Birthday Humorous Poem
Your Letters ………..……” *
I know your newsletter is aimed at helping those who are grieving over the loss of a well loved pet. But I wonder if you would consider another slant, i.e. the grief and anger we all feel at the loss of so many animal victims in the vile labs. Animals who have known no love and are sacrificed in the name of so called science. It would be a short article as a memorial to them.
John Cowen
This topic was briefly touched on in DF no. 5, but it is important and does deserve to be covered again – ed.
Like everyone else, I feel very sad when a sick cat dies, but I have to live with the knowledge that healthy FIV’s and incorrectly diagnosed FeLV’s are being “killed” on a daily basis because of the prejudice and ignorance about these viruses. I’ve taken the liberty of putting in a few of my leaflets** – a “Joe Soap’s guide to FIV and FeLV”. See if you can put them around where appropriate.
These cats I mostly deal with are not even ill, more an “inconvenience” taking too long to home or believed to have “AIDS” – totally untrue. It is also about the “numbers game” and these cats are an easy target. Euthanasia should not be the term used, as they are not ill and suffering – more like cold blooded murder. Must get off my soapbox and down to the post!
Barbara Hunt – Catwork
**Please send small SAE to Departed Friend, or to Barbara at Catwork – see Resources section.
Linda Bodicoat, author of ‘Return to the Fold’ – see Resources – sent us the following letter she received from a couple in Australia:
Dear Linda, I hope this gets to you as we would like to let you and others know that your book Return to the Fold has been a great comfort to us especially in our recent bereavement. This book was sent by my aunt when we lost our beloved Galah and ever since then, we have been able to send family & friends your prayers and hymns so beautifully presented. It has been such an inspiration to use just now as we dearly miss our beloved Muffin (everyone called him Muffinman & I enclose a photo for you to keep for your album or other books that you plan to write).
‘Thoughts & Prayers for the Elderly Bereaved’ in this book have been so nicely written, that each day this month we read the same over Muffin’s grave. Thank you so much for writing this as both of us are retired now, I am 71 and Preston 69, and we have always looked after or loved animals all our life (we do not have any children).
Roxana & Preston D.
The story of our special pet dog “Muffin” who left us on the 27th August 2006Muffin – on our 38th Wedding Anniversary
9th May 2004 – aged 9 years
Muffin was born on 6 September 1995 and was a Maltese/Poodle/Shih-Tzu cross, and to us was the most beautiful dog. On 7 March (when Muffin was 3 years and 3 months old) he was brought to stay with us. We spent many sleepless nights getting him to adjust and eventually he was made comfortable in our home. He was called Ragamuffin, Muffy, Puppy, and other lovable names, and gradually he adored us and always wanted to be with one of us at all times.
Can I describe Muffin’s first week with us – he wanted to chase every red car (his previous owner had had one) when we took him for walks and we had to keep him on the lead at all times. When we had to go out socially, shopping or church, he was kept indoors for the few hours we were away, and we could not keep the venetian blinds down (we have glass windows to the ground) or he would destroy the slats but this problem was solved by keeping the blinds above his height, so he could peer out to see what the world around our home looked like, barked at cats, birds and other dogs walking, and even alerted us with his bark, when the postman arrived with letters. He loved sitting on his cushion and watching through the windows even looking after our opposite neighbour’s home and warning us who was visiting with his bark. When he viewed our car driving into the carport, he would come to the door to greet us and sniff what we had and often we got him his biscuits or schmackos which we opened for him to take a few and this pleased him so much and he would settle back into the routine. He had his special chair in the TV room but he still loved to jump on the other furniture and beds and being small and clean, we never objected. He loved walks, riding in the car when we used to take him for drives to the river, and most of all loved is food “Tucker Time” a special roll made by the Vet which he lived on for nearly all his life and this gave him all his vitamins and kept him healthy. He often reminded us about his food-time an hour early by rolling on the carpet and getting our attention to come into the kitchen and get his plastic container out of the fridge! He did hate having a bath or having his beautiful hair clipped and it would take Roxana two/three days to get him in shape before he could have a bath and then even hated the nails to be clipped, which made us nervous. The end result was that he was so beautiful and much admired by all who saw him especially when Roxana took him walking to the post office nearby. He also adored family and visitors and children coming to our home and late into an evening slept on the carpet with his four legs in the air to the amusement of our friends! He did suffer from separation anxiety when Roxana left the home for short spells and even when things were quiet in the home and Roxana was praying in the bedroom, he would wander there to see if she was okay and jump onto the bed and play with her prayer books in the early stages. His eyes were always sad when we had to leave him alone but accepted the situation and we never left him for very long – always had a neighbour to look in on him, if we were out all day and in fact we have not even been for an overseas holiday for the time God gave him to us as we hated to even leave him with anyone, as he would fret.
For six months or so before his demise, he commenced drinking too much water, panting, and having a pot belly, so after his annual booster vaccination this year, we had his blood checked out for diabetes, but were told by the Vet he had Canine Cushings Disease (www.kateconnick.com/library/cushingsdisease.html) and the Vet wanted to hospitalise him for a week or two for treatment. He did not seem to have any pain, as he continued to want to go for small walks but did eat much more than usual and his thirst for water was not normal. Being over 10 years and having a murmur in his heart, we decided not to stress him out with the drastic treatment recommended and tried to make him comfortable and stayed home for him. In the weeks that followed, he started to lose his hair, developed a pot belly, could not jump due to the deterioration of the muscle in his hind legs and towards the end did not even want his food. We decided to give him our undivided attention for the weekend and then on the Monday take him to the Vet for his heavenly home. That Saturday evening was very sad, as he did not want his food, but ate the mince and rice Roxana cooked for us, and this was on his chest till Sunday morning which he vomited and we knew he had an obstruction and could not pass anything but urine. Roxana rushed off to church down the road and prayed for a miracle to keep him alive for Father’s Day and his 11th birthday on 6 September but when she returned he was so sad, sitting on his cushion, looking at us and Preston decided it was time we had to let him go. It was heartbreaking and we could not face euthanasia, so let the Dr. take him in and bring him back to the car after which we brought him home with so much sadness that still exists in our hearts and lives – we do not have children and seem to have given our hearts to him and all wild creatures.
At home, we laid him to rest near the bedroom window outside and used all the prayers written in Linda J Bodicoat’s book called Return to the Fold with much sadness. This book was given to us many years ago, and it has been most useful as many of our family and friends have lost animals and I have been able to write them some of the prayers and words in their cards.
We shall miss him terribly, as he was loving, playful, patient, watchful, loyal and now we find our home and our hearts so empty. At nights in the bedroom we miss him drinking water from his bowl and snoring – often we called out to him to stop, which he did and when we were asleep he continued but we eventually got used to this, as he did have a murmur in his heart. While Roxana did her typing in the lounge table, Muffin used to sleep in his soft bed at the side and Preston used to say Muffin will have a headache with the typewriter keys banging but he continued to rest there and look up at her every now and then…which she tearfully misses. I know time will heal the void in our lives and hearts but my Uncle who is nearly 90, in England, has written that we get ourselves another dog to love but we feel we shall opt to take care of dogs while their owners are on holidays and this might help. We filled his Doulton Roses water-bowl on his grave with roses and flowers since his demise. We have received so many cards, flowers and visitors, especially the children on the street who loved him and did not want God to take him away….their tributes were so touching and I have promised to care for their animals when they holiday. Each day we say a small prayer for Muffin and sometimes Roxana imagines his face appearing in the clouds saying “I am okay now” and his beautiful eyes showing his admiration. We hope as days go by, with God’s help, we shall have happy memories of him, when we look at the many photographs taken over his eight years with us. Muffin will always be our special dog for many, many years to come and that love we have for him will always remain in our hearts.
Two of my poems appear today in the October edition of Four and Twenty: A Short Form Poetry Journal. http://bit.ly/4nyAWZ
I discovered Four and Twenty last year, through one of those serendipitous searches, the kind where you follow links from other links. Since then, 9 poems of mine have appeared in this journal. I’ve been consistently delighted with this non-daunting poetry form. It is simply this: four lines (or fewer), twenty words (or fewer), and a short title (or no title at all). Now I’m absolutely hooked on the little things. Haiku are my favorite subset of four and twenties.
My two poems this month were both inspired by real-life events, as is probably everything I write. Five Bats at Twilight came to me at once, as I stood at the bottom of my driveway late one summer evening, after coming home from somewhere, and watched first one, then two, and finally five bats flit crazily around the greenspace near where I live. See, it’s taken me a whole paragraph to describe, but I wrote it in 15 words (with 4 more for the title)!
Stray objects is a tribute to my friend Robin, who succumbed to ovarian cancer almost exactly a year ago. She was days short of her 51st birthday. It was either in a conversation we had, or in one of her many humorous, touching and gutsy writings where she mentioned mismatched objects, and how by the time you had amassed three of anything, you could consider it a collection. I believe she was specifically talking of teacups at the time, but it applies to anything. Again, a long-winded explanation. My poem Stray Objects, one of my shortest, captures it in 7 words (with 2 additional for the title). That’s why I’m hooked on 4 & 20’s. Try writing one yourself. You won’t be sorry!
Gallery:
> |
|
Video:
Bookmark it:
