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 mellow and responded to very subtle voice commands. I always had trouble getting her back from dog sitters because she was such good company they always wanted to keep her.

As she got older, she developed severe mobility problems with her hind legs, due to arthritis or degenerative myelopathy. One day when she was 14 she woke up and could not stand at all. She looked in my eyes and seemed to be saying, “Please make it stop.” When we got in the car to drive to the vet, she immediately relaxed. She passed away peacefully in my lap. She was my doggie soulmate. I’ve had other great dogs since her, but she was that once-in-a-lifetime dog I will never forget.–Emily Fromm

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 nasal cavity. The news completely devastated my family. Over the next few months, the tumor grew — it created a bump on his head that got bigger as the days went on. His breathing became heavy and he started getting nosebleeds.

His personality changed too; he became withdrawn. This week we made the hard choice to put him to sleep. While the decision was hard, I find comfort knowing that we gave him a wonderful life and that he blessed my life with true unconditional love.

As we move forward as a one-dog family (although I don’t think that will last long — our five-year-old Lab, Scarlett, seems lonely and has been looking for Luckie), I am truly touched by the support of our friends and family.

People have given us flowers and cards, and made donations to the Petfinder Foundation in Luckie’s memory. I’m reminded how many lives my little black dog touched. I’m also reminded what a great way a donation is to honor a pet’s life.–Lisa Robinson