"Smile"
Nancy Daleo Los Angeles, CA
20" x 20" x 2" Acrylic portrait on gallery wrapped canvas.
Just another beautiful life saved by the crossposters and rescuers on Facebook
I want to dedicate this post to Gerrie Mooney, mom, foster animal mom, daughter, grandmom, and friend to many people and all animals.
This is Gerrie Mooney on her ranch in Perris, CA. She is holding her daughter Alissa's son, Kieran and standing next to one of her horses. She has horses, dogs, cats, and chickens and lives with her beautiful daughter Brittany and her Mom. Gerrie does a great deal of caretaking on a daily basis, but still is an active rescuer and has worked with Noah's Bark and on her own to save many lives. Last week was a challenging week for the Mooney family.
When Gerrie made the decision to foster this new momma (who gave birth in a shelter) along with her 7 sickly pups, she wasn't aware of the extent of the challenge she was facing. She spent most of her time last week attempting to save the lives of the pups and comforting the Chihuahua mom. Born in a shelter, they would've died there for certain. The pups were taken to Noah's Bark's vet and sadly diagnosed with Canine Herpes, which meant that there was little chance for survival. Gerrie persisted, stayed up nights, and did her best to save the tiny lives. How many people in this world would make the sacrifices that Gerrie made? Not many. Last night, the last of the litter passed away and Gerrie and the momma dog are left exhausted and very sad. I don't know who your heroes are, but mine are people like Gerrie, her family, crossposters, rescuers, donators, and anyone who has attempted to save a life of an animal in any way they are able, despite the results. Today, someone asked me "what do I think we have control over in our lives?" She is one of my yoga teachers, Natacha Sagalovsky. Her question got me thinking...We're not always able to control the outcome of our efforts. This sadly was true with regards to this litter of pups. We can and do keep trying to make a difference. This Chi mom was blessed to be in a loving home and comforted through her very trying time. Although her pups didn't survive, they had the best care possible and were loved during their short stay with us. They continue on their journey with that love in their spirits. I know that makes all the difference and that love ripples gently through our worlds.
I think of all the dogs Gerrie has rescued, Noah's Bark, and the many other rescue groups and individuals who have pulled together in these tough economic times trying to make a difference, and I smile. I smile when my dog Amelia, who Gerrie successfully rehabilitated and saved from inevitable death, runs into the room with a feather stuck to her nose. I smile when Frida, a tiny puppy found in the streets was rescued and bottlefed by Gerrie and now she is chewing on my comforter and looking at me with her big, black, happy eyes. Thank you to everyone who has done their best despite the fact that we don't always have control over the outcome . Thank you for your sacrifices and the lives you have saved who now bless our hearts and homes.
: This is a video of a fire which occurred last week while Gerrie was caring for the mom and pups. In addition to dealing with her everyday caretaking, and her new fosters, her family had to evacuate the ranch with their animals. Video:Evacuating the ranch while caring for the puppies and her animals.Above: "This is a photo of the fire in the hills behind our house. After evacuating all the animals, we were gone for many hours and came back home when the fire was contained...long scary day...thank goodness Brittany (daughter), Shelly and Ricky (Noah's Bark's President and daughter Ricky, also a key volunteer) were here to help."
...Sending all of our healing prayers to the Mooney family and Chihuahua mom.
Namaste
