Love Across the Rainbow Bridge

To my dear little Shadow,

It still feels like just yesterday when I first saw you - so handsome, your eyes full of hope. There was no doubt about it, I would not be leaving the shelter without you. When we left, you jumped right in the car and sat straight up in the middle of the back seat, so excited about all the wonderful days to come. It was the best Valentine's Day I ever had and I had found you - the little, furry love of my life. You didn't have a name, at least for the first couple of days. Not that we didn't try, but nothing seemed to suit you. I wanted to give you a name like Jack or Max but you had better ideas. So you mimicked my every move, following just inches from me everywhere I went. You knew your name was Shadow, you tried to tell me but I wasn't listening closely enough. So you patiently waited until you made sure I finally understood what you were trying to say. The minute the name left my lips there was no doubt, you were my little Shadow and you wagged your tail like crazy, congratulating me on finally figuring it out.
You taught me what it was to love and care for someone other than myself and I showed you that most humans are very nice even though the person you had been with before had hurt you very much. You became our little warrior, so proud and protective - telling everyone and everything that this was your family and you better have good intentions or you'll have to deal with me. You developed such a sense of humor and relished in clowning around with dad who seemed to love to put things on your head. You would just smile the biggest smile and wag that fluffy tail, asking "did I make you smile, did I?" Looking back now, it is almost like you knew you had to live a lifetime in just a few short years. You never ever wanted to leave our sides always pushing your head up under our hands and looking at us with those soulful eyes. Man, you sure knew how to play us! You would run with pure joy and abandon through the woods and streams, diving through bushes and leaping from rocks. You knew what it was to be truly free. And you relished in being a brother. Never leaving Sage's side, melting his grumpy facade and becoming his bonded buddy.
There are still days that this just doesn't seem real. There is no possible way you could be gone from us. But the real truth is that you are still here, we feel your spirit with us everywhere and someday we'll all be together again. You will always and forever be our little Shadow and not a day will go by when we won't think about you. I want to say thank you for all the incredible joy you brought to our lives and though I could fill a thousand books and still never be close to finishing, here are a few of my favorites.

Thank you for always doing your little cookie dance (ok, let's be honest, you did it for any kind of food or walks or car rides or pretty much anything), but it was so full of pure joy and excitement and delighted us every time.
Thank you for showing us true love.
Thank you for being so silly.
Thank you for being our protector.
Thank you for teaching Max how to be like you (he absolutely idolized you) and letting a small, overeager pup tag along with you on your adventures in the woods.
Thank you for taking care of Sage.
Thank you teaching us all your wisdom about life.
Thank you for still watching out for the pups - I know that's you! They suddenly get all attentive to an empty corner with their tails going like mad.
Thank you for letting us be a part of your life. We are the luckiest family in the world.

I miss you so much every day little one and love you with every ounce of my heart!

Love, Momma

Speak Up! of the Week: Romanian Stray Dog Situation

Imagine being forced to give up your home and move into a small apartment that does not allow pets. While this may sound like a story from our current economic situation, this is what actually occurred in Romania during a Communist regime lead by Nicolai Ceausescu in the 1980s. During this time, farmers were forced off their land and made to move into Communist bloc apartment complexes which of course did not allow animals. With no other choice, tens of thousands of people had to leave their pets behind and thereby, as many believe, causing the huge stray population that currently roam about the cities in Romania.

Stray dogs in Romania. Credit to Romania Animal Rescue, Inc.

Estimated in 2000 by the city of Bucharest, there are said to be over 200,000 stray cats and dogs roaming urban areas with that number continuing to exponentially grow. For these street dogs, life is terrible if not downright scary. In misguided attempts to control population dog catchers have tried to cull the numbers, often through horrific means such as clubbing, poisoning, electrocuting and slashing their throats. In some cities such as Harsova, citizens are encouraged to kill dogs, cut off their ears and bring the ears to the city for a reward. This only adds to the trials already facing streets dogs such as abuse, illness, starvation, cars and freezing temperatures (during the winter). To get an idea of the stray situation, watch this video: Romanian Stray Dogs.

However, with so many dogs roaming free, people feel they are a nuisance and a safety risk leading to growing violence towards them. To counteract this trend, in 2007 the Romanian Parliament ratified several new animal welfare laws including a new and improved version of Romania's Animal Protection Act which bans euthanasia of animals unless there is illness. At this time, the Parliament also passed legislation to protect dogs from the violence of the dog catchers and get animal populations under control, by instituting a Catch/Neuter/Return program. While at first glance this appears to be incredible progress, the problem lies in the fact that none of these laws have been implemented. To make matters worse there are amendments now up for approval that will hand over the fate of stray animals to local officials which animal activists are saying will result in mass slaughters.

Statistics continue to show that the current method of culling the dogs is not working. When a group of dogs have been removed from an area, another group just comes in and they continue to increase their population. Groups such as Romania Animal Rescue, Inc., however, are working hard to control the animal population through education and free spray/neuter programs. They sponsor numerous Spay-a-thons throughout the country and are approaching 10,000 funded spay/neuter procedures. They need your help though and today there are two ways to Speak Up! and make a difference.

The first is to sign a petition to the Romanian Parliament asking them to implement and enforce the animal welfare laws they passed in 2007. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/do-not-kill-strays/?z00m=19973115

The second way is to help Romania Animal Rescue, Inc. win funding for much needed spay/neuter programs and veterinary training. Simply "Like" Dr, Marty Becker, the resident veterinarian on Good Morning America, at his Facebook page and post the name and city of the shelter (Romania Animal Rescue, Livermore, CA). They will then be entered to win prizes ranging from $1000-$20,000.

Have a great day and thank you for Speaking Up!