This book took the dedicated and passionate help of family, friends, staff, business partners, celebrities and some hometown heroes to make it happen!

First, a huge thank you to our families!

To Jack’s wife, Georgia, and his son, Christopher, who, in the midst of the pressure-filled weeks it takes to finish a book like this, constantly reminded him to slow down, smell the roses, play fetch with Daisy, feed the fish and “purr the cats.” To Jack’s mother, Ellen, who instilled in him a love for all creatures big and small, and whose stepfather, Fred, worked so hard to purchase, house and feed them—from the purebreds to the numerous strays that inevitably appeared on their doorstep.

To Mark’s wife, Patty, who has the biggest heart for animals of almost anyone we know in the whole world; and to his daughter, Elisabeth, who often declares that she is going to become an animal chiropractor, and to his daughter, Melanie, who has decided that one of her chief missions in life is to help save the elephants on the planet.

To Marty’s beloved wife, Teresa, and his precious children, Mikkel and Lex, without whose abundant love, laughter and vitality this book would not have been possible, nor worth the journey. To Virginia Becker and the late Bob Becker, who taught Marty to love, honor and serve all of God’s creatures, visibly and fully. To Valdie, Jim and Rockey Burkholder, whose goodness, serenity and support have allowed Marty to marinate in a hometown oasis of beauty, simplicity and goodness.

To Carol’s husband, Larry, for his deep and enduring love and his support on all levels. And to her stepchildren, Lorin and McKenna, for pitching in and doing whatever had to be done at home to help this book come together. You guys are the best! Love and gratitude to Carol’s parents, Selmajean Zurer Schneider and the late Raymond Zurer and the rest of her wonderful family.

Your love and support are inexpressibly dear to us. And your patience and inexhaustible enthusiasm are deeply appreciated.

Special and heartfelt thanks to Marci Shimoff, for her incredible support and generous encouragement during all stages of putting this book together. Your friendship is a gift. We love you, Marci.

Grateful thanks go to Heather McNamara, our senior editor, who worked so hard to make this book happen and was instrumental at every stage.

Thanks to Nancy Mitchell, for her incredible effectiveness in getting all the permissions we needed and keeping all of the simultaneous “book action” straight.

Thanks to Patty Aubery, who oversaw every aspect of production with warmth, humor and skill. You are amazing.

Kimberly Kirberger, our managing editor, who read and commented on the manuscript during its various incarnations; and Ro Miller, for handling correspondence and phone communications with our many contributors (and for sharing her story about the wild birthday parties she’d throw for her dog, Clay-boy).

Veronica Romero, Leslie Forbes, Lisa Williams, Laurie Hartman and Teresa Esparza, for holding down the fort while the rest of us wrote and edited.

Linn Thomas, Carole Kasel, Bonnie Dodge and J. J. Annest, for helping Marty solicit, collect and acknowledge thousands of phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mail messages.

Judy Palma, a real pet lover, for reading every story and giving her feedback so lovingly.

David E. Sykes, director of the Noah’s Ark Animal Foundation, for his compassionate and tireless dedication to rescuing animals and his sincere support of this project.

Jennifer Read Hawthorne, for her comfort and advice at several crucial moments. It meant a lot to us.

Fred C. Angelis, Jack’s stepfather, who read and commented on every story in the book. Your feedback was invaluable.

Tami Wells, D.V.M., for her help as a field consultant.

Sharon Linnea and Ann Reeves, for their excellent and timely help with editing.

Some key industry partners, Bayer Animal Health and Iams Pet Nutrition, for supporting this book—first as pet lovers, and second as companies that have devoted incredible resources, both personal and professional, over many years to helping pets live happier, healthier, fuller lives. We would like to single out John Payne from Bayer, and John Talmadge, D.V.M., and Rich Kocon from The Iams Company for special recognition. They are special friends, good stewards of the resources at their disposal and special shepherds of the family-pet bond.

The people who wholeheartedly supported our efforts to get word out about submitting stories for our book. We want to thank
Dog Fancy, Veterinary Economics
, and
PetLife
magazines. Special thanks to Lucille Deview from the
Orange County Register,
who knows how important pets are to the elderly and featured a request for submissions in her syndicated column.

Thanks to all of the people who agreed to dedicate a few weeks to evaluating, commenting upon and improving the stories you see in this book. We could never have created such a high-quality book without them. The panel of readers included: Fred C. Angelis, Virginia Becker, Elizabeth Brown, Patty Burlingame, Valdie Burkholder, Diana Chapman, Joanne Clevenger, Robin Downing, D.V.M., Lisa Drucker, Pam Finger, Mary Gagnon, Sally Gavre, Karyn Gavzer, Suzanne Giraudeau, Nancy Richard Guilford, Elinor Hall, Allison Janse, Rita M. Kline, Robin Kotok, Hale and Dolores Kuhlman, Roger Kuhn, D.V.M., Nancy Leahy, M. B. Leininger, D.V.M., Wendy S. Myers, Holly Moore, Judy Palma, Ann Reeves, Karen Robert, Maida Rogerson, Marci Shimoff, Annie Slawik, Laura May Story, C.V.T., Carolyn Teale, Anne Tremblay, Susan B. Tyler, Hilda Villaverde, Elizabeth Walker, Celeste Wallace, Patricia Wallis, Dottie Walters, Wendy Warburton, Luree Welch, Diana and Ted Wentworth, Terry Wilson and Rachel Zurer.

All the people at our publisher, Health Communications, Inc.—especially Peter Vegso and Gary Seidler—for believing in this book from the moment it was proposed, and for getting it into the hands of millions of readers.

Christine Belleris, Matthew Diener, Allison Janse and Lisa Drucker, our editors at Health Communications, and Randee Goldsmith, our
Chicken Soup for the Soul
product manager. They were always there to support us and give us words of encouragement along the way.

Our incredibly creative and effective publicists Kim Weiss and Ronni O’Brien.

Claude Choquette, who manages year after year to get each of our books translated into over twenty languages around the world.

Anna Kanson at
Guideposts
and Taryn Phillips at
Woman’s World.
Thanks for your continued support on all our projects.

All of Marty’s veterinary colleagues from around the world who have helped shine energizing light on the sanctity and precious nature of the family-pet bond: R. K. Anderson, Scott Campbell, Rich Ford, Ray Glick, Bob Kibble, Mary Beth Leininger, Brad Swift, Chuck Wayner, James Wight and James Wilson to name a few.

We want to give special recognition to the father of the human-animal bond, Leo Bustad, who gave Marty and many others a guiding light to follow in their careers as they pursued what mattered most.

Other, nonveterinary colleagues who have inspired us or touched our lives in some special way that contributed directly and significantly to the success of this book and the causes it promotes: Ron Butler, Ben Coe, Don Dooley, Bill Mason, Clay and Mary Mathile, Susan Morgenthaler, Jana Murphy, Anne Sellaro, Gina Spadafori, Becky Turner-Chapman and many more.

We also wish to thank the more than 3,000 people who took the time to submit stories, poems and other pieces for consideration. While all of the stories we received were special, sadly, the book could only be so long and most could not be included.

Because of the enormity of this project, we may have left out names of some people who helped us along the way. If so, we are sorry. Please know that we really do appreciate all of you.

We are truly grateful for the many hands and hearts that have made this book possible.

We love and appreciate you all!

Introduction

We are delighted to share with you a special gift:
Chicken
Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul.
These stories were selected to give you a deeper, richer appreciation of the entire animal kingdom, as well as of the pets who share our lives.

Each of the thousands of stories we received for possible inclusion in our book was a gift. The selection process was difficult, but the stories that were chosen for
Chicken Soup
for the Pet Lover’s Soul
all vividly illustrate how a loving, interdependent relationship with a pet is life-enhancing.

We were touched by the many stories illustrating the tremendous love that flows so abundantly between pets and their owners. In return for our care, precious pets provide unconditional love, seemingly limitless affection and “to-die-for” loyalty. They love us, believe in us, and greet us with unbridled enthusiasm all the time, no matter what.

While reading all these stories, we noticed that some definite themes emerged. The first and strongest: pets today are a part of the family! Most pet owners consider their animal companions to be family members, while many even regard their pets as children. The family-pet bond is truly a powerful one!

It also became clear that pets offer people more than simple companionship. For some individuals, having a pet to care for actually gives meaning to life: a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to want to come home at night. Pets satisfy our timeless and tangible requirement as humans to love and be loved—and to need and be needed.

Many stories we received reflected the positive influence pets have on their owners. Pets draw us out of ourselves and bring out the kindest impulses of humanity. They connect us to nature and the rest of the animal kingdom, making us more conscious of the mysteries of God inherent in all things. Because of our pets, a deeper part of ourselves is unlocked—a part more compassionate, less arrogant, not as hurried; a part of us that is more willing to share our lives fully with other beings. When that happens, we know a truer, fuller, simpler meaning of happiness.

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