May 15, 1990 to July 22, 2002

In October 2002, Jo-Ann & Matt Zink from Connecticut,
sent us a tribute to her special guy, Max.

You came to us in Springtime bringing with you the promise of new beginnings—Warm breezes, flowers and fresh new grass.

Your gentle soul and incredibly beautiful spirit will always live inside us and everyone who's life you touched. Your being in our lives made us feel like we were magically sprinkled with stardust. You were a touch of heaven on this earth. Wherever you went, children would just flock to you and you would always have a trail of happy children around you. Oh what joy you brought to them. People that weren't even animal lovers lost their hearts to you.

You seemed to have a Golden glow surrounding you. You showed us that it was a good thing to be silly. You were our Peace Dog. When the world seemed to be falling apart, just your presence alone balanced me and kept me sane. How could anything on earth not be good when you were so pure and innocent and so full of love?

You shared our joy when each of our children were married and when each of our grandchildren were born. You were so gentle when they got a little rough and you would never get angry. You would just run and hide in the closet when the coast was clear. A well planned escape I might add.

When I was cooking dinner, you would never come to see what smelled so good but as soon as you heard the clicking and clattering of the silverware, then you would appear as if to say okay, I'm ready now dinner is served.

When we walked through the park I saw it through your eyes and it was delightful. You loved New York City as much as me, especially Central Park on the “Hill” listening to the Guitar Man play sixties songs by the lake. You would just chill out. Then you knew it was time to look for doggie pals to play with.

Every year, we spent a week on Cape Cod and as soon as you smelled the salty air, you got so excited knowing you were back on the cape. We enjoyed our walks into town where hardly anyone could pass you by without patting your head and caressing your fur. They would ask if we minded and your eyes would light up and I told them Max would love it We saw the most heavenly sunsets every year. We were a little concerned about your health this year because as much as you loved the water, you had allergies to the salt and some other problems which seemed to get a little worse as the years went by so we tried to keep you out of the water. You sneaked n for a few minutes and then we just walked along the shore and played in the sand. If we had known how sick you really were, we would have let you swim as long as you wanted, but we thought we were doing what was best for you.

When we got home from vacation, you were hardly eating anything and you looked weak. We rought you to the doctor and found out you were very sick and had tumors in your precious body and there was nothing we could do. We brought you home that weekend and I touched you so gently. I was afraid to hug you tightly. I didn't know how I could ever let you go, but I knew deep down that I had to. Mommy and Daddy loved you too much to let you go through pain. I had so much to say to you that final day, but the tears just couldn't stop. But I let you know how much you are loved and that we would be together again.

I lost my job in February and it was a good thing because I was able to spend more time with Max and he looked very happy about the situation. We found ourselves walking along the Connecticut beaches in the winter chill and found it was lovely. You showed me that we didn't need much to be happy. It was like you were saying Open your eyes mommy and look around. Happiness comes from inside us and from the beauty that surrounds us. You helped me move slower and take notice.

I had nicknames for you—Max My Big Red Bear, Mr. Magillicuti, and Ma Shi Sha Boo. But another name for you would be THE GIFT. We were blessed to have Max in our Lives. We would have missed out on the Most Incredible Journey. He left us a Legacy of Love and for this and for all that he was we are eternally grateful. See you at the Rainbow Bridge my angel.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Some Whispers in the Wind

Don't be sad. I know how much you loved me.
I even took a piece of your heart with me so when we meet again
I can give it back to you and we can be whole once more.
For now, Go Play
Your Best Buddy,
Max