And Someone Speaks For Them.....

KINSHIP

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I am the voice of the voiceless;
Through me the dumb shall speak,
Till the deaf world's ear be made to hear
The wrongs of the wordless weak.

From street, from cage and from kennel,
From stable and zoo, the wail
Of my tortured kin proclaims the sin
Of the mighty against the frail.

Oh, shame on the mothers of mortals
Who have not stopped to teach
Of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes,
The sorrow that has no speech.

The same force formed the sparrow
That fashioned man the king;
The God of the whole gave a spark of soul
To furred and to feathered thing.

And I am my brother's keeper,
And I will fight his fight,
And speak the word for beast and bird,
Till the world shall set things right.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1850-1919

Pet Loss and Support online- Excellent Area

I wanted to share another excellent online area for Pet Loss and Grieving network.

Petsupport.net

Here you will find many powerful support resources and chats available.

 

Debacles in Shame

Debacles in Shame :

I am woefully behind in adding some of the incredible entries that Mandy has posted in her journal.

I wanted to highlight this particular post, because we can so easily forget our "mission" to protect animals, not breed then for cruel hunting. Let's not get into the vegan-meat-eater issue here, or a political discussion about hunting in general. That must be a topic for another time, but this episode really brings out front how we do manipulate our environment for pleasure, no matter what cost to living creatures. "Canned" hunting , no matter how you slice it, really puts the odds.. where? Who wins?

I agree with Mandy that all "canned hunts" must be banned. Let folks go out and put their lives at risk and get some equality going here. It just is disgusting to put a Lion, Tiger, or other wildlife into a box..  and the "brave" warrior gets to go home with a trophy with about as much risk as going to a zoo. Wow!

I am going to be trying to keep up more with posts related to Mandy's journal. I just have had so much going on in real life now..

Thanks, Mandy, as always!

jo

In Memory Of Marmalade- For Lorrie

It is with great sadness that I tell of the loss of my precious old Marmalade.
At 18 he was still going strong despite a heart murmur and a bit
of arthritis. On Tuesday morning March 7th he left his soft spot on the bed
and decided to lay next to the bed on the floor. We found him curled up in a
ball, sound asleep forever.

Marmalade "Marmy" slept next to my pillow each night keeping me safe from
all the terrible bed monsters that only cats can see. I will miss his silly look
when he wanted to play and the way he acted like he hated his tummy
tussled when he actually enjoyed it totally. I will miss him trying to turn
the pages of the books I read and him grabbing the pen from my hand
as I wrote in my daily journal. I will miss his booming purr that helped me f
all asleep and the soft paw that patted me in the night to make sure
I knew he was there.

I know he is in heaven with my other angels and now our dear friend Bill
that just passed away. Bill loved cats too and will watch over my special
orange boy.

Goodbye precious friend. I will see you someday near the rainbow bridge.
In the mean time enjoy the catnip and the fresh air there in heaven.

Love,
Momma

 

In Beloved Memory Of Manny - For Larry

So very, very young.

Born: Circa Sept.2004

Died: March 5th 2006

"MY BEST FRIEND"

 

Today, I found my best friend dead

I cried, until my eyes were all red

I had been away for just three days

Walked into the house, where he laid

 

All peaceful and quiet in laying on the floor

Something was wrong, as I opened the door

I knew, in my heart, something was wrong

I had only been gone for two days, not long

 

I set plenty of food and fresh water in his dish

Even now, I am hoping he'll answer, is my wish

My best friend was Manny, an orange tabby cat

Wishing now, I'd here him answer, have him back

 

(March 06, 2006)

(copyrighted)

 

 

Manny was my cat, a companion, whom I will terribly miss!

"Just A Dog"

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or,
"that's a lot of money for just a dog."  They don't understand the
distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for
"just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."
Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog,"
but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have
been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness,
the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to
overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand
phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust,
and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a
better person.

Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look
longingly to the future.

So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of
all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past,
and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away
from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they will understand that it's not "just a dog" but
the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog." just smile, because
they "just don't understand."

---Versatile Hunting Dog Magazine, February 2006

Author: Richard Biby

Letting Go- For Lady and Pat

12:27:25 PM EST   February 11, 2006 

It is quiet.  Not the kind of quiet before an impending storm, but the quiet that
emanates from empty.  I don't like playing God. S/he can keep the job.  
The decisions are too important.  I can barely decide what to have for dinner,
let alone make choices about things that matter.

I made the decision yesterday.  For the past year I have watched her
shake with fear,appear confused and disoriented.  I have watched these
episodes grow longer and longer.  She was always fearless, flaunting her
alpha dog status.  She would head straight into danger and grab it
by the neck and shake it. Thursday nite she spent alternating between
two hour bouts of fear and tremors with a half hour of sleep.  Friday morning
(after spending all nite awake trying to comfort her) I stepped into the
shower with her calm and out of the shower with her shaking. And as the
morning dawn evaporated into the early light of day...

I had decided...

     
At first, I attributed all these episodes to something, anything.  Perhaps the
surgery for her torn ACL. Maybe she is in pain. Maybe the anesthesia  
Could she be eating some kind of junk in the backyard? Perhaps low electrolytes,
Lyme Disease, a cold, allergies, anything.  But, it was none of the above.  
Finally, we went to the Vet Specialist.  After tests and exams, her globulins
were up and albumins down.   (Yeah, and?)

It was either Multiple Myeloma or Myoglobulin Anemia.  
(and in English that means....) Her blood viscosity is thickening, she has trouble
making blood cells in her bone marrow.   (you mean cancer... like leukemia?)  
Yeah, you could say that. (Is this why she shakes and is scared and disoriented?)  

Well, we don't know about that, perhaps she is throwing clots, or having
mini strokes.  

(Can't we give her coumadin or aspirin or something to thin the blood?)

NO, no ... that isn't the treatment,

let's do one more test.....

So, we did one more test.  Needless to say, she has always been a trooper
at the vet,actually, she LIKES the vet!  I began to think back over the past
six months.  In the beginning shewould come to me to stop her episodes.  
I couldn't, all I could do was pet her and reassure her.  Soon, her eyes would
be filled with fear during an episode, she would seek a safe place.

She could never find the safe place, and I would hold her -- but even then,
it wasn't what she was searching for.  As the episodes became more frequent
and began to spill from the one a night to daytime episodes and several
throughout the night, I watched her slip into another dog. I learned that after
this test, there was treatment, but not cure.  The treatment was chemo and
steroids, success depended on how advanced her cancer was and how well
she could tolerate the treatment. The treatment would extend her life,
but at what cost, what quality?  So, I made the decision not to treat it.

For about 6 hours last weekend, I had my girl back.  She ran, chased critters
that dared to come on to her space, barked to let the world know she
was there and they would have to answer to her.  It was wonderful.  
She even smiled.  

I got to chase her, (she would never quite play fetch, once you threw a toy, she
would  get it and you would chase her.  She always seemed to make the rules!)  
It had been so long, I had forgotten the dog that had adopted me.
This was the dog who was fearless, who could run all day and was a beautiful
sight to watch run flat out at full speed.  

This was the dog who alerted me to danger in the house, kept me from
being alone,stayed close when I was sad, helped to calm me when
I was afraid, and even came back to me when I had yelled at her for whatever.  

She was my confidante and late nite work buddy, protecting the office at
all hours of the morning for a few dog cookies and a cheeseburger from Burger King.
We walked in the early mornings, til her ACL was torn and my leg acted up.  
She kept me humble -- and made sure I knew the world revolved around HER,
not me.  

She was my weekend breakfast buddy, sharing eggs and bacon and any
other people food she could con me out of.  She taught me about unconditional
love and caring for others.

And after last weekend, I knew her quality of life, though ok, wasn't great
anymore.  She didn't like me to leave her when I had to go to work or when
I had to go anywhere.  Sometimes she didn't want to go outside alone,
so I would go with her.  She would try to run, but got winded after a short sprint.
She watched the critters, but didn't chase them.  

She didn't bark at the dog next door, just continued on meandering around
the yard.  I could see that she was having episodes while I was gone,
and being alone made her even more scared.  At least she could plead to me
with her eyes when I was there and she was having episodes.  

She wanted me to fix it, and I tried to, but couldn't. So, I decided....

Travel well, my Lady.  I can feel your spirit with me.  I know that you are
in a place where you can run and chase all day in the cool sunlight.  
Where you can explore and perhaps get to know the critters you are
barking at.  Keep it all safe til we meet again.  

Thank you for sharing your love, keeping my secrets, and teaching me
to be a better person.

 Written by Movinon203