Volun~tears

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=125 BGCOLOR="#660000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Volen - tears<FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>    </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Lucida Bright" ><I>   </I></FONT></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#660000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home">Home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="frenchies_rotts.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mirabeau Rotts n Frenchies">Mirabeau Rotts n Frenchies</A></div> <div> <A HREF="memorials.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family Memorials">Family Memorials</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mirkennel_ii.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Friends"> Friends</A></div> <div> <A HREF="ar_vs_welfare.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AR vs Welfare">AR vs Welfare</A></div> <div> <A HREF="rescue.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rescue">Rescue</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2nd Hand Dogs">2nd Hand Dogs</A></div> <div> <A HREF="volentears.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Voluntears">Volun~tears</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id102.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Flame ON">Flame ON~</A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="1e1f5f7f0.gif" border=0 width="95" height="127" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> llove comes in many </div> <div> ways</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#330000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Lucida Bright" ><IMG SRC="18b19a740.jpg" border=0 width="154" height="116" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">    </FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Californian FB" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Lucida Bright" > </FONT>  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#EEEEEE" FACE="Lucida Bright" > </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Lucida Bright" >" </FONT> for Chanel, & all those like her abused,mentally unstable, the victim of mans uncaring"</div> <bR> <div> At this time of year, when everyone pauses in their daily activities to think about what they are thankful for,</div> <div>  I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that you have done for me. But...I'm getting ahead of myself.</div> <div> Let me introduce myself to you.</div> <div> I am the Shepherd who was left out in the cold with no one to love me.</div> <div> I am the Lab who was the apple of my owners' eye....until their new baby came along.</div> <div> I am the Chow whose owners got divorced, so they divorced me, too.</div> <div> I am the Rottweiler that got left behind when my owners decided to move.</div> <div> I am the PitBull who loved my people with all of my heart....but they left me on the side of the road.</div> <div> I am the Husky who became ill. My owners had no money to care for me, though they found the funds</div> <div>  to go shopping for nonessentials.</div> <div> I am the Terrier who became lost one day and was never able to find my owner.</div> <div> I am the Doberman who no one cared about</div> <div> I am the Border Collie who was sent away because my owners couldn't take the time to read about my</div> <div> breed and know that I herd children and have a lot of energy.</div> <div> I am the mutt that was too timid to be at a shelter, but had nowhere else to go.</div> <div> So.....to you....the incredible volunteers.....I thank you from the bottom of my heart.</div> <div>  Thank you for taking me into your home.</div> <div>  Thank you for getting me altered and getting me excellent veterinary care</div> <div>  Thank you for finding me food and shelter.</div> <div>  Thank you for taking me to an adoption event, where I found my wonderful new family.</div> <div>  Thank you for posting my picture on your website</div> <div> . Thank you for being here to help all of the other animals like me - thrown out, discarded and unloved</div> <div> ....until we met you. </div> <div> And most of all, thank you for helping me to find my wonderful new life.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> What Does It Take To Do Rescue??<IMG SRC="18b3946f0.jpg" border=0 width="148" height="111" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Blaze, Rest easy and alight, you are free! </div> <div>  Your rescue "kit" should include:</div> <div>  A heart of gold to accept those creatures that don't</div> <div>  measure up as  "perfect" in the eyes of the rest of the world.</div> <div>            The people skills of a salesperson....to convince those that are looking for perfection that they will</div> <div>  find it in a rescue   dog if they are willing to look a little deeper.</div> <div>            A heart of steel to be able to say no when there just isn't any more room for just one more dog</div> <div>            Strong arms and cases of tissues for holding those that must die because there just isn't any other way</div> <div>     The knowledge that you cannot save them all and that the choice to euphemize is ending the suffering and</div> <div> not the end of the world.</div> <div>               The ability to smile and speak rationally when the 10th person for the day says</div> <div>  "I don't want this stupid dog anymore...take him or I am gonna shoot him."</div> <div>           Some medical knowledge...or your rescue vet bill will be bigger than the national debt.</div> <div>           The fine art of fund raising....so your vet bill can be reduced to just under the size of the national debt.</div> <div>           Patience for: breeders who don't care, won't help, turn their backs and say it's not their problem.</div> <div>            Patience for:  dogs that were incorrectly placed and come to rescue with so much excess baggage that you</div> <div>  think they will never be adoptable.</div> <div>           Patience for: owners who want a quick fix</div> <div>          Patience for:  a world that no longer looks at life as a gift and the lives that we create as breeders as nothing</div> <div>  short of miracles.</div> <div>          A sense of humor....because sometimes a smile on your face is the only way to hide the agony and turmoil in </div> <div> your heart.</div> <div>          A husband with housekeeping skills that are so outstanding that they  could be highlighted in Good </div> <div> Housekeeping Magazine.</div> <div> ...so you can devote your time to all the rescues and be secure in the knowledge that the local Board of Health </div> <div> will not condemn your house.</div> <div>             Personal dogs that will tolerate the never ending stream of four legged orphans, waifs and street </div> <div> urchins that will start arriving the moment you say..."I have room."</div> <div>                 Children that like being the "token" child to socialize every dog that comes thru the door....being able </div> <div> to say "good with kids"  is a real selling point.</div> <div>     Magician skills so you can change anything that comes thru the door, from black tri male to long tail and brown eyes,</div> <div>  into blue merle female,   good with kids, housebroke, crate trained and  obedience trained.</div> <div>               The ability to face the paperwork head-on and deal  with it....or someone you can send it to and say..</div> <div> "Here, do something with this mess!"</div> <div>        Grooming skills for those ugly ducklings waiting for their chance to be  a swan.....with a little help from you.</div> <div>  I could go on but you probably get the picture....</div> <div>          None of us have all of these things but we all know that the business of rescue is a team effort</div> <div>  Each of us contribute what we can as a team member.     Some of us cannot handle the dogs...but...there are other</div> <div>  things that must be done.</div> <div>                Some only want to work with the dogs.....so..leave the paperwork to those that like it. </div> <div> No matter what your situation is....it is your  willingness to help that is important.</div> <div>  AUTHOR UNKNOWN</div> <div>                                                        </div> <bR> <div> The Journey</div> <div> by Crystal Ward Kent</div> <div> When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey - a journey that will bring you more</div> <div>  love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage.</div> <bR> <div> If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all,</div> <div>  about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without</div> <div> leaving its mark. Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple pleasures</div> <div> - jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction</div> <div> of a good scratch behind the ears. </div> <bR> <div> If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element,</div> <div>  for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even</div> <div>  the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information.</div> <div>  Your pace may be slower -except when heading home to the food dish </div> <div> - but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.</div> <bR> <div> Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than</div> <div> enjoy the journey. We miss the details - the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the</div> <div>  Honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does</div> <div>  we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in</div> <div> tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has</div> <div>  created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons</div> <div>  bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.</div> <bR> <div> Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find</div> <div>  Yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen.(How bizarre they are!</div> <div> How many kinds there are!), or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark.</div> <div> You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does</div> <div> not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life's most</div> <div>  Important details slip by.</div> <bR> <div> You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand</div> <div>  spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline</div> <div>   must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because</div> <div>  your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce</div> <div>  little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie -</div> <div> with a cat in hot pursuit - all in the name of love.</div> <bR> <div> Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more</div> <div>  lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain</div> <div>  that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.</div> <bR> <div> You will learn the true measure of love - the steadfast, undying kind that says</div> <div> , "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together</div> <div> ." Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another.</div> <div>  You will not find it often among the human race.</div> <bR> <div> And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel</div> <div> ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who</div> <div> could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe</div> <div>  she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and</div> <div>  so chose to love me anyway.</div> <bR> <div> If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not just a better person</div> <div>  but the person your pet always knew you to be -the one they were proud to call beloved friend.</div> <bR> <div> I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is</div> <div> part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow</div> <div>  a trail you cannot yet go down.</div> <bR> <div> And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet's time on earth is far too</div> <div>  short - especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during</div> <div>  these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and</div> <div> heart, until one day there is nothing left. The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon</div> <div>  old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame</div> <div>  the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end.</div> <div> We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. </div> <bR> <div> But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves</div> <div>  ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead - young and</div> <div>  whole once more.</div> <bR> <div> "Godspeed, good friend," we say, until our journey comes full circle and our</div> <div> paths cross again.</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#660000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>