Well, Hub gets a great home. Hub used to be Angel from Spindletop. In a joint effort, Angel was saved from Garland Shelter and boarded at Spindletop Refuge which had us all fooled. I had Angel placed several times, but for one reason or another, Leah would throw up a road block on every one. When dealing with as slick a con-artist as Leah Purcell is and was, it's common to fall prey to their line of bullshit. I fell for it hook, line and sinker for one year and three months.
I'd finally taken a stand on Angel and told Leah he was going to Barbara, the wonderful woman who adopted Murmur sight unseen nearly four years ago from Kern County in Bakersfield. Barbara and Murmur had relocated to Minnesota and she'd been following Angel's story.
Hub came to Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge to decompress with the other Spindletop refugees after the seizure in which 300 pit bulls and other dogs were confiscated. The Labor Day Labor-of-love transport was arranged to bring Hub and two other Texas dogs to their new homes. 23 legs were lovingly driven with precious cargo. Each portion of the journey was updated with funny stories and pictures from each of the volunteer drivers.
Barbara, Hub and Murmur have settled into a very Norman Rockwell existence in the tiny little town in which they live. Almost daily, I get a sweet note from Barbara about living life with Hub and Murmur.
Miss Murmur
"The three of us had a beautiful late afternoon outside together yesterday. Freshly mowed lawn to the side of the bank building and the air smelled like beautiful sweet grass. There was a cool breeze and the two of them sat by my side just watching the tiny bit of activity taking place.
A momentary bit of barking at a huge white feral cat that lives in the big abandoned grain silo in town. It's so large I can see it clearly at a long city block away. Hub leaves the birds alone now. He realizes our territory is theirs too."
This past week, Barbara's sister Kathy came for a visit. "Murmur and Hub were so beautiful with her yesterday. I was thrilled for both of my babies. She said it was so obvious they feel happy, safe and loved. And they have a complete family - animal and human."
"I told her how I had been very patient and just let Hub adjust to being around his own person for the first time. I told her the bond between Murmur and Hub was immediate, but it was going to take him a while to understand and feel safe around people - that I knew it would be confusing. So I've let him go at his own pace and not pressed. She said I wasn't like the dog whisperer - but I reminded her of the horse whisperers who wait with patience for the horses to want to follow and be with them. I loved that."
Murmur and Hub
"I told her that I'm glad you had faith in me with two very special dogs - as if they're not all special;-)"
I've been rescuing dogs and other animals for a good long time. I've always believed there is a person for each dog and their union is perfect. Barbara, Hub and Murmur are all examples of this perfect concept at work.
Reunion does a lot of good work with herbal and homeopathic support, detox and diet, but even though the body heals as does the spirit, nothing completes the circle like the right home. I've been very lucky in my rescue career to have witnessed more than a couple such as Hub and Murmur find their way home.
When Sasha was in high kill Martinez shelter way back in early 2010, she had no idea what was in store for her....judging from her picture, she was like, 'Get me outta here! What's a supermodel like me doing in a prison cell?'
Reunion Rescue can't pull them all, but when I saw that picture, I was like, 'get her out of there. We'll figure something out.'
It was touch and go, a couple of inappropriate foster homes and then to our good friend, dogwalker Jeff who always comes through in a pinch and when we're broke...like most of the time.
Russell catching some zzzz's
By pure fortune, my good friend and old neighbor in Pacifica saw another dog on our site and I didn't know about Pearlie Girl with cats...but pitched Sasha...who was on her fourth name, Little Mama by that time. She'd gone from Marla at the shelter, to Taffy by Cindy, then La Reyna which happens to be a bakery in Austin to Jeff's where she started answering to Little Mama...although it was way beneath her dignity and future plans.
Adena and Matt are longtime pit bull advocates as is their incredible son, Reed. Sasha couldn't have
drawn a better home dash castle had she won the lottery for pit bull homes. She immediately became Matt's dog and Adena, Reed and Russell, their good-natured roll with any punch pittie took a back burner.
Sasha and sugar daddy Matt
When Adena started feeding a raw diet, Matt, like most people thought it was going to be too expensive and time consuming, but now, the family is die-hard about feeding their dogs healthy raw organic sources...and have not one, not two, but three robust thriving never sick dogs to show for it.
When Adena accompanied her good friend to pick up a Reunion dog near Bakersfield, Adena saw a
scraggly pup on the kill list. Percy joined the family and was over his tick and flea infestation pronto once introduced to raw diet.
Reed and Adena
The other night, shopping, Adena suggested picking up some canned food 'just in case.' She was met with a big, 'no way!' from Matt, who added, 'I'd rather feed my dogs canned soup than that crap.'
Boy, when things get tough at Reunion...which can be pretty much any day....all I have to do is remember this wonderful family who loves their pit bulls.
Sasha and Percy aren't the only ones who hit the jackpot....Reunion Rescue is very grateful for our good friends and their perfect raw-feeding home of the luckiest pit bulls in the world...and down the road from a real castle.
Last weekend was typical of rescue life. After transporting Quentin all the way from Lodi, getting him settled in his new home with mom Tara, new crate, starting a new raw diet, learning the Kong, attending his first Better Way Dog Training class with Bob Gutierrez, Tara's landlord changes his mind about her having a pet.
Quentin fitting in
In tears, Tara called to say she didn't think it was going to be possible to keep Quentin. Now, even though we knew Quentin was in the perfect place for him, Reunion Rescue has a lifelong returns policy. We got on the horn and called out the troups. Jess and Jaime who're longtime Reunion adopters offered to foster Quentin while we seek that perfect home.
I knew exactly what Tara was experiencing. Inside, we are all that little girl with a mean man trying to take away the puppy. Who hasn't been there? Reunion has a saying, 'always walk out with the dog.' Here was an opportunity to put those words to work.
Since Quentin was now situated temporarily, we got busy again with the very complicated process of trying to ship Spuds, our blind boy, from Lodi here to Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge where we can treat his joint issues and eyes with raw diet and homeopathy. What the heck, we had one option with On Wings of Care who would fly Spuds, but with only Spuds and another dog, the cost of fuel between $1800 and $2000. We made a decision on the fly to go ahead and bring Guido, too. We are still looking for other dogs needing transport either from California to Texas or back to California from Texas. Each passenger lowers the cost which is split according to how many dogs are flown.
Spuds and his ball getting ready for Texas!
I called Bonny at On Wings of Care and told her to go ahead and pencil us in. By the way, I hadn't cleared it with my significant other, Scott, but figured I'd 'wing' it...literally operating on a wing and a prayer. I have learned over the years in rescue to just try and do the next right thing and we'll be carried. It always happens that way.
After all this was settled, I sat down with Scott and made him a proposition. Even though we're operating on overload right now, literally a two bedroom house operating as a de-facto shelter with no big money grants and free Toyotas...I drive an old '98 Jeep Cherokee that holds two crates on a good day. It was truly a hard sell.
Guido's going to Texas!
I pitched it like this. Give me two days to try and make it work with Spuds and Guido. If it's too much and I can't pull it off, I'll either board Guido or find a foster home. He's a mush-melon of a staffie bully boy and very easy, just wanting to sit around and cuddle.
I can't believe it, but Scott caved in. I was honest about something else, too. I've been hoarding Amber. After what happened with Stella dying at Spindletop and all the horror surrounding the raid, Amber has been my little rock. We have held onto each other and made it through a terrible time. I haven't wanted to give her up. In fact, the thought of adopting Amber makes me cry. It's selfish on my part and against what rescue is truly about. She needs her own home and her own people. It is wrong of me to try and keep her.
Pip's new bed
So, I promised Scott I would revamp Amber's adoption link and really start trying to find her that perfect home. After this heart to heart talk, two things happened.
First, Brett who's fostering to adopt Pip with significant other, Jenny, texted me a photograph of Pip in her own home on her brand new plush dog bed. Pip was with me for four years and made it out of three very high kill shelters. She is truly a survivor and proof that there is a perfect home for every dog if we just believe.
The next thing blew my socks off. Tara called. She had been cuddling on her sofa with Quentin for 6 hours petting him and crying. In San Francisco, luckily, there is huge support for tenants and their companion animals. Tara had been doing her research and is securing documentation to keep Quentin. She asked if she could have one more week with him to try and make this happen.
Amber's grand prize
Wow. All I can say is, wow. These events all pretty much happened without my doing. It's hard in my world to step back and let nature take its course, but geez, Louise, sometimes it really does work.
BeBe, by the way got Pip's old digs and has her own house with cable tv. We watched 'The Color Purple' Saturday night since Pit Bulls and Parolees were on Thanksgiving holiday. It's good to take the time to sit down like a normal person with their dog and just watch a tearjerker old movie. Wednesday, we've got a date to watch Gone With the Wind. BeBe has never seen it and I think she's really gonna like Prissy. I wish she was dog friendly so Amber could join us in her red satin-teen collar like Mammy's scarlet red petticoat, but we'll have to try that experiment another time.
Buster and octopus
Before I could explode, I got a sweet letter from Ken and Steaven who recently adopted Buster with a photo of Buster and his baby octopus. It keeps getting better and better.
I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I am really blessed to have these beautiful creatures in my life and a purpose. I am grateful that Spuds and Guido will be joining us. I'm happy that Nolan is getting better every day, running in the yard. Peanut got BeBe's old crate spot and he seems a little more settled in his own protected area.
Last night, I broke out the Kong donation box I'd been attempting to have a half-ass raffle giveaway, and gave the prizes to Amber, Peanut and BeBe. They acted like they'd won the lotto, but the big winner is me.
Yesterday should have been one of the happiest days in Reunion Rescue's rocky past, but it turned into a day from hell.
Tara has entered our foster to adopt program after falling in love with William who's since been renamed Quentin. He is named for 'The Sound and the Fury" Quentin Compson, As complex as a Faulkner character, our Quentin had a rough start yesterday.
He made the first leg to meet Tara and our in-house APBT advocate, Adena. First stop was a bath as Quentin has been living out in the country and needed a bit of city-fying.
After arriving in San Francisco, it was discovered Quentin only prefers wire kennels, so yet another trip to the pet store last night to purchase another kennel, dog bed, more food and enticing treats to encourage Quentin to love his new crate and begin serious Kong training.
Our program insures with a good Kong training, any dog can get a full upper-body workout in his crate while mom or dad is otherwise occupied. Then, pup takes a nice long nap until the whistle blows.
Tara took Quentin on two long jogs yesterday afternoon and evening to try and tucker him out. Our boy is going to require some exercise. He is one of those boys who needs to run! Unfortunately, torrential downpours in San Francisco put a bit of a damper on things, but Tara and Quentin trudged ahead. With one minor incident involving a couple having an argument, Quentin remained strong even though as a timid boy, he was frightened by the episode.
Lots of Emergency Australian Bush Flower Essences will be helping Quentin make this big huge transition from country life to city living. We as humans understand these things, but imagine what it must be like for a dog who was nearly starved to death, dragged behind a car, thrown on a bar-b-que grill while burning and then winding up at the worst hellhole on earth, Stockton Animal Control.
Quentin is going to do just fine. It took some work, but an exhausted Tara got him into his new crate last night for his first night in a real home, in a real house, in the big city.
Jump to present....Quentin made it through his first big night. Tara just called and he slept through the night in his wire kennel. He's eating and learning Kong and digesting the sights, sounds and smells of the beautiful city by the bay.
I can finally take a deep breath and know that things might just work out. Quentin is enrolled for his first Better Way Dog Training class tomorrow morning with the best dog trainer in the world, Bob Gutierrez. Bob is the secret reason Reunion Rescue lays claim to having 'the friendliest pit bulls in the world.'
Mom Tara and Quentin
So I'm off now to walk Pip and get her ready for her first night in her new home with Brett and Jenny. Pip has been with me four years and has her own chapter in Pit Bull Nation, been through three high kill shelters and lived to tell about it.
I learned an expensive and good lesson from BeBe the other day. People don't give you cookies if you misbehave. Hmmm. For years I've been claiming it's no accident I rescue pit bulls.
I've never been one to back down over things that matter to me. There's an old saying, 'if you stop to fight with every barking dog, you'll never get to town.' That has come back around to bite me in the ass more than a couple of times. I guess the trick is to qualify what really matters.
Peanut sits for a cookie!
So how can I expect BeBe and the other dogs to behave, not bark, sit pretty and be nice without a reward? They all want a cookie. And...the nice girls get the cookies. A little secret, I call them all girls. Little Peanut from Alvin who was salvaged from the Spindletop raid had the hardest time learning a sit, but today he became a man. Today, Peanut offered his first sit for a cookie. Huge.
Peanut has the slim build of a habitual criminal. You know, the guys you see in prison, somebody's punk, like a Barney Fife who just fell in with the wrong crowd. Peanut came here very stressed out. He'd survived the high kill animal control in Alvin only to be pulled by Leah Purcell of Spindletop under Reunion Rescue's 501(c)(3). Slight problem, Reunion didn't even know until long after the raid and Peanut, then known as Feo, was being held at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds by the authorities.
Since I'd written the initial story about Feo, I felt responsible for him. After all, he was a Reunion dog. Full here with the defacto no kill shelter we had to set up with limited resources, Feo was placed in boarding.
Angel, now Hub, was adopted by a longtime Reunion adopter who has relocated to Minnesota which opened up a spot for Feo. When Feo arrived, he was a total mess. He vomited everything and has terrible diarrhea. This went on for a couple of months. After several recent horror stories with conventional vets, I was certainly reticent to subject poor Feo to a battery of tests and what I knew they'd prescribe, nasty ass Metronidazole (Flagyl) which would leave him certainly worse for wear in the long run.
I held true to what I've learned homeopathically and started Peanut on a quality kibble diet, even though all the rescued cats and dogs here at the sanctuary are fed organic raw. I knew the jump to raw diet would stress his system and patience would win in the end.
It took a few weeks and slowly Peanut was transitioned to raw. First he, like Nolan, started on chicken necks and a beef blend, but eventually, he was chomping down on a chicken quarter like the best of them. Little narrow-ass Peanut had won. I knew he was truly on the road to recovery.
I also knew that Peanut would be a hard sell on the sit. For weeks, I could only get one sit per session from him, truly a half-ass sit, if you get my drift, by use of the tennis ball. Peanut is a ball freak. Loves to fetch.
He was not food oriented for obvious reasons. Who knows what and when he was eating at Spindletop and his gastro-intestinal problems dogging him from place to place had been very hard on his little system. Food was not Peanut's friend. He needed time and good nourishment on a steady basis to learn that food was a good thing.
Also, and very importantly, Peanut had probably never even seen a cookie. I had to remember this. Here is a poor boy whose system has been ravaged by bad food and some crazy lady waving more of it in his face saying, 'sit' which sounds like something in German. Poor baby.
But, today, he made the final step. Peanut sat for a cookie. And sat for another cookie. And again and again and again. I was ecstatic. I had to stop, because I knew I'd give him an upset stomach if I kept it up. Peaunut is a winner. He is going to be a wonderful pet someday when he learns he can trust people. I don't blame him for being a little slow to believe. I'm still trying to learn to trust people.
I'm also learning to be a good girl since good girls get the cookies in life. It works on people, too.
The difference between me and Ingrid Newkirk is when I see a hurt or sick animal, my response is to try and find a cure. In fact, I've been able to help more than a couple of dogs and cats who were given no chance to survive.
Benny that last night in Turlock
A couple of years ago, Benny was at the Turlock Shelter in California. I just happened to see his picture on one of the 4 thousand emails I receive every day. For some reason, I just couldn't get his little image out of my head.
Turlock Animal Control is much like the Maryland ACC which hired Ingrid Newkirk, poor and ill-equipped to deal with the many animals they try and care for.
I called the shelter and was told Benny was so sick, he was scheduled for euthanasia the next morning. His body was covered in infected and bleeding sores and he was in extreme discomfort, but Benny was certainly not ready to die.
Reunion Rescue is way down the scale from a group like PETA which racks in about $32 million a year, but when I saw Benny, I knew I had to try and save him. Benny's story is like most of the stories at Reunion Rescue. We're always begging for dollars. Last week, Reunion brought in a whopping $21. After paying out our boarding fees this morning, Reunion is yet again in the red. We pretty much stay in the red, but when you are spending every penny on saving animals, the bank account is never going to show a profit.
Benny enjoying his Texas summer
Turlock gave me until 7 p.m. that night to pick Benny up. Luckily, Samantha, not only a die hard pittie lover, but also very pregnant, hopped into her car and drove from Sacramento to pick Benny up for us. He was boarded overnight at Bradshaw vet, one of the few honest vets I've been able to find who honored our request to keep Benny off toxic medication.
Patti, Raven's mom, drove to Sacramento and picked Benny up to bring back with her to the Mendocino area. Like many scared and sick babies, Benny had a long road to go. Raven helped. In doggy terms, she let Benny know he was going to be ok. Raven had almost been killed at Antioch ACC when Patti answered a last minute plea and saved her.
Benny and the gang
Benny was completely cured through holistic and healthy means. He never had one drug or toxic dip. Patti has kept a blog for him which is linked to Pit Bulls and Other Animals. When Benny was ready to travel, Patti drove him all the way to Texas where he went into foster at Doug's. As luck would have it, Doug fell in love with Benny and adopted him where he lives with all the other happy dogs at Doug's doggy daycare. Raspberry and Casper had also been adopted from Reunion by Doug and were able to help Benny find his place.
Mr. Sweets at Riverside Shelter
When Mr. Sweets from Riverside came to Texas, Benny was able to help him. Now Mr. Sweets has a wonderful home in San Antonio with Brad. These dogs prove if you just open your heart and become willing, a miracle or two might just happen. In fact, a miracle will happen.
Mr. Sweets catching some z's
So, when I happened to see that old blog of Ingrid's "Why We Euthanize," it gave me pause to consider. The pictures weren't pretty and looked like the fundraising television effort on the Sarah McClachlan commercial. There is a cat with a big face tumor and a dog's paw with a huge nasty lesion. On down are some other hard to view photos, a dog on a heavy chain and one who looks almost dead with a horrible skin condition. The last one is being held up to have his picture taken probably before being humanely euthanized...the subject of the blog entry.
Shirley's Wellness Cafe has some of the same types of photographs, but the difference is Shirley's animals lived. They were holistically treated with quality diet and homeopathy so that their immune systems could overcome the disease and injury.
Mr. Sweets
My question is this...if Reunion can save hard cases on a shoestring, couldn't PETA spend a little more than the cost of a syringe-full of blue juice to try and help these animals? If these dogs and cats are still sitting up and trying to survive, who are we to decide when they should die? Bottom line, these animals want to live and it's my job, my duty as a rescuer and as a human caring being to reach out and try to help them.
I'm not saying every one of these animals could be saved, but I'd be willing to bet some of them could have made it. I'm wondering if the folks over at the PETA place ever heard of healthy diet and holistic supplements? I wonder if they'd be open to a little homeopathy instead of euthanasia fluid? It takes a little bit longer, but the payoff is priceless! You get to hug a living soul instead of "holding them in my arms and gently helping them escape an uncaring world,"....Ingrid's words.
I've had to put down a few animals in my time and it sucks. When there is no choice, I'm certainly not going to keep any animal alive and in pain. However, I've been taught by more than a few to listen and let them tell me when they are ready. Way, way back in the day, I came across an old Siamese cat. Butch was a registered Siamese who wound up at San Francisco Animal Care and Control. He was left to die there by PAWS, a group whose mission is to help pets of people afflicted with HIV. When this cat's owner passed away, he was left at the city's animal facility.
Butch had been fed a horrible cheap grocery store kibble his whole life of 13 years. He'd been over-vaccinated, once a year for the entire span of his life. That's one thing PAWS had seen to, that his vaccinations were continued until he wound up at SFACC.
Alibaba 'Bobby'
I happened to see him sitting on the counter...well, to hear him on the counter. Anyone who knows Siamese cats knows they are pretty vocal. Long story short, he wound up with me and my old cats before we established the cat sanctuary. He'd been diagnosed with terminal cancer so I brought him home to die in peace.
Butch was renamed AliBaba, more fitting his regal demeanor, but we called him Bobby. He was placed on a raw diet and treated homeopathically to support the effects of his illness. The resident cats accepted Bobby, but being registered and all, he thought he was better than them. He never did accept them as part of his clan.
Bobby taught me a lot about the life force. He lived over three more years with me. There were times he'd get down to an extremely low weight. My husband, Scott, even warned me to put Bobby down, but I knew he was not ready to go and I also knew when he was ready, he would let me know. And he did just that. The day Bobby was ready, he laid down on his side and cried. He was given Valium to make the euthanasia easier as older animals have a much longer process than young ones. It still was long and a difficult euthanasia. Bobby had a very strong will to live. He will always be remembered.
I take life and death very seriously. Like the old song says, 'death don't have no mercy in this land..he'll come to your house, but he won't stay long...' Once the life force is gone, there is only an eternity left to reconsider.
Girl is the dog in the Reunion Rescue logo. She is much more than that, though. As immortalized in Pit Bull Nation, she spent two months on death row in the high kill shelter where Reunion Rescue got its start.
As the volunteer photographer for the dogs and cats at the high kill San Francisco shelter, it was extremely depressing to continue to walk and try to promote these gorgeous dogs only to see them routinely put to sleep. I'm not one of those types of people who can deal with 'humane euthanasia.' I couldn't see killing all those dogs then and I certainly can't understand it now.
Girl...still kicking it!
I'd been walking Girl and placing her photographs all over town the entire time she was sequestered in Room 116, better known as the 'pit bull room.' The weekend after we walked in Gay Pride 2000, Girl was scheduled to be put to sleep. I couldn't let that happen.
I was still in the very beginnings of establishing Reunion Rescue. Looking back, I cringe at the time I wasted during the first year in meetings. Those people at animal control had absolutely no intention of working together to create a solution for the hundreds if not thousands of pit bulls being killed at that facility. The numbers at that same animal control today reflect the killing still going on.
I was younger and green. I thought because I loved these dogs, everyone would. Boy, was I wrong. Direct me to the ignorant section, please.
Today, at almost 15 years old, Girl has out-lived, out-lasted and out-played her way to a strong and happy life. She truly is a champion. Girl turned out to be quite the frisbee queen in her day. She was captain of the Reunion Rescue Pit Bull Frisbee Team and wowed the crowds to the tunes of Charlie Daniels and Guns and Roses.
She's moving a little slower these days, but with all the dignity and grace of the regal girl I saw for the first time all those years ago in the pit bull room. We both share a little white around the muzzle now, but the years Girl has spent with me have made my life a good life. I cannot imagine what my path would have been like had Girl not come home with me for good...literally.
In rescue, it's hard to not remember the ones you couldn't save. Right after Girl, a beautiful pit bull named Blondie was killed. Then Martha, the best ball dog I've ever encountered was killed. I still hurt when I remember those lovely dogs and the lives they could have lived if only someone like me had wandered into the pit bull room and saw what I saw.
I've spent the better part of the past 13 years begging people to see what I see in these dogs. It really doesn't take so much time and for the few minutes invested, the dividend is infinite. Who can put a price tag on the quality of life and joy
Here is what I've learned from Girl. A raw fed dog treated with non-conventional method will lead a strong healthy life. I hear about so many over-vaccinated dogs barely surviving on a kibble-fed diet stricken with cancer and other horrible fates. I want to share Girl's and the Reunion Rescue raw fed animals good stories with these dogs' owners.
Feeding a raw diet is easy and much cheaper than paying some vet a huge monthly bill for toxic flea and heartworm preventatives. I hear so many dog owners repeat diagnosis that at age eleven, the dog has incurable cancer and must be put down....with a backdrop of Hill's Science Diet for sale along the walls of these clinics. It's simply maddening. We are paying for a slow kill!
What I can do is continue to share Girl's good health and the dogs and cats here at the Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge. Girl had a scare last Memorial Day, but was totally fixed with homeopathy and some eye-drops. Her blood work was run by vet whose prognosis was dim. He actually told me Girl was dying and couldn't be saved! Her homeopathic vet selected a remedy which immediately turned her around and she's been fine since other than cataracts in the right eye.
This is how a raw fed dog (or cat) will respond when treated holistically. Often times, after the conventional vet has thrown in the towel, desperate pet owners will turn to alternative means. Unfortunately, after a lifetime of miserable kibble and toxic vaccines and medications, the animal's immune system is too weak to respond. This is heartbreaking. A dog or cat who might have survived doesn't have the strength to fight through the malady.
It is so sad to meet these pet lovers who find out only too late how they could have prevented early loss and discomfort. I can only keep trying to share Girl's story and helpful resources like our Home Remedies to Heal Animals Facebook page in hopes that prevention might help save others.
Girl and our Reunion Rescue animals are proof, living proof, that a healthy immune system is not only within an easy reach, but can sustain itself through huge challenges.
Just yesterday, Girl slept on her right rear leg too hard. She wasn't putting weight on that leg and I hit the panic button. I immediately fixed up a homeopathic concoction I give to animals with any tendon/joint issues and within a few minutes, she was going up and down three flights of stairs with the pictures to prove it.
Girl is pretty special, but she is not superhuman. She will eventually pass on to join the others who've lovingly shared our lives. One thing is for certain, though. Girl, will not die in pain or from some long and terrible illness. It's never easy to lose a beloved companion, but knowing they will pass away in a final peaceful sleep adds comfort.
But, for today, Girl and I will enjoy the sunshine. She'll chomp on her organic chicken quarter and some ground choice beef organ and bones. Today, life is good.
