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I Loved You Best
Copyright © Jim Willis 2002,
all rights reserved
So this is where we part, My Friend,
and you'll run on, around the bend,
gone from sight, but not from mind,
new pleasures there you'll surely find.
I will go on, I'll find the strength,
life measures quality, not its length.
One long embrace before you leave,
share one last look, before I grieve.
There are others, that much is true,
but they be they, and they aren't you.
And I, fair, impartial, or so I thought,
will remember well all you've taught.
Your place I'll hold, you will be missed,
the fur I stroked, the nose I kissed.
And as you journey to your final rest,
take with you this...I loved you best.
I have some very sad news to report. Minnie the Chihuahua had to be put to sleep.
Here's a copy of the email I received from Linda. Please keep her in your thoughts. It had to be a very stressful and sad decision to make.
Hello Everyone,
Last night I had to put Minnie, the little chi that was rescued from my horrid neighbor, to sleep. When I got home I picked her up to take her outside to walk and when I put on the ground she just fell over. I tried again and the same thing happened again. She had refused food earlier that morning so I tried to feed her again and she was not interested. She was just sleeping a lot and seemed to have no energy to do anything. I was very concerned so I took her to Animal Emergency Center in Sherman Oaks. I must say that I have never received worse treatment at any vet's office, emergency center etc. than I have there. After being there for about and hour and a half with no real information except for a itemized list of costs (which included a possible $350 to put her to sleep!), I decided to take Minnie back home with me and hope for the best until morning when I could take her to a regular vet.
As I was walking through the door to my house Minnie had a seizure...I tried to comfort her.
I immediately got in my car again and drove to the local animal shelter in hopes that they might direct me to a better emergency center or at least be able to euthanize her if she was suffering. The staff at the East Valley Animal Shelter were AMAZING! They were so helpful! They recommended I go to McClaves Emergency center and they even called for us to make sure they could take us as soon as we got there.
We went to McClaves, Minnie was pretty non-responsive at this point and her stomach was very bloated. She was still breathing but I assume the seizure took a lot out of her. The vet immediately assessed her condition and stated that it could be a variety of issues including parametrium, cancer, a brain tumor, heart condition, liver/kidney failure. All of these would need extensive medical care to treat and she would have to undergo some type of surgical procedure asap.
Given Minnie's delicate state and everything she had already gone through...at that moment my mom and I felt that the best thing to do would be to end her pain and suffering. She would have had to go through so much more and we just didn't think she would be able to handle it. The doctor agreed.
So, we put her to sleep.
It's always a very hard thing to do because there are a million "what if's" floating around in your head. But, in times like these I guess it's best to be practical and do what is best for the dog...for Minnie.
She's resting now and I'm happy that she was able to spend the last weeks of her life in a warm home...surrounded by love, wagging tails and slobber kisses from her friends here.
We will miss her terribly.
Thank you all for your help both financially and for offering to post her on your websites, and for all the great advice.
And as always, thank you all for everything you do to help our faithful four-legged friends!!
Linda
Here's an update to THIS POST!
First of all....The city that they live in is Panorama City!
The Mini Pincher has been adopted!

BUT! the chihuahua still needs to find a loving home. So if you live in So Cal...especially if you live in or near Panorama City, please consider adopting this cutie or email Linda Alavarez HERE to let her know.
The following information was sent to me by Debbie Trejo of K-9 Compassion.
I don't know the dogs' names nor the city they live in but as soon as I find out I'll update it here. Here are their photos and the email I received from the lady that is trying to rescue them from her neighbor.
Here is the 10-year-old Chihuahua.

and the 5-year-old mini pincher

Copied and pasted fom the email:
From: Linda Alvarez linda_alvarezzz@yahoo.com
So, I was walking my youngest, Lola, this afternoon when my neighbor came out and said, "Hey, I don't want my dogs anymore. What should I do?" While I am glad that people think I can help them with their animals, I was a little taken back since, one, I thought he was coming over to pet my beautiful daughter and two, I've never met this neighbor! I told him to hold on to the dogs and I would try my best to figure something out very soon. He said he would keep them for while but if it took too long then he was going to take them to the pound. He has two dogs, one is a 5 year old miniature pincher (aprox.10 lbs.), the other is a 10 year old chihuahua (aprox. 5lbs). They are both female and neither of them have been spayed.
I asked him if I could take pictures of his dogs so that I could show anyone who might be interested. He said it was fine so I ran home, got my camera and ran back to their house. When I got there he was spraying the 10 year old with the water hose. He indicated that he was trying to "clean the dogs" so that I could take them. I checked out the area where the dogs were kept and saw that they are kept outside in a long, dirt enclosure. In a corner there was a cat carrier that doubled as their dog house. As I approached the 10 year old to take a picture, she ran away from me, so my neighbor picked her up by her neck (I almost passed out when I saw this!!!) and said, "I'll hold her so that you can take the picture." As I held back from punching the guy I quietly said, "you can put her on the floor and just hold her." I quickly snapped a picture so that he would let her go. In the mean time the miniature pincher was hiding behind a piece of wood. Anticipating that this guy might do the same to that dog I asked him to just hold the dog on the grass so that I could take a picture.
The dogs seemed a little scared of their owner and a little nervous (I can't imagine why!). I am not a professional but in my brief oberservation I saw no signs of aggression toward me, they didn't bark at me or lunge, growl etc. However, both dogs seem to be either shy or afraid. ( Given the treatment I saw, I'm willing to bet they are more fearful not shy.)
I asked my neighbor why he didn't want them anymore and he indicated that he had bought the dogs for his kids to play with; now his kids are grown and they've all moved out so he didn't want to keep the dogs anymore becasue, "they're just back here, neglected."
Ugggh! I wish I had a huge ranch to take all these guys in but I don't. I would take them myself but as most you know I am at FULL capacity!
I am hoping that one of you may know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone that might want one of these two little girls. Or if any of you have any other ideas, please let me know! I'm willing to tansport them anywhere. I'm guessing that if someone doesn't take the dogs soon, he'll just take them to the animal shelter...the 5 year old may have a chance but I'm pretty sure the 10 year old will most likely be put down. I would love to see the 10 year old live out the rest of her life in a warm, loving home.
Anyway, let me know what you all think. Thank you all for listening to all my animal stories and for all your help and suggestions with the constant flow of animals in my life!!!
Linda
So yeah...please email Linda HERE if you or someone you know would like to adopt these dogs into loving home away from this abuse!

According to New Leash on Life, Maggie the mange-ridden dog has made a considerable improvement. Check her progress here!
Here's an excerpt from this week's update:
She continues to have one of the sweetest personalities we've ever seen. We're covered in Maggie kisses every time we see her. A number of kind people have made donations and come up to see her, and she delights in meeting new people.
Maggie's recovery will still be a long one with months or possibly years of medication required. Although we have raised some funds, more is needed! This year has been especially hard on New Leash On Life, but our hearts go out to dogs like Maggie, and we want to continue our life saving efforts.
There are some ways that you can help. One is by donating whatever you can here! In the drop down menu for Occasion/Reason, just choose "Maggie Fund." But even if you don't choose that, the money will go to a great cause.
Stay tuned for updates here!

It's the worst case of demodectic mange they have ever seen, according to the New Leash On Life dog rescue organization. Maggie, a six-month-old Lab/Staffordshire terrier mix was found abandoned, dehydrated and hungry near the Hansen Dam area. The group of lifeguards that found her dropped her off at the nearby East Valley Shelter where they deemed her too sick for the costly veterinary care that the shelter would have to provide. She was scheduled to be euthanized when a shelter worker decided to give Maggie a chance by calling local rescue organizations. NLOL came to the rescue.


Above right: an NLOL caretaker tends to Maggie. The right photo shows just how severe the mange is.
Check out Maggie's full story here! And check out this video!
Here's current news on Maggie according to the website:
- 90% of Maggie's mites are dead, which is good news
- It could take 6 months before we see a real improvement in her coat and up to 1-2 years for it to completely fill in. And actually chances are that some hair will not come back in certain areas. She could also be left with some permanent scarring.
- Maggie is currently on antibiotics for infection, Ivemectin for the mange, and will need weekly baths and possibly skin scrapings.
- We plan to find her booties for her feet so her toenails don't re-open her wounds if she tries to scratch them.
To make a donation towards Maggie's treatment go here! So far, approximately $1,500 has been raised towards Maggie's treatment and more funds are needed to keep her long-term treatment going.
And check out Maggie's story at The Signal.
This morning I just perused the net for...you guessed it!...pet-related news. I found this interesting article on human behavior when it comes to two polar-opposite types of animal cruelty.
Compare this...
Dogs rescued by Santa Cruz County Animal Services from a home north of Boulder Creek, California rest in the safety of the Animal Services kennels in Scotts Valley, California on Monday July 28, 2008. Shmuel Thaler/Santa Cruz Sentinel ( Shmuel Thaler )
To this...

Deborah Wright of Sicklerville, N.J., holds the cat dubbed "Princess Chunky" which she picked up at the pound last weekend. The 44-lb. cat is really a male name Powder who was abandoned by his owner after she lost her home in foreclosure. (McClatchy-Tribune photo by John Costello / July 31, 2008)
The article also has a point in that so many healthy animals that come from fairly happy beginnings often get passed up because so many people want that pet that has a history. So yeah...go down to your local shelter and adopt whatever animal you fall in love with...regardless of it's history!!



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