Ziggy, 1997-2012

   Things are good here on the Other Side. I have all the tennis balls I want and somehow there is always someone to throw them or at least make them fly forward. Some of the humans here seem to have wings like birds and they are the ones that make the balls soar so I can bring them back. And they don’t quit until I do!

It seems like my pain is long ago and far away. Especially that last morning when I tried to get to my grandboy and just could not walk. I know he was upset, I saw the tears and heard his sobs but he stayed with me just as I would have done for him. So did Mom and my grandgirl. I had always been the caretaker, ever since my boy and his friend and Mom saw me alone in my kennel in the shelter.  All curled in on myself, nose to tail, watching the people pass me by as though I weren’t there. And for them I wasn’t. But Hunter picked me! And even though the Shelter people suggested I might not be the right choice since I been returned once and didn’t get along with other dogs he kept after Mom and she said OKAY and then I got to their house and he and his friend walked me with their other dog Taz and Taz was nice to me and after that I fit right in. And that’s when I knew my job was to look out for my humans. I always knew when Mom was upset and went right to her. And then there was the time we were walking in the early morning and it was dark and I sensed something up ahead in the woods by the road and stopped and was as still as I could be and stared into the dark up ahead.  Mom told me if I didn’t think we should keep going then we wouldn’t and I turned around and we went home. Something just smelled dangerous. I was her hero. But things change and that last morning they took care of me. They knew letting me go was for the best.

     Now I watch over them from up here. Still doing my job. And they are still loving me even though I am not there with them. Did I tell you I get all the treats and juicy bones I want here? And I have met some really great canine pals and I am not afraid of anything anymore.  Not other dogs, not thunder, not fire works and I feel great, too. Like a young pup!  Mom’s had great support from her friends and our family and Diva. So I can relax and enjoy this great place until we meet again. They tell me it happens but I have to patient.

Hindsight is 20/20

     Now that the story about Missy, the injured German Shepherd who was left behind on Mt Bierstadt by her owner, has been become national news we have the opportunity for some 20/20 hindsight.  I imagine we all hope to never be in circumstances like that but, if we are, we also hope we would somehow manage to go back for our dog. It would be our responsibility as pet owners. Perhaps not as dramatic but just as important is our obligation not to abandon our animal companions in less drastic situations. If we lose a job or gain a spouse or have a child and are unable to continue caring for our pet we do not just leave him/her on the side of the road or in an empty house with no food or water. Nor do we lock them in our cars on a hot day or chain them in the back yard with little or no human interaction or affection. How could we?

     So here is where Safe Place for Pets comes in.  In the event of an owner’s terminal illness we are here to help fulfill what should be every owners unspoken promise to their companion animal; “ I will make sure you are taken care of when I am no longer able to do it myself.”  On our Web page you will find a Pet Directive that can be filled out and placed with other end-of-life documents to ensure that your pet has a future without you.  Your pet will thank you.

Resilience

     In a world that seems to be increasingly unpredictable and with digital media providing us with perhaps more news, especially of the “bad” variety, than we can logically process without risking overload on several levels, it is reassuring to know that evidence of resilience is also readily available. Even right outside the door.  This morning as I was watering drought-affected plants I noticed that several varieties that had been eaten down to the ground by similarly drought- affected deer had new green shoots sprouting up. Resilience. And the deer themselves now have spotted fawns at their sides. Resilience.

     Human resilience…what better example than the victims of the Waldo Canon Fire who already have building permits to start again?  Or Baby Hugo, who was born a few days after the Aurora shooting in the same hospital where his father, gravely wounded in that same shooting, fights to recover.  When newborn Hugo was brought into the hospital room his father’s vital signs indicated he knew his son was there. Resilience. 

     And, of course, there is the resilience found in countless rescued animals. Even those most cruelly treated by humans often wag their tails and lick their rescuers when they sense that they are safe.  And those animals that have, through no fault of their own, lost their owners and their homes? They welcome a new forever family with love and gratitude.  Please consider adoption. Encourage resilience.