Daisy

Photosource: Susana Cirilo

Who says miracles are just for people? Each of God´s creatures deserves a miracle and I´d say that Daisy is one of the most deserving creatures I´ve come across in a long time.
Homeless and most likely abandoned, Daisy was found by our local vet hungry and flea infested. Softened by the sweet look in Daisy´s eyes, the vet took her in, fed her and treated her for parasites and the ear infection she had.
It became clear by Daisy´s submissive behaviour, docile nature and incredible desire to please that she´d make a wonderful family pet and it became´s the vet´s mission to find Daisy a home… in the meantime, Daisy was nurtured by foster families…

After much deliberation, we decided that although Daisy was a wonderful pet, we simply didn´t have the space and conditions to adopt her, however after our first encounter with Daisy we understood everyone´s faith in her personality and decided to do our part by fostering Daisy for a week.
Everyone tried to find a home for Daisy, there was an advert placed online, the vet spoke to each one of her clients and we even tried introducing Daisy to a potencial family... everyone was eager to help, but no one was ready to adopt her.

In the week that she stayed with us, she quickly learned the house rules… no climbing on the furniture, no climbing up to the first floor, dogs sleep outside…
It wasn´t hard to educate Daisy, she learnt these rules after two or three reprimands and began to learn other things like sitting and lying down.
It was fulfilling to see her confidence grow and she even began to play with us and Kalash. After merely a week her fur was glowing and she developed meat where once there was just bones – even Kalash put on weight! Competition makes you fat!
The longer we kept her, the more proud and attached we became…

And so it was on a dark Monday when we took her back to the vet after our one week fostering that we discovered that the bump she had her jaw wasn´t an old wound, but a bad break that was going to need to be operated on.
The fact that she hadn´t complained about it when we´d found her led us to believe that it was na old wound that had healed on it´s own. But her bad breath made us take a closer look and that´s when we discovered a splintered bone sticking out her jaw.
The discovery was simply devastating!
Not only was it hard finding Daisy a home, it was going to be even harder finding someone who was willing to spend a fortune on a dog that was going to need an operation – it seemed we had no choice, Daisy was going to have to put down.
Strangely enough, Daisy seemed oblivious of our dark moods looking the happiest we´d seen her since we found her.
Delaying the inevitable and not wanting the vet who found and attached herself to Daisy to put her down, we decided to take her home again to desperately think of alternatives – the most likely being, asking someone else to put her down.

I was angry, upset, disappointed that a creature so sweet had no chance… unresigned with the reality that “You can´t save them all”…
But God hears the prayers of those that can´t speak for themselves and their friends…

Just when we´d just about lost hope there was an answer to the adoption advert on the Internet – someone wanted Daisy – just the way she is.
Everyone explained to Daisy´s owner-to-be of her condition and what it would take to get her well and yet that didn´t sway her – Daisy had a new owner.
Owner and dog clicked at first instant and it was more than clear to us that someone answered our prayers – that God has miracles for all he´s creatures.

All of Daisy´s foster parents are going to help sponsor her operation although her wound seems to be healing on it´s own with the help of antibiotics.
Most importantly, Daisy now has a home and someone that gives her all the tender loving care that she deserves and needs - a miracle everyone of God´s creatures deserve.

Just a Reminder...

Picturesource: http://www.magnificentgifts.com

In the fast pace at which we live life, it´s so easy to forget a friend… for hours, for days, weeks – the gap can sometimes stretch out to months if not longer.
The wonderful aspect about a true friendship is that when that person eventually crosses your mind, that phonecall, e-mail and contact is wonderful! And even though there´s plenty to catch up on – the intimacy remains as if no time passed by since the last time you talked.

Recently I got reprimanded for not having included someone in a gathering and my first thought was “Yikes! I didn´t even remember…”
Unfortunately this isn´t the first time I excluded someone from a gathering by mistake.
I also then recalled that this person in particular not only didn´t belong to my social circle as I didn´t so much as even have that person´s phone number.
However the person found it in his right to voice his descontentment seeing as the gathering was organized in honour of a mutual friend.
I felt bad seeing as the person we both knew would´ve probably liked to see the person in question but neither of us remembered.
It isn´t as if the person was excluded on purpose.
What I find annoying is how offended this person was and the way I was attacked as if the exclusion had been intentional.
Curious that even though that person knew about our friend´s presence, he felt that it was my obligation to contact him and didn´t think to call. If he´d called, he most certainly wouldn´t have been forgotten!
Isn´t it strange how friendships and relationships are broken over so little…

Although recent, this isn´t the event that inspired this subject:

I dreamt about someone last night, someone I haven´t spoken to in a really long time. The dream was so intense that I woke up with the sense of the smell of his cologne. On the ride to work I wondered how he was doing and made a mental note to send an e-mail and make that contact…
This mental note slipped seeing as I drowned myself into my work the minute I arrived but just as things began to simmer down I paid attention to the song on the rádio and smiled...
It was the song that linked me directly to the someone in my dreams.
Coincidence?... That not only did I randomly dream about someone I hadn´t remembered in a long time as on the same morning, the radio played an old song that it normally doesn´t play which just happens to link your mind with that same someone.

I don´t believe in coincidences, I believe everything happens for a reason and in this case the result will be in the pleasant contact with an old friend…
Someone once told me that when we have an intense dream, the person on the other side will feel it too. I don´t know if I believe that anymore but it would be nice to know he was thinking of me too. At least I know he will be when he reads my e-mail and in the least, I´m grateful for the universe´s reminder.
What I´m most grateful for though is the fact that distance and time don´t alter true friendships and that I might not always be in touch with the people I care about but that doesn´t mean that they´ve left my heart and that sooner or later they´re thought of with with the tender loving care that I regard them with.
Here´s to remembering and being remembered by friends!

Chicken or Egg?

Photosource: Unknown

Have you ever regretted helping someone?
Or worse… before you reached out a hand, you knew that you were going to be slapped in the face and yet you still made the choice to help…
Is knowing that you did the “right thing” any consolation for feeling like a shmuck?
What is supposed to be highest on our list of priorities? Our wellbeing ou a friends?

Recently, someone close to me decided to share his roof with a friend that had just lost his. I was asked to share an opinion and before a decision was made we both agreed that there was a personal loss involved.

Some people are born martyrs… they spend their life looking to be victims os someone else´s needs and whims.
Then there are those that think the world spins around their waist. These people not only think that the world owes them a living, they expect your availability and goodwill whenever they may need it.

So where is the equilibrium? When is it okay to say no and when should you be saying yes? What are the rules for making the “fair decision”. Don´t you sometimes just wish someone gave you the manual.

I reckon that if things were so black and white, no one would have trouble making a decision… that there are no perfect decisions, only perfect intentions – or perspective on which we base our decisions on. Whatever you decide, ultimately the toughest judge to convince will be the reflection in your mirror.

Go with your gut and conscience – that´s the advise I give to those that ask.