The People and Things We Take For Granted
It's me, and I'm back, its been a whirlwind but I'll have lots to write about to catch all of yous up!
What shocked me back into writing was a story on my Face Book feed. It wasn't all that big and could have slipped by but something about the picture drew me in. It was an article about a lady named Lisa Myer.
Lisa Myer lived in a small town in a wooden cabin that had no insulation and only a wood stove for heat.
I was not surprised to see she was an antiques dealer, the house suited her. She had a Godchild she loved very much they met every Sunday and spent holidays together. She was also just recently a grandma and looked beaming in the pictures of her with her daughter and the little bundle of joy.
Lisa also had a love of gardening and and created a lovely outdoor wonderland for her guests and her dogs.
She had many dogs and all of them rescues. She commented on one picture of her walking them, that they made waking up in the morning a joy, but that her personal life was doomed.
I didn't know Lisa personally, in fact I didn't know her until I read an article about her. She was an Animal Rescue Advocate and was passionate about it. I have gained all this insight from her Face Book page only.
On August 1st Lisa took her life.
On the day she died she was begging someone to help her save a dog slated to be euthanized. I looked on her picture folder of pictures that she was tagged in 95% of them were people begging for help to save a dog from death. The other 5% were of her and her grandchild.
I can honestly say that this scares the willies out of me. It's rescue fatigue gone on too long. There are some that are commenting that they feel that they failed her. As fellow rescuers we would feel that way, but really they didn't. The people who failed her are the ones who did not spay or neuter their dog. The ones who got tired of putting up with behaviors that the dog learned from them. The ones who didn't like their dog once it was not a puppy. The ones who felt the dog was too much work. The ones who simply didn't give a rats ass about the dog in the first place.
The rescue I foster for pulls dogs from shelters and the day goes something like this;
Go to the shelter and the shelter staff take you back to the "room" where the dogs slated to be euthanized are kept.
The representative from our rescue evaluates the dogs and takes them outside to get a good feel for how they are, also to give them what could be their last act of kindness.
We then let them know which ones we can try to place in fosters or other rescues and they are given a reprieve of usually a couple of days to give us some time. One by one we try to place them but some weeks it doesn't happen. On one occasion while sitting together chatting my colleague looked at me and said its 2:00 that Rottie mix didn't make it she has been euthanized. This is sometimes our reality. We let a lot of ugly things roll off our backs but its exhausting. I can't imagine the pain this woman was in, the fact she felt so alone.
It's so important for rescues to work together not just for the good of the dogs but also to help us as humans too. A safe place to lower the guard and cry, get angry, and vent.
May you find peace in caring for all the animals that have gone to the rainbow bridge Lisa lets hope we all learn something by your life.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
Sonia
What shocked me back into writing was a story on my Face Book feed. It wasn't all that big and could have slipped by but something about the picture drew me in. It was an article about a lady named Lisa Myer.
Lisa Myer lived in a small town in a wooden cabin that had no insulation and only a wood stove for heat.
 |
| All huddled around the fire |
I was not surprised to see she was an antiques dealer, the house suited her. She had a Godchild she loved very much they met every Sunday and spent holidays together. She was also just recently a grandma and looked beaming in the pictures of her with her daughter and the little bundle of joy.
Lisa also had a love of gardening and and created a lovely outdoor wonderland for her guests and her dogs.
She had many dogs and all of them rescues. She commented on one picture of her walking them, that they made waking up in the morning a joy, but that her personal life was doomed.
 | |||
| Lisa called then her "Rat Pack" |
I didn't know Lisa personally, in fact I didn't know her until I read an article about her. She was an Animal Rescue Advocate and was passionate about it. I have gained all this insight from her Face Book page only.
On August 1st Lisa took her life.
On the day she died she was begging someone to help her save a dog slated to be euthanized. I looked on her picture folder of pictures that she was tagged in 95% of them were people begging for help to save a dog from death. The other 5% were of her and her grandchild.
I can honestly say that this scares the willies out of me. It's rescue fatigue gone on too long. There are some that are commenting that they feel that they failed her. As fellow rescuers we would feel that way, but really they didn't. The people who failed her are the ones who did not spay or neuter their dog. The ones who got tired of putting up with behaviors that the dog learned from them. The ones who didn't like their dog once it was not a puppy. The ones who felt the dog was too much work. The ones who simply didn't give a rats ass about the dog in the first place.
The rescue I foster for pulls dogs from shelters and the day goes something like this;
Go to the shelter and the shelter staff take you back to the "room" where the dogs slated to be euthanized are kept.
The representative from our rescue evaluates the dogs and takes them outside to get a good feel for how they are, also to give them what could be their last act of kindness.
We then let them know which ones we can try to place in fosters or other rescues and they are given a reprieve of usually a couple of days to give us some time. One by one we try to place them but some weeks it doesn't happen. On one occasion while sitting together chatting my colleague looked at me and said its 2:00 that Rottie mix didn't make it she has been euthanized. This is sometimes our reality. We let a lot of ugly things roll off our backs but its exhausting. I can't imagine the pain this woman was in, the fact she felt so alone.
It's so important for rescues to work together not just for the good of the dogs but also to help us as humans too. A safe place to lower the guard and cry, get angry, and vent.
May you find peace in caring for all the animals that have gone to the rainbow bridge Lisa lets hope we all learn something by your life.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
Sonia
Lisa's story is terribly sad. The work you all do amazes me, I have utter respect for your strength and utter contempt for those who create the need for your work. Be strong, you ARE appreciated every single second of my day
ReplyDeleteWOW Sonia, for someone who never knew Lisa, you sure hit the nail on the head and I was in tears reading your commentary. She was very near and dear to me, we spoke almost everyday and she had a heart as big as the moon. You and she would have been fast friends no doubt, because I believe your heart is as big as hers was!! She will be sooooo missed by so many of us! Thanks for writing this!!
ReplyDeleteDebi Webb
Now her dogs need others to care for them, may they all have loving homes .Godspeed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute. I didn't know Lisa personally, but she and I would always either correspond via Facebook or talk over the telephone. Lisa had a heart of gold and felt for the animals. She worked relentlessly trying to save them all. The animals lost a great friend. We all miss Lisa so much.
ReplyDelete