Special Needs Pets
Difficult Times Shouldn’t Mean Cat Surrender: Cat Care Society of Denver Provides Compassionate Alternatives
by Guest Blogger Beth Dokolasa Cats are so much more than cute companions; they can be emotional lifelines, especially during challenging periods of life. In times of upheaval, a cat’s presence can offer stability, purpose, and unconditional love that many people rely on to stay resilient. Research shows that interacting with animals has real benefits,…
Read MoreColorado Pet Pantry Celebrates 12 Years of Keeping Families Together
I have been working with Colorado Pet Pantry for the last several years. The remarkable people I’ve met–from the warehouse to the top management–have impressed me with their unity of purpose and passion. At Colorado Pet Pantry, we believe no one should have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their beloved pets. Since 2013,…
Read MoreHigh Tech Vet Care and Parting Paths
A Partnership Wavers Spring of 2024 brought with it household chores that needed to be faced. A team of roofers arrived and began the demolition and installation of new shingles, gutters, and downspouts to my home of thirty years. I made it emphatically clear to all the management and workers that my yard had to…
Read MoreMiracle Day for Brillo
Part Four Post-Surgical Success! 2023 Every day since Brillo’s bilateral cataract surgery has brought new discoveries for us. Due to the delay in treatment because the first doctor told me Brillo was “not a candidate for cataract surgery”, he did experience a few days of post-operative glaucoma. Dr. Matt had us return every day for…
Read MoreMiracle Day for Brillo
Part Three—My Aging Dog 2020-2022 Brillo’s eyesight was overtaken by cloudy white cataracts. He was fourteen when a veterinary ophthalmologist told me he was “not a surgical candidate” for cataract removal. Brillo became isolated in his deafness and blindness. His outgoing personality receded into unsureness around dogs he didn’t know, new environments, and experiences he…
Read MoreMiracle Day for Brillo
by Sunny Weber 2023 Brillo stood in the far corner of the yard, sniffing. I remained vigilant at the sliding glass patio door, as I always do. Brillo is seventeen pounds of Lhasa Apso focus, Shih Tzu cuteness, and Schnauzer self-confidence. In other words, a muttly mix of energy and ego. His head came up…
Read MoreNot All Working Dogs Have Job Titles
Jessie was scheduled for euthanasia as a “behavior problem”–a separation anxiety nutcase, a house destroyer, a crazy bag of bones abandoned. He came to me for behavioral rehab. His intelligence, sensitivity, and 100% reliability with all other animals and humans of all ages was almost missed–until he graciously showed me what he needed. I understood…
Read MoreSome Dogs
Some dogs don’t move you to poetry. Some dogs quietly, slowly, meld themselves into literature’s prose; not flowery, not romantic, not shiny. Jessie was a dog who grew slowly into a soul mate. He arrived frantic, anxious—a house destroyer, a wreck of rejection, an abandoned teenager who had lost everything he knew in a dog’s…
Read MoreDecision Making in Times of Terror
This morning I was awakened by the annoying screech of an alarm on my phone, which sat inches from my disheveled head. I jerked awake, annoyed. One of my cats jumped off my back, where she sleeps whenever I am splayed in upside-down spread-eagled form. My small dog, who I have suspected as losing his…
Read MoreBailey’s Hills
I almost made it to Bailey’s hills today. I had hip revision surgery six weeks ago and each day I challenge myself to walk farther, with longer strides and more challenging inclines. Just a week ago I was dependent on a friend’s walking sticks to keep my balance. The week before that, I walked with…
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