reminders

When Mom died, several of my friends gave me gifts for my garden instead of the typical funeral flowers that die in no time.

As we speak, the blossoming cherry tree is in full bloom, the heather is blooming, the pink azalea is getting there, and several of the bulbs are still beneath the surface. Mom is all around me when I'm in the garden and it feels so good!

Just thought I'd share in case you want to use this thoughtful gift idea.

Have any of you that have lost beloved pets buried them in the back yard, had them creamated or buried in a pet semitary? We have a very pretty place here and today I went to help pick up papers and such and was astounded at how beautiful it was. Flowers blooming everywhere and the small graves tended perfectly. I have my two Maltese girls under a large Oleander bush in my yard. Some of the pet headstones were quite magnificient and had to be expensive. My grandson Jason was with me and asked if I wanted to be buried there since I like animals better than people? Makes one stop and think...

What a lovely grandson. I don't know too many teens who would spend a Saturday helping their grandmother tidy a pet cemetery. You are blessed.

Chatty, you are so blessed by the animals in your life and by your wonderful grandson and by the way you find beauty wherever you go.
smile

Yes thank you but don't forget to include yourselves in that blessing as well. I am so blessed by knowing so many of you and sharing your lives through the computer and via mail and phone calls. You know what, I feel blessed most of the time too. Now if only I could learn tolerance for what I feel to be dumb...thats the only word that comes to mind. Dotsie you are the most tolerant person I know, how do you handle all this stuff? Maybe JJ is right, just laugh!

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe or call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one....

(by) Jane Howard, Writer...1935-1996
gone much to soon.

Theres a group of volunteers that get together monthly and head into the desert, especially the rest stops and look for animals people have dumped. It is amazing how many have been found. This morning one of our ladies was traveling the highway and saw a man stopped by the side of the road in a pick-up and she said he looked suspicious, so she went further on and parked. Soon the truck past the spot where she was sitting, she waited a few minutes and headed back. Down in a small ravine she spotted a large cardboard box. She then called the Sheriff not knowing what she would discover. The Sheriff's deputy came and they went down into the ravine and could hear whining and scratching. Upon opening the box they found a mother dog and two newly born pups and the mother was giving birth to another one. The vet was called and the mother and her pups were taken to the vet hospital. When removing momma from the box they discovered two other pups that had been crushed or sufficated under her weight and she couldn't move as the enclosure was so tight. All's well with momma and her 7 new puppies. The woman took down the license number of the truck and the man should already be under arrest. I guess I will never get use to the loss of life when it is so unnecessary. I don't even want to think of the horror those animals were facing in that box. I know God led her to that spot at that time...

Guess what I just got the call. The mother dog is a collie, she was so dirty and beat up no one could tell till she was cleaned up. Looks like when she and the pups are ready(older)they will be heading here until a home can be found for each one. Wonder what the papa dog was? Anyone out there want a new dog???

Bless you my dear friend. Poor animals. I just don't understand people that do stuff like this. I guess I never will either.

Chatty --

I think people that hurt children and animals are the worst slime there is !!!!

I hope they throw the book at that guy !!!!

Dotsie -

From the seedlings off Roberts tree I have grown several more trees. I have given 4 of them away to the neighbors so within the next year or two yellow butterflies will be all over our park I also have one saved for the kids when they get a house -- my mom has one -- and I'm keeping one for my neice who lives in COLD COUNTRY

I also have several houseplants that I have grown from clippings in the flowers given to us in memory of Rob -- they have given me great joy over the last few years !!!

This story brings tears to my eyes Chatty! I am sad about the two crushed babies. How could anyone do this? The poor mother, her pups! Thank God for you and your organization and the volunteers. You know, the woman who ventured out to this rest stop could have been shot, or something. I hope the volunteers go out on a buddy system. I hope they find homes for all the pups, and the mother, too. LLL

Yes Lynn329 most of the time we go out in a group but it just so happened that Barb was on her way home from spending the night with her daughter and new grandson, it was 5:00 AM and the highway that runs past her ranch was deserted except for the truck parked near the ravine. She got a glimpse of the box because his trucks tail thingy was down and he looked like the cat that swallowed the goldfish, guilty...She kept driving until she came to an old burned out restaurant and pulled around back. She watched until his truck went by then headed back up the road. She said she called the Sheriff's office as soon as that truck passed by and they all got to the scene at once, thats when they shined the light down into the ravine which was about 15 feet below. He apparently just threw it over the side and thats probably when the 2 pups were crushed. My God that poor mother, giving birth through all this torment. She was so sweet too Barb said and seemed to know they were the good guys. Don't feel bad about the tears Lynn, she said one of the deputies and she were both in tears. So now there are seven pups, looking good and a very sweet mother Collie mix doing well. The vet wants to keep mamma, now being called Miracle and one pup for himself, and as soon as the pups are 5 to 8 weeks we will begin looking for homes for them too. Happy ending this time...

Oh Chatty, I'm glad to hear she knew to protect herself by waiting til the sheriff came on the scene. There is an organization called TESSA in CO Springs, which helps women and children in domestic violence cases. I was pleased to read that they coordinate with the humane society regarding the family pets when the pets have to be separated from the family. For example, an abuser of his family is likely to abuse the pets as well. So, if a woman has to go to a shelter to be safe, the pet is also taken in to a "foster" home until the violence is alleviated. And, the volunteers who foster these pets have to go through a training program. Good program, don't you think? LLL

Absolutely and I have fostered a few of those abused animals myself. Like Polkadot the Great Dane I had last and was able to find a wonderful family for. At first he was so afraid of every sound and movement and in a week or so he was in my bed with my two feeling right at home. It is always amazing to me how they crave affection and are so forgiving of we humans....

Chatty -- about your post of April 23rd about burying pets in our yard ---
When my beloved Shetland Sheepdog/Shih Tsu mix died in 1995, I had her cremated and the ashes returned to me. I didn't know what to do with the ashes so I put the box under our bed. A few years ago, my husband and I buried her in the garden in our side-yard "outside the fence" because she took every opportunity to escape the backyard and go exploring the neighborhood. We're sure that she's "resting in peace" outside the fence.

Chatty -- about your post of April 23rd about burying pets in our yard ---
When my beloved Shetland Sheepdog/Shih Tsu mix died in 1995, I had her cremated and the ashes returned to me. I didn't know what to do with the ashes so I put the box under our bed. A few years ago, my husband and I buried her in the garden in our side-yard "outside the fence" because she took every opportunity to escape the backyard and go exploring the neighborhood. We're sure that she's "resting in peace" outside the fence.

Cute story.

Misfire, I love your story so much! What a tender, thoughtful, loving memorial, to bury her just "outside the fence" where she always enjoyed going to explore. Thank you for sharing that...I don't have any pets, but this really warmed my heart for some reason this morning.

Fantastic Misfire, bless you, your husband and your beloved pet. I bet she is as happy as a lark and having a ball... thanks for sharing.