Okay so some of you are probably going to read this and think I’m going psychotic…others…my more spiritual readers, well you will probably tear up at the spiritual aspect of this story as I have been doing all day long.

Last night around 8 p.m. I broke down in tears because the tuft of Theodore’s fur the vet gave me lost its smell — I could no longer smell my beloved cat from the small tuft. I was devastated.

I suffer from insomnia – some nights worse than others. Last night was a BAD night. At 5:55 a.m., I suddenly awoke from a very light sleep to feel a cat walking/pacing back and forth across the foot of my bed, walking over my feet to and fro the sides of the bed. I wondered why Sasha was up at this time and not in her usual spot: two feet away from my head at the head of the right side of the bed. I felt the cat walking over my feet and picked my head up..

Sasha was sound asleep right next to me.

It was Theodore’s spirit visiting me on one of my worst nights. The walking stopped as I picked my head up and then I felt a hard pressure on my left palm — Theodore used to nudge my hand quite hard when he wanted head scritchies.

This actually freaked me out a little so I turned the TV on for some light, and then I saw them — paw print impressions on the cashmere blanket at the end of my bed…

I immediately knew it was Theodore – and I knew it was him telling me that he is okay now and not in pain – and that he is still waiting for me. Although I was freaked out (I have NEVER experienced anything remotely close to a human or animal spirit visit), I told Theodore to rest and that I love him and not to nudge my hands anymore because that scared me. (I kept the TV on til I awoke at 10 a.m. this morning). I’m actually considering calling a pet psychic to see if they can tell if his spirit or whatever is in my room — is that me going crazy or what?!!?

What do you all think???

Many of you remember the awful terrors of the High Caliber K9 Kennels story (in Youngstown, Ohio). Although it’s local to me, it DID make national news through several outlets (Google it and you will see for yourself…) Many posts on this blog (go to the Search bar on the bottom right and type in Steve Croley, High Kaliber K9 or HB 70 to get to those posts) discussed the story of what happened there and the terrible aftermath.

(What they had found was horrifying: “Bones, carcasses, decay, it was horrible, it was enough to make you gag and throw up and cry”, said Nikole Owen CEO of Animal Charity. As per the article, http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/oct/23/dogs-at-kennel-found-dead/)

Many people lost their beloved dogs to that horrible facility, and even more people collaborated and got together to urge the state of Ohio to do something about it, prompting House Bill 70, also known as Nitro’s Law (after one of the dogs who died there). Nitro’s picture is posted here thanks to Nitro’s website.

H.B. 70 (as amended 11/09) passed in the Ohio House by a vote of 59-38:

AS INTRODUCED TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE – To amend section 959.99 of the Revised Code to increase the penalty for violation of the prohibition against cruel treatment of a companion animal by the animal’s custodian or caretaker to a felony of the fifth degree.

AS AMENDED BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE, 11/09 – To amend sections 959.131 and 959.99 of the Revised Code to specifically prohibit an owner of a kennel of dogs from committing cruel treatment of a companion animal by the animal’s custodian or caretaker and to give a prosecutor who prosecutes an owner of a kennel of dogs who commits cruel treatment of a companion animal discretion in prosecuting the owner for the offense.

Click here to view the live video stream of the vote – > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsUZ4lDCw34.

A very special thanks to Liz and Tom, proud guardians to the beloved Nitro, one of seven deceased canine companions found at High Caliber K-9, which served as the catalyst for this proposed legislation.

Liz and Tom have been incredible advocates to ensure the legacy of Nitro will not be forgotten. The Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions and ThoughtsFurPaws.com applaud their bravery, unrelenting strength and dedication to serving as a strong voice for those animals who cannot speak for themselves.

To read more about Nitro’s story, please click here: http://www.nitrofoundation.com/index.html.

To read more about House Bill 70, click here.

After losing my precious tabby Theodore just one week ago, our dear white Golden Retriever Gibson crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Friday night, just five days after Theodore.

He died in the family room of our house of acute heart failure. After being rushed to the ER – the vets found CANCER ALL OVER HIS BODY, and once it hit his heart – he was gone. We had NO IDEA that he even had cancer – just like with Theodore. The cancer took Theodore in 13 days. Who knows how long Gibby had it.

Gibson came to us as a neglected and abused pup and therefore really appreciated the simple things in life: a nap on the cool fireplace, a frisky run in the park with Dad and brother Benson, chewing a stick on the fresh grass, laying in the sun for hours, a few pats on the ears…Gibson even tried to mimic our cats’ purring abilities when he was really happy by making this noise in his throat and nose. It is too cute to describe really…

He would have been a GREAT therapy dog, and several doctors and therapists told us so over the years. He was calm, cool and polite to everyone, loved to get his treats from Dad (his favorite person in the WHOLE WORLD was Dad because Dad rescued him from the awful breeder), and he cherished his favorite sleeping spot, the leather armchair in the family room next to the TV.

Gibby was a very special creature sent to us to teach us how to be patient, peaceful, forgiving, appreciative, and most of all, loving.

Please pray for him and my family as we are beyond devastated at this point.

Losing two precious kids in five days is like a nasty curse that I have no words nor thoughts to understand.

Thank you friends,

Jaime

Well it’s terribly bad news today, partially expected yet still totally shocking. Theodore has andeocarcinoma, a very rare type of cancer and the vet did not remove all of it when he took the tumor and gall bladder out.

Theodore went severely downhill this weekend and could barely move this morning when I found him hiding behind the toilet in the bathroom. His temp was below 98 degrees, his eyes were sunken in the back of his head, and he couldn’t walk on his own he was so weak.

The Dr said he could try a feeding tube and steroids but with the metastisizing cancer cells, there was only a 20 percent chance Theodore would make it.

So – around 3:20 p.m. this afternoon Theodore was humanely euthanized and will be FOREVER LOVED, MISSED, and HONORED by his mother and all who knew him.

There was no cat quite like Theodore. He enjoyed the outdoors so much, running freely through the woods in the wind, chasing chipmunks, playing on his cat post at home, and snuggling at night time with whoever had open arms. He also knew how to open the crunchie cabinet and did so quite frequently. He slept by my side every minute when I was sick over the last 3 months, never leaving me alone…

Please do say a prayer for him and me, his mom, as I am a total wreck. Theodore was with me through some of the worst parts of the last 11 years of my life (as well as the good parts). I have never been bestowed such a loving and joyful gift as him and he will never be forgotten.

I love you Theodore, and I can’t wait to see you again someday.

Love, Mom

Since I have been so ill lately, my friends have kindly volunteered to write some posts for me. This is the first in a series, and its written by Denton Fowler from PetWellBeing.com.

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Losing your pet is never easy, whether you’ve had them for a couple of months or a couple of years.  The impact can easily be compared to the loss of a child, even if people without pets probably can’t relate.  The grief can hit us in many different ways.

 I share with you the story of Fish, a puppy mill rescue who changed the lives of my family.  And although he blessed us with just 11 short months of joy, he will be forever remembered by everyone he came in contact with.   

 We lost Fish in early November, but we are reminded daily of the impact he had on our daily life.  His hair is STILL everywhere, no matter how often we vacuum.  His cage sits empty in the garage because selling it would be like saying aloud that he is really gone.  His favorite chew toys lie scattered about the cage, covering the polished water bowl I know is there somewhere.

 Fish was a German Shepherd mutt, mixed with a bit of this and a bit of that.  He was rescued from a puppy-mill by the SPCA and then adopted by my kids and I when he was just 3 months old.  Fish was the bundle of energy that caught our eye.  His body had scars from his ordeal, but we saw past them.  It was love at first sight. 

 He wasn’t the best trained dog but he knew his basic commands.  Unless, of course,  there was another dog around.  We were still working on that part.  Fish was a favorite at the dog park because he would play with any dog there.  He could rough house with the best and give as good as he got.  Or he would crawl on his stomach to let the smaller dogs climb all over him.  He just wanted to play.  With dogs or with people, he just wanted someone to play with him.

 Guilt was the biggest emotion I felt when he died.  And it’s not because of the way Fish died, because he died doing what he loved best.  We were down at the river down a gravel road just where the huge power lines cross over.  No one ever came there and he would chase after the ducks and squirrels to his heart’s content.  But he saw a dog in the distance and took off.  Anyway, when a running dog, a blind corner and a utility truck meet, the dog doesn’t win out…

 By the time the kids came home from school, I had already done the whole woulda-shoulda-coulda thing in my mind.  If I had left 2 minutes sooner.  Or got just one more red light.  Or thrown a stick for him to chase.  Or worked harder on his commands around other dogs.  Maybe, just maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

 It took my daughter to drag me out of that mood that night when she started doing it herself.  She lamented that if she hadn’t missed her bus, I wouldn’t have gone down to the river after driving her to school, and Fish would still be alive.  It was all her fault.

 To make her feel better, I gave her the list of all my could-haves to show her that it wasn’t the cause of one particular person or event.  I mean, what if had been raining?  I certainly wouldn’t have been there.  You just can’t blame the weather for your pet dying.

 I think that clarified things in her mind and my own.  It wasn’t her fault any more than is was mine.  It doesn’t make Fish’s absence any easier, it just reduces a certain amount of self-guilt that makes you point the finger at yourself.

 Now, when we find more of his hair on our blankets or clothes, there’s just this longing for something that was.  And memories of what we had.

 Denton Fowler wrote this article for PetWellbeing.com which offers prevention and treatment products for cancer in cats and Cushings Disease in dogs.

I would like to point out a sad situation happening locally here in Cleveland. Please read the story and comment at free will. Please cross-post freely.

http://www.examiner.com/x-10601-Cleveland-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m9d28-Terminal-Tower-Cats-mysteriously-disappear-local-company-suspected

I want to start this post by saying a prayer for the victims of 9/11 and their families.

On this day, the anniversary of 9/11, I thought it appropriate to publish a “shout out” to the Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs that were in New York City and Washington, D.C. that day and for weeks after the tragedy, digging away and looking for victims buried underneath the steel and rubble.

According to dogsinthenews.com, it was the largest deployment of search dogs in U.S. history “and possibly the single greatest example of inter-species cooperation in the history of human disasters.”

The final number of SAR dogs deployed to the two cities in the wake of 9/11 is unknown. It’s lowly estimated that around 350-500 dogs lent their snouts to 9/11 SAR efforts at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One report says approximately 100 were deployed by FEMA, and 250 SAR dogs came from around the country, NYPD dogs, security dogs and volunteers who rushed to the scene as soon as possible.

FEMA rescue worker Bob Sessions had this to say about the heroic dogs of those days: “If these dogs only knew what a difference they make. Certainly, there’s nothing that can replace the precision of a dog’s nose—and absolutely nothing that can replace a dog’s heart.”

That day on the scene, Officer Joe Caputo of the NYC Police K-9 Unit said this: “You can train all you want, but this is the mother lode. The dogs can feel it.”

I remember hearing stories about these dogs, about how special they were. About how many of them there were. About where they came from — as far away as British Columbia, Colorado, Washington and California. I remember hearing how some of the rescue dogs were actually growing very depressed because they couldn’t find any humans alive, they felt they weren’t following through with their training, they felt it was their fault… a disheartening and emotionally devastating charge for any SAR dog and something that personally breaks my heart. SAR dogs—especially those trained to find living people—feel increased stress and depression as time passes with no survivors found. Workers actually started to put live bodies of volunteers in more obvious places, staging mock rescues, perhaps under only one or two layers of steel beams, for the dogs to find so they could get their confidence back…

Mike Owens of Southwestern Ohio K-9 Search and Rescue, speaking about his partner Worf, said this: “He kind of withdrew from everything. There was so much death there, it was emotional for the dogs.”

Special canine medical units treated as many as 100 injured dogs per day in the first few days of searching. Volunteer veterinarian Lisa Carter, 32, said that most of the injuries were cuts on their paws from the jagged glass and steel that the dogs have to climb over.

Sharon Gattas of Riverside Urban Search and Rescue had this to say about the rescue dogs of 9/11: “They go underneath into void spaces—anywhere we can get the dogs in. The site is very difficult agility for the dogs. They’re crawling on their bellies and squeezing through things. It’s incredible to watch.”

Here are some pictures, courtesy dogsinthenews.com, of rescue dogs from the days after the 9/11 tragedy:

Tascha and Gary Flynn

Kinsey

Worf

Porkchop

Scooter the Bomb Dog

Name Unknown

Officers and Rescue Dogs

Durac and Officer McFadden

To read how SAR dogs also helped traumatized and emotional firemen, police officers and rescue workers, click here. To read more information and stories about SAR dogs on 9/11, click here.

To all of the 9/11 heroes, human and canine, acclaimed and unsung, thank you for your selfless bravery and dedication. We will never forget…

*All photos courtesy dogsinthenews.com*

Saturday was a very tough day in my household. We had to say goodbye to our 19-year-old rescue housecat, Nickodemus. He was suffering from beginning stages of kidney and renal failure and had been in poor condition (with his kidneys) for months, but really went downhill Friday and Saturday. Obviously my family is devastated.

This cat has been with me since I was in 7th grade… he was so sweet, loved to eat fish, loved to snuggle into warm spots, and was my Mom’s best friend for years and supported her through all of life’s trials and tribulations. We used to call him Pops since he was so old. Nicky was a wild cat when we found him, 7 weeks old, and by wild I don’t mean crazy. I mean, running around in the wild and had never seen a human or the inside of a warm house before. It took months for him to acclimate.

Nickodemus

Nickodemus is now over the Rainbow Bridge after a heart-wrenching decision made at the Emergency Vet Saturday afternoon.

Please dear friends, say a prayer for our family and our sweet little orangie, Nickodemus.

My dear friend Brian has a sick little puppy who needs our prayers and crossed paws right now. Please meet Zoe, an 8-month-old Golden Retriever.

Latest word on her condition:  ”Still no word on the biopsy from stomach, intestines and lymphnode (lot’s of extra tissue in these places). Food is not passing through stomach to intestines. Kidneys are failing, red blood cells very low (Talking about transfusion). She is very sick.

She is currently at the animal hospital and has been since Saturday evening.  She is still recovering from stomach surgery which they thought was from a blocked pylorus (which is the muscle that moves food from the stomach to the intestines).  Turns out there was no blockage, but significant / excess tissue in her stomach, intestines and she had a enlarged lymph node. The new diagnosis (pending results) is complete kidney failure with high levels of toxins in her body which is causing the inflamed tissues.  Due to the kidney failure, she is also anemic and they are discussing blood transfusions to potentially correct this issue.  The vet is now thinking it is congenital and may not be something we can correct.”

Please everyone keep your paws crossed for my friend Brian’s dear sweet pooch. We know the power of the paws has gotten us through rough times before, and now Zoe really needs us.

This is borrowed from my favorite dog rescuer’s blog: A Dog Rescuer’s Life. It talks about how vital animal rescuers are in our pets’ lives. Prepare to need Kleenex…

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It is said that when animals die they don’t go to heaven, they go to the Rainbow Bridge where they wait for their owners. The area around the Rainbow Bridge is sunny, warm but not too warm, flowers, grass and all the animals have been restored to a youthful healthy state.

On one particular day it was unlike most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined. All of the recent arrivals had no idea what to think, as they had never experienced a day like this before.

But the animals who had been waiting for their beloved people knew exactly what was going on and started to gather at the pathway leading to The Bridge to watch.

It wasn’t long before an elderly dog came into view, head hung low and tail dragging. The other animals, the ones who had been there for a while, knew what his story was right away, for they had seen this happen far too often.

He approached slowly, obviously in great emotional pain, but with no sign of injury or illness. Unlike all of the other animals waiting at The Bridge, this animal had not been restored to youth and made healthy and vigorous again! As he walked toward The Bridge, he watched all of the other animals watching him. He knew he was out of place here and the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be.

But, alas, as he approached The Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who apologized, but told him that he would not be able to pass. Only those animals who were with their people could pass over Rainbow Bridge.

With no place else to turn to, the elderly animal turned towards the fields before The Bridge and saw a group of other animals like himself, also elderly. They weren’t playing, but rather simply lying on the green grass, forlornly staring out at the pathway leading to The Bridge. And so, he took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting.

One of the newest arrivals at The Bridge didn’t understand what he had just witnessed and asked one of the animals that had been there for a while to explain it to him.

“You see, that poor animal was abanonded by his owners. He was turned into a shelter just as you see him now, an older animal with his fur graying and his eyes clouding. He never made it out of the shelter and passed on. Because he had no family to give his love to, he has no one to escort him across The Bridge. ”

The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked, “So what will happen now?”

As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the gloom lifted.

Approaching The Bridge could be seen a single person and among the older animals, a whole group was suddenly bathed in a golden light and they were all young and healthy again, just as they were in the prime of life.

“Watch, and see” said the second animal.

A second group of animals from those waiting came to the pathway and bowed low as the person neared. At each bowed head, the person offered a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears. The newly restored animals fell into line and followed him towards The Bridge.

They all crossed The Bridge together.

“What happened?”

“That was a rescuer. The animals you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of his work. They will cross when their new families arrive. Those you saw restored were those who never found homes. When a rescuer arrives, they are allowed to perform one, final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort those poor animals that they couldn’t place on earth, across The Rainbow Bridge. ”

“I think I like rescuers,” said the first animal.

“So does GOD,” was the reply.