KatzNK9
11-06-2007, 08:59 AM
I saw an interview with the author on the news this morning. It sounds like this dog, Sprite, changed his life. If you've read it, I'd love to know your thoughts.
Levin reflects on loss of his pal pooch (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/11/06/2007-11-06_levin_reflects_on_loss_of_his_pal_pooch.html?re f=rss)
In the pages of "Rescuing Sprite" (Pocket Books, $22), he's a guy who had a dog. The rest doesn't matter.
"This book has nothing to do with politics," says Levin. "It's about loving and losing a friend."
Sprite, the dog who inspired the book, came to the Levin family from a shelter. He had not been especially well cared for and it turned out he was older than the shelter thought - maybe 11 years old, instead of 6 or 7.
Since dogs rarely live to 15 under the best of conditions, the Levins had just enough time to grow terribly attached to Sprite before they realized his time was short: not much more than two years, it turned out, before he was suffering so badly they had to have him put to sleep.
Almost everyone who has had a pet knows that moment, which doesn't make it any easier. That's also how this book started.
"I can't describe the depression I felt," Levin says. "I was in agony. I thought maybe if I wrote the story, I could explain to myself what I was going through."
They had Sprite put to sleep about 12:30 in the afternoon. A few hours later, Levin started the essay and wrote through the night, all about how Sprite came into the house, how he bonded with the Levins' other dog, Pepsi, how he and Levin would take their daily walks, how Sprite would come in and lie down while Levin was working, the optimistic joy he radiated.
That essay probably helped over time, says Levin, who later went back and added the background and details to make it a book-length narrative.
But it was no miracle cure.
"I thought about quitting radio," he says. "It was that bad."
Fortunately, he says, he had one other source of strength: friends who have or had pets and could reassure him that things would get better.
Continuation of article on link.
Levin reflects on loss of his pal pooch (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/11/06/2007-11-06_levin_reflects_on_loss_of_his_pal_pooch.html?re f=rss)
In the pages of "Rescuing Sprite" (Pocket Books, $22), he's a guy who had a dog. The rest doesn't matter.
"This book has nothing to do with politics," says Levin. "It's about loving and losing a friend."
Sprite, the dog who inspired the book, came to the Levin family from a shelter. He had not been especially well cared for and it turned out he was older than the shelter thought - maybe 11 years old, instead of 6 or 7.
Since dogs rarely live to 15 under the best of conditions, the Levins had just enough time to grow terribly attached to Sprite before they realized his time was short: not much more than two years, it turned out, before he was suffering so badly they had to have him put to sleep.
Almost everyone who has had a pet knows that moment, which doesn't make it any easier. That's also how this book started.
"I can't describe the depression I felt," Levin says. "I was in agony. I thought maybe if I wrote the story, I could explain to myself what I was going through."
They had Sprite put to sleep about 12:30 in the afternoon. A few hours later, Levin started the essay and wrote through the night, all about how Sprite came into the house, how he bonded with the Levins' other dog, Pepsi, how he and Levin would take their daily walks, how Sprite would come in and lie down while Levin was working, the optimistic joy he radiated.
That essay probably helped over time, says Levin, who later went back and added the background and details to make it a book-length narrative.
But it was no miracle cure.
"I thought about quitting radio," he says. "It was that bad."
Fortunately, he says, he had one other source of strength: friends who have or had pets and could reassure him that things would get better.
Continuation of article on link.