Mama Goes Home (part 1)
It's day 5 of The WE Juice for Joy Experience, and I'm relishing the increased energy levels I experience during a juice cleanse. The spiritual connection I feel tells me I'm ready for the adventure and opportunity presented by The Silent Project.
Yesterday was a day of powerful transition. Mama went home.
Not home, as in leaving her form and passing from this life into the arms of the Universe, but into her "happily ever after" home, a place of respite and peace, a place where she will be the center of attention and share and receive love. It's the right home at the right time, a perfect fit for her.
It's been a long journey for Mama.
Her story touched me deeply. And as soon as I heard it, I said yes.
Mama's life has been an arduous one, yet this plucky little Chihuahua has never given up hope of finding peace, safety and love. She's a quiet, undemanding little girl, just 5 lbs.
I knew little about her life when she joined our household on May 15, 2013.
The night before, it was late, after 1 in the morning, and Steve had already been asleep for two hours. I'd just finished getting ready for bed. It had been a long day. Out of the blue, I became aware of an urgent, um, "need" to check Craig's List in the "furniture" section. I wasn't looking for furniture, and I was tired and ready to go to bed, but rather than refuse, I turned on my iPad, typed in craigslist.org and clicked on furniture. I didn't know what I was looking for. I only knew that I wasn't looking for any furniture.
I scrolled down a few posts, and then I saw it. A single post, offering everything in the household, from furniture to cars to appliances... and as I read further, I saw it was also offering beloved family members: an aquarium with fish and a turtle; a cat; two adult Chihuahuas-- a male and a female-- and the female had recently given birth to two puppies whose eyes were still closed.
I knew I was being asked to help these animals -- and their family-- in their plight.
I copied the link to the page and sent it to a woman who leads a group that rescues highly adoptable small dogs from area shelters. I didn't really know her, but had met her through Facebook, and later face to face when I helped walk some of her foster dogs. Surely Liraz would help.
Satisfied that I had received "the call" and taken the appropriate action, I went to bed.
The next day, again I felt the urgency of the situation. I was still waiting to hear back from Liraz but felt confident she would agree to take them in. I decided to send a text message to the number in the Craig's List post. I made an executive decision and impulsively wrote--
"I can take in your female dog & her babies, maybe the male dog, too... Can you please call me? Thx, Kaci"
I added my phone number and within a few minutes, received a text in reply, saying that the dogs were still available, and asking whether I had other dogs and whether I lived in a house or, if not, what was my living situation.
After a few back-and-forth text messages, the woman called and during our conversation, she confirmed what I'd been making up: that her family had fallen on hard times, needed to liquidate everything and were no longer in a position to care for their animals. She shared that, in fact, their home had been foreclosed on, and then had gone into a short sale, and she and her family were evicted. With nowhere to go, they finally rented a much smaller place that they were sharing with another family whom they didn't know.
About an hour later, I finally heard from Liraz via text message. She was unable to help. Turns out she was leaving the country the following day to spend a month with her family, and was already committed to taking in several puppies after her return. She offered to share the contact information for another woman doing dog rescue who might be able to help, no guarantees, but otherwise, I was on my own.
I couldn't go back on my word to the lady to take in these dogs, yet I'd failed to even consider asking Steve before spontaneously making the commitment.
