Saturday, August 27, 2011

Rachel, the Shih Tzu

A while ago a friend sent me an email that reads:

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you  can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and  boring people with your troubles,
If you can understand when your loved  ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and  blame without resentment,
If you can conquer tension  without  medical help,
If you can relax without alcohol, 
If  you can sleep without the aid of  drugs,  
......  Then You Are Probably ......
a family dog.

It has been 2 1/2 years since Cody was gone, but I still think about him every single day.

The time of watching him get sick was too painful for me to want to get a dog too soon. The memory was still too raw, and the medical bill was so huge that we're hesitant to take in another life and be completely responsible for it.  The one thing I can do is to make little donations every now and then to rescue groups. Shih Tzus always had such a special place in my heart that I declared if I ever win lottery (if I actually would buy lottery tickets) I'd donate a nice chunk to Shih Tzu rescue and to no kill shelters for pets.  Alas, I was not destined  to be a lottery winner.

I came across Animal Savers rescue group recently.  And there is Rachel on its website, the adorable Shih Tzu, that needs medical help.

 
The site says:

Rachel, the Shih Tzu, Needs Bloodwork ($420.00) to Make Her Diabetes Manageable
Rachel, around 6 years of age, was rescued as a stray from the Modesto Shelter. She is diabetic and had apparently developed blindess secondary to this condition. We need approximately $220.00 for blood work to make her diabetes manageable plus insulin and syringes (another $200.00.)

I so wish I can win lottery to really help Rachel more than just a tiny amount from the few pattern sales that sat in my PayPal balance, or that I don't have to wait 'till October for my first paycheck of the semester.

The Animal Savers so far raised 1/3 of the money needed for her insulin.  I was hesitant to solicit anything trhough my blog.  But I figured since I had actually from time to time solicited my own patterns here, or recommended yarns or companies that sell yarns, why not for a far better cause? If you care to spare a few dollars (any small amount will add up to help her,) you can go to Animal Savers' Website: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/animalsavers.html and scroll down to the bottom for PayPal donation link, and make note in your donation that it goes to Rachel.

Under Who We Are of the Animal Savers' website it reads:


AnimalSavers rescues animals from the streets of Sacramento and high kill shelters throughout California. We target the Bay Area for homes because Sacramento, where most of the animals are fostered, has an unspeakable 90% kill rate at their shelters, killing an estimated 50 animals daily. Secondly, by local ordinance the county shelters sells up to 7% for medical research and experimentation to U.C. Davis and Sutter Medical Center.......
......Additionally, the Sacramento County shelter was sued by In Defense of Animals, the Animal Protection Institute and AVAR for illegally killing healthy animals before placing them up for adoption to the public or recovery by their families, in clear violation of California law. As if this wasn't dismal enough, the average lifespan for a dog or cat in Sacramento county is reportedly a mere 1 1/2 years, due to improper fencing, failure to immunize, low spay/neuter rates, lack of microchipping and i.d. tagging pets, and general indifference to their health care. In contrast, two cities in the Bay Area, Oakland and San Francisco, were ranked in the top 5 throughout the nation for pet care and life expectancy. 


The statistics it listed is beyond appalling. It makes my heart ache that people don't take care of their pets that give them love so unconditionally.  It also makes my heart ache in today's economy so many pets are being surrendered at the shelters.  When you take in animals, it's for life, because they give you their whole heart  They're part of you yet you're everything to them.

Please, be kind to animals. If you can, please help out Rachel, the Shih Tzu that is suffering from blindness and diabetes.

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