Forever: 30 Days Abundance, Day 29
Wow, today is the 29th day of the 30 Days Abundance. I just couldn’t let this end without sharing a story of my dog Shiro who helped me to survive and stay strong during the chaotic period after World War II.
Excerpt from Chapter 7: ABUSE
My body shook. I wanted to jump out of my skin. Huddled at the base of the closed shoji screen with Shiro sitting close to me, we heard Father’s angry voice grow louder. Shiro whimpered. “Shhh, Shiro. Be quiet or we’ll get in trouble.” She cowered and licked my face over and over in an attempt to comfort me. I squeezed Shiro’s warm body, she was the only comfort I had.
Forever
Nothing is forever. Everything in life has its high and low moments. Recognize that the only certainty in life is change.
We do’t know what we’ve for until we lose it, but we also don’t know why we’ve been missing until we find it. By mastering the art of “letting go,” new opportunities will almost certainly arrive in the future.
Even today, sixty-six years later, there is hardly a day that goes by that I don’t think of the Good and bad times that I had with Shiro. People often ask me, “What kind of terrier dog was Shiro?” I always reply, “The only dog group that I know of today that resembles Shiro is the Jack Russell Terrier. “Shiro is the reason why I love this breed of dog.
In 2006, I found a dog that I loved as much as I did Shiro. I named her Yumi. After she passed at a young age of four, I wrote a book, “Yumi’s Life Lessons” in her memory. Proceeds from Yumi’s Life Lessons are donated to various organizations that support the welfare of animals, including farm animals.
"Kay hopes that "Yumi's Life Lessons" will help encourage the humane treatment of animals and motivate others to help animals that are desperately in need of a home, attention and most importantly, love.
Book trailer for Yum’s Life Lessons.
I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being. – Abraham Lincoln-
There is one thing I know for sure, when our beloved friends pass on, they always take a piece of our heart with them.
I love to hear about your love story with your pets … who are with you now and the special pets who have left our world.
Enjoy Every Day of Abundance!
If you’re getting started late or joining us in the middle of these 30 Days of Abundance, here’s a quick list of what I’ve covered so far. I hope you’ll go back and find inspiration wherever it feels like a good fit for what’s happening in your life!
Welcome! DAY 1 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 2 Self-Love: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 3 Scared: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 4 Less is Best: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 5 Change: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 6 Small Business: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 7 Organization: 30 Days Abundance
DAY 8 Angels: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 9 Leaders Who Inspired Me: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 10 Serenity: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 11 Global Connection: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 12 Hero’s Journey: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 13 Sola & Beah’s Plea: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 14 Creativity: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 15 Diversity & Attitude: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 16 Magical Moments: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 17 Your Gifts: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 18 In the Dark Cave: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 19 Learner: 30 Days of Abundance
DAY 20 Build Your Community
Day 21 Score: 30 Days of Abundance
Day 22 Friendship: 30 Days of Abundance
Day 23 Happiness: 30 Days of Abundance
Day 24 Keiko’s Journey: 30 Days of Abundance
Day 25 A Cruel Surprise: 30 Days of Abundance
Day 26 Manifesto: 30 Days of Abundance
Comments
Not sure if this is the right place to share my story. We had a much beloved black cat named Beatle. She looked forward to walking with us when we took the dogs for a walk. She was a staunch defender of the dogs if they were threatened by another dog. In our home, Beatle was very content to sit on our laps or shoulders. She was definitely a very good cat. She became ill with lymphoma and passed away at the young age of 9. We still miss her!
Marshmallow was a lop-eared bunny who appeared in our yard in spring 1999 when I was going through a difficult time as a mom. After seeing him for several days, my husband suggested that he might be a house bunny and it would be dangerous for him to be living outside. (We had a lot of opossums in our area and raccoons, not to mention dogs.) We took the bunny off to the rabbit vet, who assured us that he was a house bunny and we should take good care of him. We named him Marshmallow because he was white and brown with gray/black streaks and looked like a toasted marshmallow for S’mores.
He ultimately lived at the foot of the stairs by the entrance to our house (our main living area is on the 2nd floor because we’re on a hill). I could fence his area in at night (so that he would not go around and chew on electrical cords) but during the day he could wander where he liked. He used a litter box, which was helpful. We bought him lots of hay and carrots and lettuce and rabbit food. He usually kept a safe distance from the two Russian Blue cats that Paul had brought to our marriage in 1988. You could say they tolerated him. Barely.
Marshmallow helped me past that difficult time (and some others like 9/11) and was there for many wonderful times as our daughter grew up and graduated high school in 2006. (She liked Marshmallow, but he was clearly always “my” bunny.) In 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a time of great uncertainty, but Marshmallow was always there for me. Such a great comfort. By summer 2007 I had had two surgeries, but did not need chemo or radiation, so I was heading back to normal. Our daughter was away at college at the US Naval Academy, and we were looking forward to more trips back to Annapolis, Maryland, to see her. Our son had headed off to St. Petersburg, Russia. We were really becoming empty nesters.
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, I noticed that Marshmallow had come upstairs and was sitting near the big brown couch in the living room where the Russian Blue kitties liked to nap. He seemed to be facing them, communicating somehow. A little later in the day, I took him to the bathroom downstairs to give him a bath to clean off some of the soft pellets that collected on his rear end. While I was holding him in my hands, he looked up at me and gave a slight sigh. A last breath, as it turned out. It was as if he knew I was OK now, and he was free to go.