I couldn’t read the book. I couldn’t watch the movie. I won’t watch The Discovery Channel when Killer Whales are on because I just know that they are going to eat a seal mid-jump.

I couldn’t even watch the segment in Keeping Up With The Kardashians when Khloe was at the PETA office and they were showing her video realities of the fur industry. UGH!

But that doesn’t mean I can’t give away 2 copies so that someone else can enjoy the movie!

I want to see pictures this time, so email me (1) picture of your Marley (or Marley’s) by Tuesday 4/7 at 5pm PST.

Click here to read the winning entry!

We loved Erica + Aida’s story because it embodies the deep connection between a dog and their owner and demonstrates how that special bond can help heal both a broken soul and a broken heart.

Not only did Erica rescue Aida (and vice versa) she took her experience one step further and created the SavingAida Foundation.

The foundation was developed with the intention of providing unique solutions to:

• At-risk and disabled child/teen health and development through animal-assisted therapy; and
• Understanding and encouraging the power of human-animal relationships.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who took the time to share their story. I spent an entire month laughing, crying, contemplating, and cherishing each entry. They were each so special in their own way. If I could meet and capture all of you and your babies, I would.

I’ll continue to share entries over the next month or two, because they deserve to be shared.

Click on each of the links to read the stories of our 5 finalists:

Annie + Rajah
Katie + Hank
Heather + Duchess
Erin + Fiona
Kristie + Punky

Each of the finalists will be getting a goody box filled with my favorite things so all 5 of you, send me your address!

I had so much fun doing this I think I’ll make it an annual event!

Last minute entries are filling my inbox as I type.

I can’t help but love procrastinators. It makes me feel better about my own bad habit.

If I could fly to Africa, I would. If I could raise enough money to have him sent back to the United States to live with Georgia, I would do it in a single, solitary, heartbeat.

BUDDY
By Georgia Reed

I was hesitant to enter Buddy for many reasons. First off, Buddy was not my dog from the start, and he is no longer my dog. But Buddy played a huge role in our lives.

Buddy is a mixture of what all I don’t know. He was found in a shelter somewhere in the southern U.S. and taken by a missionary family to rugged Northern Uganda. Buddy adapted, but after many years, the family found that what was best for their young children was to return home. The return trip would be too wearing for the then older Buddy so he became a “mission” dog, passed around to missionary families to be a friend and a guard dog.

Before my husband and I got married, he was in Kaabong, an isolated part of Karamoja, along the southern border of Sudan. He was alone, the only foreigner for hundreds of mile in a volatile and insecure area and went through an incredibly hard time. When he found out he was getting Buddy- the mission dog who barked a lot- he was sad. But Buddy came up and moved in with my husband. What blossomed there my husband never could have imagined. Buddy became more than a friend, he became a life-line and his only outlet for frustration, depression and the hurt that this foreign society brought into his heart.

We married at last that next year in the U.S. and quickly turned around and returned to Kaabong. Buddy had been left alone on the compound for three months, fed by the guards and rarely loved. When the “mzungu”, or foreigner would leave, he would often dig under the fence and go hide in the mountains that were also inhabited by hyenas and other African animals. He had been stoned and mistreated by the nationals there who fear dogs greatly. When we first walked up, bedraggled and weary, dirty and dragging bags across rough terrain, we could hear him yipping from a mile away. Somehow he knew we’d come.. I came to value him more than my family… It sounds awful, but it is true. During the darkest days we crossed, when no human could offer an ear, and there was literally no one who saw life as we did, we could come home and find solace in his big brown eyes, his gruff “old man” face, and his patient doggy love…When we had no one else to offer our tears to, and our racked sobs of frustration at the hurt and senseless violence and suffering around us; Buddy sat and soaked in our tears and offered comfort…

Honestly, what all we saw, and all we went through in Africa was hard on us, physically and emotionally. We knew that we needed to return home. Buddy had been missing a few years of immunization records and wouldn’t manage the trip well.. I was heartbroken- literally when I knew I would be leaving him there in that harsh environment after he had weathered us so unselflessly through so many storms.. For months before we left I would hug him every time I saw him and wouldn’t want to let him go. I would whisper in his ear that it wasn’t his fault that people he loved and trusted kept leaving him…. I’m sure only a dog lover can understand the pain in feeling that you’re letting down this friend who would do anything for you…

I cried on the plane, and initially coped with the shock and numbness of leaving by placing all of my sadness and anxiety on leaving Buddy alone… We left him with a young couple who hesitantly agreed to take him.. They’re not animal people and took him only on our council that if not for friendship Buddy was a great guard dog and genuinely cared about protecting his people.

We had been back in the States only a month when we got word that the young American couple we left Buddy with had been attacked in our compound at night. Armed raiders cut through the fence, and fired rounds for some time. The couple lay huddled on the floor frightened and praying as they said Buddy went wild (as he always did when “danger” came near). In the end, Buddy was the final deterrent that kept the raiders from cutting through the interior fence. I was overcome with sadness that Buddy has been abandoned in this awful wilderness of survival- the “real world” outside of the safety of our safe “civilized” western society.. I was overcome with pride and thankfulness that Buddy already served a greater purpose in staying than I could have ever hoped for him in dragging him away with us… And of course I was grateful that our friends were unharmed and that Buddy played such an integral role in that…

Honestly, I still miss Buddy, and it’s hard for my husband and I to mention him or even look at pictures… I love him so much, and you never forget that selfless complete love that a wonderful dog gives you back. I guess only a dog lover could understand how deeply a dog can impact, enhance and shape your heart and your life… Like Buddy did for us. I don’t think I’ll ever think of him, or our time there without having to fight back tears for the love of that friend and all he meant to us. Our Buddy.

P.S. I realize I can’t really “win” because Buddy is in Africa… But I really appreciate this chance to share this story with someone who would “listen”… It helps.

[ Don't forget to enter! ]

. . . . .

PUNKY
by Kristie Lugiewicz (Florida)

Do you see that face in those images? I love it. It makes me smile. She reminds me of the simple things in life. She reminds me that life isn’t so bad after all. That I should stop and smell the roses (because really? She does stop and smell the flowers!). She just reminds me to love.

A lot of times, when I look at her smooshed-up pug face, I am also overwhelmed with a sense of sadness. I am sad to think of the life she had before she found us. I am sad to remember the condition she was in when she moved in. I am sad to think that she still flinches at times, when I go to pet her. I am sad to think that so many people mistreated her, that she was neglected to such a horrible degree.

We have had Punky for two years now, and we are constantly seeing new sides of her as she gets more and more comfortable here. The first five years of her life she had already gone through three homes and a quick stint at the shelter. When we got her she was so very sad looking. She would freeze whenever we would pick her up, as if she had never experienced being picked up for a snuggle. She would never give her belly up for a rub. And play? I don;t thikn she was ever given toys, so she had no clue what to do with them when they were presented to her.

Since the day we brought her home we have been fighting a non-stop battle with her ears. Punky was so neglected that I believe she had never had her ears cleaned in all of her five years. Ever. And they needed cleaning. You could smell her ears, even when staning feet away. They were worse than I ever imagined possible. She is deaf, and though I have heard numerous stories as to why she is deaf, I question, as does my vet, if the true reason is due to the infections. She has suffered from vertigo. there was a time when it was so bad that I actually thought that she was dying; she was unable to even stand up. We rushed her to the emergency clinic and discovered that it was because the infection had gone so deep into the ear canals. Long story short- for two straight years her ears have been in constant treatment. She hates it. Sometimes I think that she must wonder what she ever did to have to endure this terrible torture (because clearly, as every dog knows, ear cleaning is pure unadulturated torutre), yet somehow she goes along with it. She remains a happy-go-lucky pugger that will still do a happy dance when the ear flushes and drops are done with, hoping for a treat.

She has been a part of our family for almost two years now and the progress she has made is incredible. Slowly, she is coming into her own. I think she has finally realized she is home. She has given us so many firsts; spontaneously breaking into full puppy play with her sister, finally showing her belly for some yummy scratching, prancing, and finally playing with toys. She has brought so much into my life, I feel ridiculous sometimes with the amount of love I have for her, but she has me under her spell. She has made me believe that just as we have soulmates, we can have soul-doggies too.