Please note: I have permission from Barbara Tanner to post her letter below to our blog and/or our E-Forecast. Since space is limited on the E-Forecast, I will use exerpts there. I am not posting this because Barbara gave me so much credit, although I appreciate that and it makes me feel good. Instead, I am posting it to once again urge all pet owners to enjoy every day they have with their pets and let them know that you love them. They will return the love ten-fold. As I have said before, I am a strong person emotionally but this is another one that brought tears to my eyes as I read it. Thanks to Barbara and here is her letter word-for-word:
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Dear Mr. Elliott,
Two weeks after I had major surgery in early Feb., our beloved Peke-a-Poo passed away from liver failure/cancer. Marty had been a much beloved member of our family for 8-1/2 years, and we had adopted him from the B'ham Humane Society when he was 1-1/2 to 2 years old.
We were totally devastated. Since we don't have any children, Marty was our whole life.
My husband and I grieved and grieved, and cried and cried... We didn't think we'd be ready to adopt another "child" for possibly 6 months to a year because our hearts were so broken.
Marty was SOOOO smart (poodles are as smart as a 3-year-old child, we've read), SOOOO affectionate, and our schedules revolved around him.
After feeling utterly lost for 2 months every time we returned to an empty home, I read one of your ABC33/40 weather emails where you described holding Little Miss Molly's face in your hands when she woke up in the morning and having her snuggle/cuddle with you on the sofa...
I immediately phoned my husband and said, "I'm ready for another dog RIGHT NOW! I want to experience that again like Mr. Elliott and Miss Molly!"
We began looking on petfinders.com to see what "rescue dogs" were available in this area. We never DREAMED that we'd find another poodle mix. And we never thought we'd be so in love with another dog as we were with Marty.
I did a search for poodles in Alabama, and there were only FIVE in the whole state! And my husband couldn't abide the thought of having a "tea-cup"-size dog like Miss Molly. (He has an aversion to dogs that "yip" instead of "bark," and he doesn't like tiny dogs whose nails click on the vinyl floor. Weird, huh
We had phoned about a couple of poodle mix dogs -- one in Anniston, one in Chilton County, and one at the Animal Control Center in B'ham, and every single one would get adopted before we could get there.
So we gave up on trying to find a poodle. We made plans to see a Beagle and a Terrier mix on a Sunday. But my husband insisted that we find some dogs to see on that Sat., the day before.
Lo and behold, on that Friday, I found a poodle mix in Cleveland at the Blount County Humane Society. I realized that I would never be happy with any other dog except another poodle.
We went to see her on Sat., and we just fell in love with that little 15-pound poodle mix! We immediately adopted her and named her Maggie. And she has brought nothing but smiles and joy into our life for the past couple of weeks!
You probably never know how many lives your stories touch, so I wanted to be sure that you heard our "happy ending" story. I wanted you to know that you formed a new family of 3, and we've "saved" each other!
The Tuesday following our adoption, I got an email from the lady at the shelter where we adopted Maggie. She asked how Maggie was doing and how her check-up at the vet had gone. Then she said that she was so thankful that we had adopted Maggie because "her time was up at the shelter" and she "would have been put to sleep the week after we adopted."
Chalk up another "good deed" performed by Miss Molly and Mr. Elliott!
Sincerely,
Barbara Tanner
Center Point
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Dear Mr. Elliott,
Two weeks after I had major surgery in early Feb., our beloved Peke-a-Poo passed away from liver failure/cancer. Marty had been a much beloved member of our family for 8-1/2 years, and we had adopted him from the B'ham Humane Society when he was 1-1/2 to 2 years old.
We were totally devastated. Since we don't have any children, Marty was our whole life.
My husband and I grieved and grieved, and cried and cried... We didn't think we'd be ready to adopt another "child" for possibly 6 months to a year because our hearts were so broken.
Marty was SOOOO smart (poodles are as smart as a 3-year-old child, we've read), SOOOO affectionate, and our schedules revolved around him.
After feeling utterly lost for 2 months every time we returned to an empty home, I read one of your ABC33/40 weather emails where you described holding Little Miss Molly's face in your hands when she woke up in the morning and having her snuggle/cuddle with you on the sofa...
I immediately phoned my husband and said, "I'm ready for another dog RIGHT NOW! I want to experience that again like Mr. Elliott and Miss Molly!"
We began looking on petfinders.com to see what "rescue dogs" were available in this area. We never DREAMED that we'd find another poodle mix. And we never thought we'd be so in love with another dog as we were with Marty.
I did a search for poodles in Alabama, and there were only FIVE in the whole state! And my husband couldn't abide the thought of having a "tea-cup"-size dog like Miss Molly. (He has an aversion to dogs that "yip" instead of "bark," and he doesn't like tiny dogs whose nails click on the vinyl floor. Weird, huh
We had phoned about a couple of poodle mix dogs -- one in Anniston, one in Chilton County, and one at the Animal Control Center in B'ham, and every single one would get adopted before we could get there.
So we gave up on trying to find a poodle. We made plans to see a Beagle and a Terrier mix on a Sunday. But my husband insisted that we find some dogs to see on that Sat., the day before.
Lo and behold, on that Friday, I found a poodle mix in Cleveland at the Blount County Humane Society. I realized that I would never be happy with any other dog except another poodle.
We went to see her on Sat., and we just fell in love with that little 15-pound poodle mix! We immediately adopted her and named her Maggie. And she has brought nothing but smiles and joy into our life for the past couple of weeks!
You probably never know how many lives your stories touch, so I wanted to be sure that you heard our "happy ending" story. I wanted you to know that you formed a new family of 3, and we've "saved" each other!
The Tuesday following our adoption, I got an email from the lady at the shelter where we adopted Maggie. She asked how Maggie was doing and how her check-up at the vet had gone. Then she said that she was so thankful that we had adopted Maggie because "her time was up at the shelter" and she "would have been put to sleep the week after we adopted."
Chalk up another "good deed" performed by Miss Molly and Mr. Elliott!
Sincerely,
Barbara Tanner
Center Point
on May 18, 2006, 2:44 pm
Mrs. Tanner's letter was very touching. Once we have know the unconditional love of a little doggie it seems we can never be without that companionship. I know that I can't. Little Miss Molly is such an important part of a lot of folks life. We look forward to the antics of that little girl. One of my favorites is her having stolen your recliner from you. Thanks for sharing Miss Molly with us. I read about her before I check the weather. She's far more interesting and important.
Thanks for sharing.
Flo
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