Betsy was a collie mix; she looked like she was part collie, part golden retriever with other breeds mixed in. She was born in March 2005 in North Carolina and she and her brother were rescued from a shelter when they were very young. I started looking for a dog about that time; I’d had cats for over 20 years…

This is Bree. A beautiful dilute Calico. She was playful and mischievous. As a kitten, she stole my socks out of the hamper and would walk around the house carrying them in her mouth. She loved Christmas tree ornaments and would sometimes be seen halfway up the tree sleeping amongst the branches. Once I found two ornaments left as “presents”…

It has taken me a few years to get to this, but I am hopeful that by sharing Sweet Pete’s story, I’ll offer my memory of him some rest. It would be an gross injustice to say that Sweet Pete haunts me, but “what could have been” still causes my heart to ache on a fairly regular basis. My family…

Sadie was one of those dogs who was friendly to anyone and everyone. She had a very energetic personality that would brighten up anyone’s day. Sadie, a Brittany Spaniel and a hunting dog by nature, loved to run around the back yard and playfully bark and point at all the birds and animals that would walk or fly by. She…

The first time I met Penny, a pudgy, 2-year-old Beagle mix whose family no longer wanted her, I was a lonely 26-year-old living in the cold northwoods of rural Wisconsin, and she HUGGED me. She jumped up on my lap, put her front legs around my neck and pressed up her body against mine. I’d never met a dog who…

I adopted Sashi from the Providence Animal Rescue League when I was in college. She was more like a person than a dog. She would look at you intently when you were talking and really seemed to understand what you were saying. We had a lot of adventures together and she was a great judge of character. She was very…

When I adopted my Boxer–Lab mix, Luckie Boy, eight years ago, I had no idea the kind of true love that I would be given. I quickly found out how tossing a ball and running in the park with my new furry friend could be the best time spent. A few months ago, Luckie developed a bone tumor in his…