Hi Dr. Laura,

I listen to you every day on SiriusXM 107. My husband and I are team truck drivers, and we have been for over 20 years. I wanted to tell you about the throw-away dogs we have found.

First I must tell you, we have 5 dogs that have traveled with us for years. We didn't wake up one morning and say, "Let's get 5 dogs"... It started about 12 years ago, late June and the temperature in Arizona was very hot. There were some people moving and the U-Haul had quit running. Their little puppies were dying from the heat so they were giving the puppies away to save their lives.  We rescued a puppy, and named him Baxter.  He is a standard size Dachshund.  A few months later we found a little dog in the ditch; he was shaking and hurt after someone had beaten him -- This is Oliver and he's part Jack Russell.  So you see...we have a heart for the abused and helpless.  We adopted two mini-dachshunds after their original owner, found she had cancer and was dying.  Then another little girl doggy had mange and no one wanted her.  We took her to the vet and doctored her for months.  I prayed and cried, and now she is 9 years old and she is my special doggy. When I walk, she walks behind me, touching her nose to the back of my leg.

So on Feb 21, 2012, we found 3 tiny puppies thrown out into the cold Wal-Mart parking lot.   It broke our hearts, these little pups didn't even have their eyes open, so they were rooting around in the cold gravel's searching for mommy.  We called every animal rescue place we could find. No one wanted or no one could bottle feed these throw-away puppies.  We bought canned milk and puppy bottles.  As we traveled to California, every 2 hours I fed these poor pups.  I am sorry to say, one of them didn't live.  It broke our hearts.  We had named him Gravel, because that was where we found him; he had rubbed his nose into the gravel until his nose was bloody.  We still have the other 2 puppies.  Yes, now we have 7 dogs traveling around with us. We travel about 4000 miles a week and sometimes it gets crazy in this traveling soup can, but we have 7 doggies that are special...not throw-aways.    

Thanks for letting me share this... 

Sharlett