Anyway,I had a dream the night before last that me and my partner were standing high up on a grassy mound while our dog trotted away from us along a very log path, he was a long way away and in the distance when he stopped and looked back at us, I could some how see his face clearly and close up, he looked handsome. He continued on his journey away from us and in my dream I felt that he was leaving us because he had too. I was really sad and started to call him back but he was so far away now.

When I awoke, he was as expected, at the foot of my bed, I felt more connected and closer to him all day. We had friends stayng with us and we had a lovely day with him, had a long walk, sat in the sun and had a long drive, he loved being amongst people.

At around 10 last night, he had some kind of ‘turn’, buckled in pain, trying to be sick and foaming badly at the mouth, we rushed him to an emergency vet, the vet told us that there is something serously wrong, that he is in shock, terrible pain, and that his body is shutting down, she didn’t expect him to make the night and told us that even if he did, at his age, there would be little that could be done. She told us that putting him to sleep was really the only option and that if would not be dignified for him for us not to accept her advice. She left the room to attend to another emergency while we were left to make up our minds what to do. Even though he had been administered Morphine, he was in terrible pain and distress, we made the decision to let him go and said our goodbyes, we stayed with him til the end.

Today I reflect on the dream and wonder whether the dream was to forewarn us of his imminent departure or purely a coincidence. It may also be worth mentioning that I have never had a dream like this about him before.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Three years ago I had a handsome Belgium Shepherd who was on his way to a Rescue Centre until I intervened. He tangled with coyotes this one particular night. I took him to the vet; they stitched him up again and were going to keep him for a few days. He never made it out. I had to have my dehumidifier on each night so I didn’t hear any commotion outside. I was working at that time so I called the vets a few times during the day and went to see him each day after work and lay beside him and cry. Each day I could see him going down hill. Finally the vet said that we should put him down, so she did, with me crying so hard and holding him on my lap while he was traveling to rainbow Bridge. I couldn’t go to work for at least a week. I was crying so hard. I missed him. I wanted to go with him. I loved Morgan so much. The vet said it was leptospirosis that was killing him. Lepto is now in the regular vaccine.

Sometime after, I had to go on Long Term Disability. That’s what a head on accident with a dump truck does to you. Talk about spastic. In retrospect I can see how I changed over the months. But at the time I didn’t notice any difference. Later, friends said they noticed the changes.

I went to the hospital where I worked to see how my colleagues were doing. One of the women volunteers from our local animal rescue. She takes little dogs or puppies in to work in a small carrier so they wouldn’t be left alone all day. One of the techs came up to me and said, “Do you want to see the cutest puppy in the world?” Well, how could I say no? He went home with me the next day. He had been smacked up against a wall by a little boy. Morgan was at the vets for a time, IV insertion point, on antibiotics and observation. I could still see where his front paw had been shaved at the insertion point. He still slept a lot after his adoption. He’d want to play for a bit and then he conked out sleeping. I had to get Morgan accustomed to children because he would cry and crawl away to hide.

I fostered him until he was ready to be adopted. He grew a tad bigger than expected but that’s just more to love and he gives bigger kisses. He’s a collie and shepherd all Canadian and is 100 pounds. When we go out and plan to leave him at home, we get the saddest look of rejection, the whites in his eyes, his ears droop and you’re sure he won’t be alive when you come home…so, he comes, even if we take the Mustang. He is a very intelligent dog. I’ve enrolled him in Advanced Obedience classes and one of the trainers for the movies wants a picture of him. Playing dead he has a bit of trouble with because he doesn’t have time.

My plan is to go to the animal shelter to meet with the staff regarding the Animal Rescue Festival I’m planning in August. I also need to get information on fundraisers and also talk to them about dogs that people won’t adopt because they’re blind or too old. I would be more than willing to help with one.

I have my diploma in Animal Sciences and observed numerous surgeries on animals. I found when I was studying that I had difficulty focusing on the fact that our pets are on all fours, and I would get confused about where their parts were. I’m used to humans on the operating table not animals. The vet and I engaged in many conversations regarding the differences in a vet and hospital operating room. I automatically assumed that a vet would know about people stuff too.

I have just started a webpage on depression and I want to incorporate the therapy of a pet. When I cry Morgan hears me sniff and he comes directly over to me and puts his head on my lap trying to comfort me. His head has been on my lap quite a bit lately. When I take Morgan to visit my brother in an ECU; he had a stroke at 52 years, and he only says, “boy.” He’s paralyzed down the right side. The little elderly ladies in their wheel chairs wheel around trying to get to Morgan first. By the time we’re ready to go they’re arguing who Morgan likes the best. I’m glad my brother is the only patient that has an electric wheel chair.

Thank you for offering your course to the person you feel is your choice recipient.

Mardee Boone

Sincerely,
Cinnamon Landman
Founder/Director, CatAdoptionTaskforce

It was about 7 years ago that my husband and I chose a vet close to home after seeing an ad. We were very pleased with how our precious kitty was treated by the doctor and all of her staff. They were always so gentle and sweet in caring for our anxious little Mimi, as if she were their own, even giving her lots of kisses. It was especially appealing to us that there wasn’t a big push for vaccinations. The vet seemed to share much of our concern about the potential risks.

When we were worried about two lumps under Mimi’s left arm last September, the vet concluded that it was probably scar tissue from a previous surgery. Her advice was to just monitor the area to see if it changed. I felt uneasy about that course of inaction, but wanted desperately to believe that everything was OK, thinking maybe I was just being paranoid. After all, she is the professional, right? By December, it seemed that one lump was growing quickly, so we took Mimi back to the vet. Instead of scheduling surgery, she decided to do a fine needle aspirate first, which came back as inconclusive but suspicious. So surgery was scheduled, but after an appointment with our chiropractor, we got information about a friend of his who is a vet practicing both holistic and conventional medicine. We dropped by her clinic immediately to see if she might be available to give us her thoughts about the surgery and holistic treatment. She felt that tumor removal was the necessary first step. So we went ahead with the scheduled surgery, with plans to switch to the new vet afterwards. The biopsy results were devastating, the larger tumor was carcinoma. But the vet assured me that she got it all out and there was no evidence that it had invaded the lymph nodes. She said the prognosis for this situation was an average of four more years. I asked about alternative treatment, supplements, anything to help, but her response was that Mimi was eating a good quality food, so that’s really the best we could do. I told her about some options I had run across with some impressive testimonials describing success with other types of cancer, but her response was basically that such anecdotal accounts were worthless if there were no studies to back them. I asked her to be sure to tell me if she ran across anything helpful, knowing full well that she wasn’t going to spend any time investigating alternative options for us.

With our new vet, the initial protocol was cod liver oil, 500 mg of vitamin C a day, and a Chinese tea pill twice a day. I refrained from feeling the incision for a while, so as not to freak out over every little bump while it was healing. But when I did finally check the area, what I found gave me that same feeling of dread I had experienced before. Mimi had surgery again 15 days ago, with the lab results showing adenocarcinoma. Now we’re in a serious fight for her life. It’s a fulltime job just trying to get all the supplements down her everyday. Trying to hide everything in food has changed her from a happy little kitty who loved to eat, with a taste for all kinds of foods most cats would never touch, to one who is suspicious of everything set before her. Even though we now have a holistic vet, we’re frustrated with the treatment plan. It seems there’s more we should be doing. Because we’ve been into nutrition and alternative medicine ourselves for many years, I’m sure I’m bugging the vet to death with all of my questions, and we realize she can’t possibly devote as much time as we would like to Mimi’s care. With all that I’m reading about treating all the various types of cancer, I am completely overwhelmed with the seemingly infinite options. And I have such a sense of panic over how critical time is and being able to run across and try what will work best for this speicific condition. I’m also really kicking myself for not following my gut in September, for not insisting that the vet come up with something better than waiting to see if it changed. We lost three months!

I love your perspective on pets being family members because that is exactly how we feel. When we meet someone who asks if we have any children, we tell them we have two feline daughters. Unfortunately, we’ve had a miscarriage and unsuccessful attempts with fertility treatments, so Mimi is absolutely our baby. Just a little thing at 6 lbs., she has such a cute personality and is amazingly smart, with an incredible number of words and phrases she responds to, including doing tricks. I know you fully understand when I say we just can’t lose her. Afterall, the loss you experienced was so painful that it brought you to the crossroads in your life that propelled you into your current mission.

I’ve been reading your e-mails for a quite a while now and am grateful to have run across you. Every time you put together a special offer, I’m interested to read about it but so frustrated that the money isn’t there to buy it. We’re just getting the bills paid, but doing without a lot of things most people take for granted. You have a good idea of the unexpected expenses we’re dealing with now, after two surgeries and biopsies, two needle aspirates, four office visits, and numerous products all in the course of three months. There are so many other things we needed to use that money for. What an enormous blessing and relief it would be to receive your package right now. We really need your help to immediately determine the best plan for our little patient.

Beyond the urgent need for your information for Mimi’s care, all your wisdom will contribute immensely to the health of five other felines in our family. Two years ago, we rescued Matti, who was a complete mess and would not have lasted long out there on her own. My mom has two, both of which I rescued. One is 17 or 18 and has a hard time getting around, keeps losing weight, is pulling her fur out in clumps, and has an ear that bothers her a lot (our previous vet has never been able to help with it). The other kitty was obviously abused and still deals with the effects. My sister also has two cats she rescued, one with a seriously overactive thyroid and the resulting symptoms, and the other with behavioral problems. So you can see that the felines in my family desperately need your help!

I can’t thank you enough for what you are doing for all the four-legged kids out there who need you fighting the establishment for their health and for their lives. I very much appreciate your tenacity in spite of the intense opposition you have had to face. Thank you for your consideration…and Mimi says thank you!