Hi Jeff ~

I'm so sorry for your situation. Tonight will be a special night
having Morphy home. Having to loose one is very hard, but three is
unbelievable! My prayers go out to you tonight as well as the ones
leaving you. When we adopt them we also take on the responsibility to
let them go with the least discomfort and taking them through difficult
surgeries is a personal decision that we all make differently.

When Tim and I were in Arizona from 2005 to 2007 we were called to the
local animal shelter to help them care for three who had been given up
together. We decided to take all 3. Each was different. Bandit was the
big brother, the last one out of the cage, the last one to the bowl,
and the last one to sleep at night. He'd circulate beds at night to be
sure everyone was o.k. He'd pop up every time I'd check on them. His
love was boundless. When he began to loose hair last year the blood
tests came back negative for anything serious. Antibiotics worked for
awhile, but I suspect his little immune system just could not hold this
back. He ended up having a kidney tumor that had begun spilling toxins
throughout his body. He went seriously downhill in 48 hours. We had to
help him to the bridge Oct. 4th (the feast of St. Francis, the saint
who loved animals). His youngest sister had died in March of failure to
thrive. So now our back room has only one of the "Arizona 3." Bandit
had such a hold on our hearts, but they all do in specific ways. One of
the testaments to our love of these little ones is to continue to care
for those given away, supporting the shelters, and taking in when we
can. Right now we're down to two little loves: Flower, the last of the
Arizona 3 and Ling-ling our little deaf girl who survived surgery 2
years ago and is doing well. She's older but has a good quality of
life, and Flower? Well she shares my room with me, has new hidey holes,
gets to hide in mommy's bed, and is still best friends with our adopted
dog. When she's tired she crawls up in Bandit's old bed which is now
under my bed. When we're ready we'll see about loving more.

Prayers tonight for you Jeff.
Warmly ~
Mary Conley

[Posted in FML 6858]