goodbye like we all do and the days are getting a little easier. If your pets are still with you, treasure those little insignificant moments as the little things make our daily lives and our pets make our lives better.

— Rick from Scottsville, VA