It's been three long months of turmoil and adjustments without Palmer which is why I return to this blog today. I promise I will start writing about our management of his renal disease soon.
In mid May we went to Los Angeles to visit the Amanda Foundation where we adopted Palmer. May 25th marked 13 years since we adopted him there so we felt it was fitting to return to say thank you and give a donation.
We dropped off some of his toys, unused medical supplies and a monetary gift. It was difficult for me to get out of the car when we arrived. All the memories of the first day we met flooded back. We were greeted by happy barks from an army of little pooches in the front yard as we approached the building. What stuck us was a white terrier mix running around who looked a lot like Palmer. I broke down on the spot and thought "Oh no, is this happening again? What does this mean? Will we be tempted to bring another home? I'm not ready yet.".
After leaving the donations we went to the Hollywood Gelson's Market to visit Teri Austin, President of Amanda Foundation. She was hosting a booth at a holistic pet event. Meeting her after so many years and receiving her heartfelt thanks for giving Palmer such a wonderful life, touched me. It wasn't validation I needed but seeing how these non-profit foundations care so much for their orphans beyond their adoptions made our whole lives with Palmer more meaningful.
It's truly sad how many loving dogs and cats are abandoned, homeless and some, not fortunate to find their way to a no-kill facility. I encourage everyone to open their hearts and wallets to help these precious children. If you're ready to adopt, consider giving a homeless pet a home versus buying from a breeder. It's amazing how much character and love comes from an orphan (even a mutt) and how much they can enrich your lives!
Teri gave us her permission to adopt across state lines from her Foundation when we are ready. It would be a sentimental journey back to Palmer's first home. And we would seriously consider it if we don't find our next child at our local shelter. Wherever we adopt, it would be one less homeless child.
Melanie
About Palmer
- Melanie Dias-Zair
- We were blessed with a healthy (approximately) 2 1/2 yr old mixed terrier in 1998. The first two years or so we dealt with separation anxiety and some passive aggressive behaviour towards strange men. He then matured and only his loving tendencies showed. He always had a sad look to him but I always said he was just a deeply sensitive pooch. We think in his prior puppy life he was abused so loud sudden noises startled him and Phil (my husband) couldn't shout at the TV when watching a game without Palmer scurrying under the couch. He melted our hearts every day. He was an active "little monkey" as we called him- climbing up on sofas, chasing rabbits, lizards, any small creatures and only wanted to play with the big dogs.We plumped him up from his initial 12 lb weight to a healthy 16lbs. Unfortunately the renal disease which was detected in early 2004, at approximately age 8, slowly caused the muscle wasting down to 10 lbs- probably less on his last day. We'll be posting little stories among our clinical info, tips and experiences. Let's first tell you how it all began. (Please read the first post at the very bottom or click the Stories link to the left)
