Josephine
This is a difficult email to write. But, I will stay positive, because I know that Josephine's is very much a success story. Josephine (our sweet Fifi, as we often called her) came to us as a foster pet. Our first - and so far, only. We instantly fell in love with her. Her back story wasn't good, they never are. She was a very sick girl when she came into our lives. That was the first moment we learned of her strength and resilience. On the brink of death, we provided as much love and support as we could, along with some great medical care. And, slowly, she got better. Way better. She was slow to trust people, and who could blame her. But, with each passing day, we got to see more of her awesome personality, and beautiful spirit emerge. Before long, we were her pack. She was fiercely protective, and never wanted to be more than a few steps from us at any time. She was always, calm...cool. collected - but watching everything around her, and taking it in. For 6 years she was a focal point in our family. She traveled with us, walked every morning (rain or shine!) with my husband before work, she spent endless hours helping us in the backyard, and greeted each of us every time we walked through the door. She was perfect. Then, when she stopped eating her food, and wouldn't eat even treats. We took her in and got the worst news you can possibly get. Hemangiosarcoma. She had likely been experiencing pain and symptoms for a while, but she was so strong - she never wanted us to know. On Monday, October 27th, a wonderful vet came out to the house and Josephine was able to lay in her favorite spot and drift peacefully away at home. She was so strong. We are relieved for her, no more pain. She was loved until the very end. I can't believe how much we miss her. Thank you MARS for rescuing this beautiful girl and bringing her into our lives. We are eternally grateful. Goodbye, Sweet Josephine. Elizabeth Pickerill

Kyla aka Vallah
Nearly 4 years ago, I had the privilege of bringing home my quirky, independent best friend. You knew her as Vallah: http://www.midwestanimalrescue.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=2801419, we knew her as Kyla. Her young spirit made us think she was about 5 when I brought her home, but a couple years later, when she had some medical issues, we found out she was much older than that, though she did not show her age much until this last year (we think she was 13 or 14 when she left us). She scared us two years ago, when she stopped being able to breathe, but with surgery, she was as good as new and we got 2 more years with her! It was a really hard decision to make but, on September 19th, 2014, we decided to help her cross the rainbow bridge and end her pain. Everyone at the vet loved her (how could you not) and I saw multiple teary eyes as we said goodbye. Thank you for helping match her to me and for giving me the best friend anyone could ask for, even if it was for such a short period of time. Sincerely, Kyla's people (Krystal & Steve)

Marlena
Sweet Marlena was adopted by a wonderful man who gave her so much love and support, and even though she tried to feel good and live a long life for him, her body could not fight the cancer. Marlena will be in all our hearts at MARS for the survivor that she was, and we will always be grateful to her adopted Dad who showed her that love really does exist and that life can be good. We will miss you!

Marlena
Sweet Marlena was adopted by a wonderful man who gave her so much love and support, and even though she tried to feel good and live a long life for him, her body could not fight the cancer. Marlena will be in all our hearts at MARS for the survivor that she was, and we will always be grateful to her adopted Dad who showed her that love really does exist and that life can be good. We will miss you!

Murial
Sweet Murial who had a very rough life came to MARS and was adopted by a wonderful family who gave her the life she so deserved. We lost Murial today to health and old age. We will miss you and will always love you!