Cynthia,

Enclosed is a picture of Macgyver, a three-legged Collie/Shepherd mix rescue (shelter) dog. He's gone from sleeping in a cage to sleeping in a Queen size bed and is the most wonderful dog I have ever had. I truly believe he would be a wonderful therapy dog. He's very smart and learns quickly and has an endearing personality. I believe he is more suited to be a working therapy dog as opposed to just visiting people. I'm just unsure of how to pursue this.

Thanks,
Marsha Hirsch
Tuesday March 29, 2005

Hello, my dog's name is Sal.

My husband says that is short for "Salivate," but I call him Salvador. He is a chocolate Lab and is a year and 4 months old. I just found out today, 4-9-05, that he has a tumor in his right hind leg. He started limping a few weeks ago. I took him to the vet and had x-rays done. The vet could not find anything wrong and sent us home with pain meds. I took him back for more x-rays when he still had not shown any improvement. The vet still couldn't find anything. His leg was a little swollen. Well, it got worse. The x-rays today confirmed the tumor. He is the youngest of my three dogs and the only boy. He has the sweetest smile and loves his mommy, daddy, 2 human brothers, 3 human sisters, 2 dog sisters, 2 cat sisters (they tolerate him and he loves to stress them out) and 1 cat brother. I talked my husband into adopting him last year right before July 4th. He was going to be sent to the Humane Society. He had been kept in a garage all day and night. He is so smart though; he learned manners very quickly. This is so hard. I can't stop worrying that the cancer could have spread. I have to give him this chance though. He is my baby. Sal generally loves everyone. I have noticed that he has become very protective of the house the older he gets. My husband says that is because the girls, Max and Shadow, taught him. He has only snapped at 2 people (I do not care for either of them and my husband, Jon, said that is probably why). I am a little concerned that he may become aggressive, but then I remember that even when he was in pain, he never growled or snapped at anyone in the family. I do plan to keep him away from the younger children and the other animals until he is feeling better.

Christian Ray
Saturday April 9, 2005

UPDATE

In Memoriam:

My family and I wanted to let everyone know that Sal passed away on May 20, 2005. We found that he had a large tumor next to his heart and had multiple smaller tumors in and around his lungs. My husband and I made the decision to put him to sleep. He was our baby and will be missed so much.

Christian M. Ray
Thursday May 26, 2005