Friday June 22, 2007

This morning's newsletter was set to send to you all this morning and a computer glitch kept it from sending.

Here it was.

Patty's surgery was a success. Maxine had surgery this morning and is waking up. Laverne is walking. Help needed for their vet bills!

___________________________________________

Then today, things changed for the worse.

Baby Lavern enjoyed the sunshine, just yesterday.

Dear Small Pawsers,

It's with great sadness that I come tonight to tell you that Baby Laverne, the little Black beeshey-poo puppy that we have been nursing for a week now, succumbed to some sort of a virus, and went home to God this afternoon at 3:35 P.M.

Kathy Epps. our vet tech, another vet intern, and Doc worked on her after she began crashing. I got there about five minutes after she died to find Kathy sitting on a bench in a quiet hallway with her head in her hands. Such is the work of our wonderful and caring vet staff here in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

They all tried so hard to save this tiny little girl.

Yesterday, she was doing so well. She walked.

Doc said after I left after having taken the little video of her walking, that she REALLY got up and was really active and prancing around.

We were all stunned when she suddenly took a turn for the worse this morning, becoming very sick with diarrhea and congestion in her little chest.

The heart murmur and this virus were just too much for her.

Patty and Maxine continue to do well down at Texas A&M after having surgery for their heart murmurs yesterday and today.

Thank you all for the love and prayers that you sent to Laverne. I know right where she is and she knows how much she was loved.

She has the best of both worlds now. I bet she was met by every rescued Poodle and every rescued Bichon that is up there. She isn't sick anymore. And she's sitting in the Lap of the one who loves her more than anyone ever has, and more than anyone ever will. All My Love, Robin

The Journey (Thank you Jani for sending)
by Crystal Ward Kent

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey - a
journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you
have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage
If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life,
about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away
changed forever,for one soul cannot touch another without leaving
its mark.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple
pleasures - jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of
puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the
ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly
experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go
unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very
air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable
information. Your pace may be slower - except when heading home to
the food dish - but you will become a better naturalist, having
been taught by an expert in the field.

Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to
complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the
details - the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb
in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we
walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we
browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look
up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature
has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises,
that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each
day an essence all its own.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world
around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects
collecting on a screen.(How bizarre they are! How many kinds there
are!), or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark.
You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or
sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no
objective in this; the point is in the doing,in not letting life's
most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less
friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the
grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have,
buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra
time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow,
wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes
cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie -
with a cat in hot pursuit - all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less
dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits
in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old
plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat
loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love - the steadfast, undying
kind that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or
how life treats us as long as we are together." Respect this always.
It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You
will not find it often among the human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made
me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some
flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but
only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and
dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so
chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you
will be not just a better person, but the person your pet always
knew you to be - the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all
paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as
the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a
trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength
and love to let them go. A pet's time on earth is far too short -
especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just
for awhile, and during these brief years they are generous enough
to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart,
until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and
frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy
wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow
always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave
our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is
all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves
ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them
run on ahead - young and whole once more. "Godspeed, good friend,"
we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross
again.

Always remember. God loves you more than anyone else ever has, and more than anyone else ever will. YOU are the apple of His eye!
He knew you and loved you before he knitted you together in your mother's womb.
All the days ordained for you were written in His book, before one of them came to be.
YOU are VERY special to God! Yes YOU!

Humphrey Sisco
Dec 26, 1993~ Aug 30, 2006

When I first saw this beautiful picture of Cheri Sisco's "Humphrey&qusot;, I thought it was truly the epitome of what we do, and why we do it. I wanted to use this black and white picture of Humphrey, taken only days before his death due to congestive heart failure, to let those who may be new to Small Paws, know what we do and why we do it. Without Small Paws, Humphrey would have never known love. He would have died in a kill shelter, sick and alone. Because of Small Paws, and Cheri Sisco, he lived, he loved, and he smiled.
Godspeed Humphrey Sisco. Godspeed.

For Those Broken of Heart from the Loss of a Beloved Pet

Gospel CD: It's A God Thing!
Singing for Small Paws®
The Heart Murmur Repair Bichons Reunion Page
Small Paws® Rescue: Bichons Available for Adoption
Fill out an online adoption application!
Small Paws® Rescue: The Gift Shoppe
Small Paws® Rescue: Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover Card
ONLINE APPLICATION TO BE A FOSTER PARENT OR VOLUNTEER!

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