#and told me all about her granddaughter who also wants to become a vet

[tjerra14]

Me: [works for 9.5 hours, then does some pre-work on the new fish tank (washing and adding 20kg of substrate, hauling 150+ litres of water with a 10l bucket)]

Also me: why am I so tired

[dragonoracle]

Now then let’s take a look at my Dad’s side of the family and my relationship with them.

Ok I’ve spoken a lot about my relationship with my Mom and my MG. And how my Mom worked hard and long to try and tear down not just mine but my sibling’s relationship with my MG.

Now it’s time to look at my relationship with my Dad, my PGM (Paternal Grandmother), my PGF (Paternal Grandfather)and PU2 (Youngest of my Paternal Uncles) and their relationships between themselves and how it affected me and my siblings lives and relationships. First I should point out that my PGM and PGF had a very rocky relationship. My PGM was one of those mothers who turned her children against their father and each other. She did this all the time. She continued doing this well into my life. She very much had a favorite of her children and that was my PG2. He was her youngest child and he was defiantly the Golden Child of his family. He was also the main and longest of her children she tried to turn into her replacement husband. My Dad was the Scape Goat. He was the one that my PGM and PGF focused their abuse on and the one that they allowed their other two children to use and destroy his belongings. My Dad was also the oldest of their children. Their second born child was my PU1 (Oldest of my Paternal Uncles). He seems to have been abused as much as my Dad. He was always compared to my Dad and vice versa. There is also a story of very inappropriate behavior between my PGM and my PU1 when he was a teen right before he fled the state to start his own life. I’ve heard many stories about how my PGM always put her husband (my PGF) above her children when they were younger. She made sure to let them know that the reason they couldn’t get X-mas gift was because my PGF needed a new suit. This caused my Dad, and my PUs(Paternal Uncles) to hate and resent their father. I strongly believe that this hatred and resentment cause them to act out and misbehave. My PGM very much set my PGF to be the disciplinarian of the family (Very stereotypically of families of the 1950’s to 1970’s). This lead to my PGF being seen and in truth from the stories I have heard to become abusive towards my Dad and my PUs. Like him throwing my PU1 threw a large living room window, him calling my dad over from his friends house just to turn the channel on the TV, possibly telling my Dad that my dad being born ruined my PGF’s future. Those are just the most noticeable stories I’ve heard about his abusive behaviors.  That does not mean my PGM was not equally if not more so abusive. Some things I’ve heard that she did was she threatened my father with a knife and/or a cast iron pan, her telling both my Dad and my PU1 that the other was doing better then they where (ie. my Dad was wasting his time going to nursing school cause my PU1 was making so much money as an elevator installer and she then would tell my PU1 that they where wasting their lives due to my Dad was going to make so much more money once he was out of school.), I’ve heard that she was the one to tell my Dad that his birth ruined my PGF’s future. Those are just some of the stories I’ve heard about her treatment of her sons. In truth to their children my PGM and PGF where just bad parents and to each other they were horrible partners. In truth I never experienced any abusive behaviors from my PGF. I more felt that he was trying to make up for the mistakes of how he treated his sons by trying to treat their children better. This seems to be a common thing among the Grandfathers of my generation.

But much like my Mom. My Dad and my PGM could not stand the fact I had started to build a close relationship with my PGF by trying to point out all the evils he had done so long before I was born. Yes I know some would say that why didn’t you take you dad’s side and support him. Was that while my PGF was not abusive to me my Dad and my PGM was beyond abusive to me.

My Dad has abused me over and over again threw out my childhood. Some examples of my Dad’s abusive behaviors toward me are Kicking me in the head cause my siblings where making noise and I was the nearest to him as he came out of the guest room of my MG’s house, slamming my hand in the car door cause he was angry about something my Mom had said, at the age of 10 spanking me bare butt due to me being upset over my B (Brother) stealing my happy meal…I could go on and on but those are just the ones that had stuck with me from the childhood.

My PGM was just an abusive woman to any of me or my siblings. She had children she watched for money. These children she held more important and special then us her own blood grandchildren. There is a story of her pushing one of these kids she watched on my Great Grandfather rather than my DS…she was rightly put in her place being told that he didn’t want to see someone else’s child he wanted to see his Great Granddaughter. Yes my Great Grandfather was an epic man who took no BS. These children she watched where monsters. They loved to beat up on us…mainly me (whenever I would visit, these kids where why I chose to stay away till I was an older teen and was finally strong enough to fight back.) They would pick on and bully my siblings if I was not there. And if I or my siblings fought back my PGM would punish us due to hurting these kids she watched. Where we could be bloody and bruised and she would not believe us and punish these kids instead we would be punished for lying and hurting ourselves. Latter in my life my Dad said that her hatred of him was why she hated me and my siblings. I don’t know if it was that or her hatred of my Mom. Because when it came to my PC (Child of the oldest Paternal Uncle) she loved that girl and doted on her. Mind you it could have also been because my PU1 and his family lived many states away from her and she never really saw my PC but for a few visits and many calls a year hard to say there. My PGF on the other hand was very distant for most of my childhood until I was old enough to understand and take part in his hobbies. His hobbies where needle point and stamp collecting. Once I was old enough and showed some interest he took me out and helped me set up my first stamp collecting book. I still have that book today even thought I never actually picked up the hobby.  The stamps that he helped me start to collect are from the same country that my MG was from. He showed no jealousy that I wanted to do this. He held no jealousy for my MG where as my PGM was so very jealous of her. He also put up with none of the BS that the kids that my PGM watched and the living room became a safe haven in that house as he hated them running around the living room and interrupting his TV shows. My PGF also started to pick me and my siblings up from elementary school and taking us to our Grandparents homes to wait for our parents to get off of work. I always got dropped off at my MG home and my siblings preferred to go to my Paternal Grandparents home. Again where my PGM was angry over this my PGF was perfectly fine with that. So taking all of this into account I couldn’t as a kid and as an adult see my PGF as an abusive user. Yes he might have made mistakes and been abusive in his past. But I do believe that if someone wants to change they will change.

My Dad over the years made it very clear he did not want children. He never really took part in our childhood unless forced to do so. He would actively ignore us unless he was abusing us either physically, emotionally, or making jokes at our expense. This left me and my siblings most of the time in a desperate need of a father figure. In slipped our PU2 who was very much a minion of my PGM. He started on her orders to take first me and then my B on day trips. My PU2 took me out to get my nails done….as in long acrylic extensions (please do not ever get those for a kid in elementary school. They F@#king hurt when they are ripped off due to a ball being thrown at you on the playground.) During this trip my PU2 tried to get some info on how our house was, how my parents treated us especially how my Mom treated us kids. It latter came out that he was trying to get information they could use to get me and my siblings taken away from my parents to be put into her custody. That’s laughable as her house was too small and too full already. Most likely we would have been taken to my MG’s house as she had the room for four kids to come and live with her and she was far more stable of a parental figure. But let’s get back on point. As soon as my PU2 figured out that I was not of any use those trips never happened again. But he kept taking my B out on his trips. As he was trying to undermine my Dad in my B’s mind and heart. As my B was the heir to our paternal last name as the only grandson. It was also again to spite my Dad as my PU2 was a spiteful selfish person who always wanted to show up my Dad.

My Dad’s side of the family was over all messed up. And this abuse and favoritism went on threw out my adult life. My PC was favored over me by my PGM. She could never do anything wrong and whatever she did was soo soo much more important than my accomplishments. One example that sticks with me to this day my PC had taken part in a dance competition and as far as I remember she didn’t even place. At that same time I was taking part with online collage to become a Vet Tech.  I had just pasted one of the monthly exams and my PGM couldn’t be bothered to even say good job for that but she was talking for days about my PC dance competition. Another example I can remember was when she had some friends coming to visit and she demanded me and my Dad to be in the house when they did so. The last example of my PGM favoritism and abuse against me was when my PGM needed to start therapy to help build her strength. The rehab place also provided consoling for the family and the patient to accept the change of the relationship and accepting their roles as caregiver and patient. During one of these consoling sessions it was brought up that my PU2 was going to be getting everything after my PGM died. This was unfair as my Dad was the one taking on all the work to take care of my PMG, handled her bills, was paying his and my rent and overall was doing all the work. Whereas my PU2 was doing nothing to care for my PMG, was not paying rent, and in fact was scamming money out of my PMG. (This has been set up this way early on due to the fact that my Dad and my PU1 had moved out and started families of their own. My PGF and PGM wanted to protect my PU2 who had never moved out and never really wanted to until one day when all his lies and BS was called out. That will be covered in a latter on in this blog for a post all its own.) My PMG was convinced that my PU2 would let my Dad still live in the house after her death. Neither I nor my Dad believed that at all. It was brought up that maybe she should change the will and I kid you all not she turned to me and my Dad and said she would be willing to add my Dad to the will but I had to be out of the house at a set time (I believe I had to be out of the house at the age of 35…I was in my early 20’s at the time). I was heartbroken. Mind you I did not at all plan nor want to stay in that house for that long. But I felt like my PGM just wanted to throw me out and was using the Will as a way to force my Dad to kick me out even if I needed help latter on in my life…I would never get it. I just told my PGM screw off and stormed out. I had never been happier to have my own car then at that time as I had driven to the rehab center on my own so I left on my own.

Some other things she did to me where. Trying to undermine my online schooling by always interrupting my studies to do some stuff that could wait, trying to get me off the computer during an online lecture cause I was online too long, yelling at me to stop trying to unclog the vacuum cause that’s a man’s job not a woman’s job,  finally always telling me if I don’t like this get out of the house…when I had little to no money to my name thus leaving me to be homeless, and I have to say the last one was that after I had gotten out of an abusive relationship with the third Boyfriend in my entire life who turned out to be a pedo my PGM after talking with my PU2 and his wife told me I was never allowed to bring any more Boyfriends into her house. I felt heartbroken again as I was feeling unsafe and insecure after the major betrayal by a man I had loved and her is my PGM wanting to deny me a safe place or deny me the ability to have a Boyfriend while living in that house. I’m sure you all can agree with me that my PMG was an abusive woman who made my life up till the day she was put away in a nursing home hell. My Dad stopped being physically abusive to me after I hit my teens as I had gotten stronger and more able to fight for myself. But that did not stop his mental, emotional abuse and financially taking advantage of me. My Dad would yell and bellow threatening me when we got into fights. He would berate and point out my flaws. He took advantages of me at my lowest when I failed out of my online collage due to my own issues and the interruptions of my PGM and convinced me it was best for me to not look for a job and stay home and care for him and my PGM. Yes this was stupid but I really was in my lowest of the low dark places I have ever been in my life. Leading up to the point I have gone no contact with my father he was planning on me to continue caring for him and putting my life on hold till he died. Not caring of my future past that. I fell I’ve explained so much of my relationship with my Dad and PGM. Now I feel this has gone on long enough. I think in my next post I’ll focused on more specific of my relationship with my Mom and the next two post will focus on my relationship with my extended families Uncles and Aunts and my relationship with my Brother, Sisters and Cousins not sure which order these two will be in.

[shiftyskip]

Ronald “Ron” Speirs

The Real Ronald Speirs

Ronald Charles Speirs was born April 20, 1920 in Edinburg, Scotland to Robert and Martha Speirs. Hitler was also born on April 20, a few years earlier. Speirs knew this fact and he liked to joke about it later in life. His father was a Scottish Engineer. Speirs and his family moved to the United States during the Great Depression. According to Ancestry, he had an older sister Dorothy and an older brother Robert.

 He grew up in Boston, attended high school there, took drill during school and Citizens Military Training Camps during the summers. He graduated in 1938. Not much is known about his childhood.

He was originally drafted but was given two months to finish extension courses. He was on active duty at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. He volunteered for the Airborne. Speirs was one of the original Toccoa men under Sobel. 

When Easy traveled to England, Speirs traveled to Winchester to set up a camp for another Infantry division. There he met a British widow serving with the British Army’s Auxiliary Territorial Service division. They were married and had a son, Robert, soon after.

The woman’s husband had been presumed dead after disappearance. He was actually being held as a POW. He showed up towards the end of the war. It was eventually decided that she and Speirs would split up and she would return to her former husband. During the HBO, Speirs is seen rummaging through loot to send back to his wife and son. This seems to be accurate, according to other veterans. Speirs kept contact with his son throughout his life. His son would eventually become a major in the Royal Green Jackets Regiment. Speirs would visit his son and his three grandchildren in England later on in life.

Speirs jumped into Normandy with D Company on D-Day. His company would serve heavy losses. Speirs was injured in the face and knee by a grenade. He was taken back to England to recover from his injuries before returning to his unit before they jumped into Holland.

In Holland, Speirs was the Intelligence officer for Colonel Robert Strayer and his battalion. One night, Speirs had the Neder Rhine by himself to locate where the enemy was. He was spotted and the Germans opened fire on him. He dove into the water but had been struck by a bullet in his butt (what would become known as the million-dollar wound). He swam back to shore and was later found, wounded and too exhausted to move from the shore. He brought back critical information and was given the Silver Star for his mission.

He was sent to recover once again and later rejoined Easy in France before Battle of the Bulge. He wrote a letter to Stephen Ambrose about his experience in Bastogne. “There had been an attack through the trees before we arrived and they caught a number of Germans. The bodies were frozen, so there was no stench. I turned one over, an artillery forward observer, and found an excellent pair of binoculars around his neck.......We had one firefight where a platoon sergeant was killed next to me.....He fell into my arms, but was dead. There was nothing I could do for him.” In another letter to Winters, Speirs writes: “He fell in my arms without a word, probably feeling nothing. Those are the guys I think about 50 years later- why them and not me?”

In Foy, Easy company was under the command of Captain Dike Dike was considered to be similar to Sobel, but not as tough. He had reportedly “scurried off like a scared rabbit” after the blasts that took Guarnere and Toye started. Dike was the man to be leading the assault across an open field to face the Germans. Winters went through all of his instructions once more and Easy moved out under a covering fire that left them covered in heavy smoke.

Their attack was soon dissolving into chaos. Dike froze behind haystacks and was refusing to lead. Winters, aware of the risk of putting Dike in charge, had decided to watch their assault. Speirs was next to him for an unknown reason, watching this all go to chaos. Winters, angrily grabbed his gun, and declared “I’m going!” to seize control of Easy once more. He had barely moved when he whirled around and instead told Speirs to “take over that company and relieve Dike and take that attack on in.” 

Winters had not prepared to pick Speirs, he just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Winters later recalled he was glad it was Speirs, who he respected as a combat leader. Winters had heard the rumors of Speirs and his killer instincts but Dike needed to be removed. 

Speirs raced off to aid Easy Company. He reached the haystack, shouted at Dike, and took command of Easy. Speirs then raced across open area to locate Easy’s other flank and reorganize them. Germans opened fire on him as he crossed there lines. Once he arranged the company, he raced back through the German lines. 

Regarding his personality, many rumors flew about Speirs and his violence. Winters regarded him as a killer, Malarkey didn’t like him much because of how violent he could get, and he soon developed a nickname “Killer”. 

Most of the Easy Vets respected him as a combat leader. Many of the men feared Speirs. Although he was respected, it is said some men didn’t like his strict rules and discipline He was dedicated to doing the right thing and was often fearless in the heat of battle. Speirs wrote in a letter to Winters in 1992 that he didn’t expect to survive the war, so that might have fueled his actions as well. 

The stories of Speirs’ and his violent streak toward his own men. It was rumored he shot a sergeant because he was drunk. While Speirs did not deny shooting the man, Winters later wrote that the shooting went beyond being drunk. The sergeant had ignored a command from Speirs to halt twice. The men were under heavy fire near Saint Côme-du-Mont. Orders were to halt due an artillery attack planned on the city where German were. The men were to follow up the artillery attack. When the sergeant didn’t stop, he was risking the lives of the men. Speirs took out his gun and shot the man. Some veterans told that the sergeant had even threatened Speirs with his gun drawn.The man died the the next day in battle so no official report could be carried out. 

One of the most famous stories following his name, there was the incident of Speirs and the POWs on D-Day. There were no eyewitnesses that would confirm the story. Many stories like this have been recorded but it is not sure if Speirs was a part of these numbers for certain. 

After the battle of Foy, “Sparky” Speirs remained in command of Easy until the end of the war. He was the longest commanding officer of Easy. One of the memories from Winters was of Speirs in Berchtesgaden, taking one of Hitler’s staff cars with the bullet-proof windows for a joy ride.

When the war ended, Speirs continued to serve with the Airborne, just not the 101st. He was placed with 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team during his service in Korea. He commanded a rifle company during a jump in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. 

After the Korean War ended, Speirs served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as a military secretary for the 18th Airborne Corps Commander Major General Joseph Cleland. 

In 1956, Speirs learned Russian in California before being assigned to Potsdam, East Germany to work as a liaison officer with the Soviet Army. He later became the US governor of Spandau Prison in Berlin in 1958. Spandau held many Nazi war criminals, including Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy. Hess and Speirs would meet almost daily, seemingly gaining a respect for each other.  Not much was said about his duties in the Korean War, with the Soviets, or in Spandau. Speirs would never talk much about these experiences. 

In 1962, Speirs was a training officer in Laos, Southeast Asia, with a government mission with the Royal Lao Army. Finally, Speirs worked in the Pentagon as a plans officer until he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1964.

Around 1984, Speirs met a lady named Eloise. She had recently been widowed and her three children lived far away from her home California. She met Speirs at a singles square dance and in November 1987, they were married. Her son, Marv, did not know Speirs well at first but grew to love his step-father after the couple started spending more time in Montana, where he lived. Marv’s brother and sister had children, along with six children with his wife, leaving Speirs to become a grandfather and great-grandfather eventually. His grandchildren would take him on walks, attack him with hugs, and he would do whatever they wanted. 

His family did not know the details of his long military career and he would blame it on his failing memory. It was said that while his later actions blurred together, World War 2 would forever last in his mind. 

Speirs traveled to the premiere of Band of Brothers in France with his wife in 2001. Speirs wasn’t planning on going but his wife told him she was going with or without him, and he chose to go. When reading about how his actions would be displayed in the show and if he was worried, Speirs replied, “I’m eighty-one years old, what can they do to me now?”

This photo was the first time Winters and Speirs had seen each other in fifty-five years. 

After the event, Speirs started opening up more about his wartime experiences. He even met his granddaughter’s husband, a cadet at West Point who had taken an interest in Speirs. Within their one hour talk, Speirs opened up more about his experiences than he ever had. Perhaps it was to share the experience with someone who was just starting a military career, we may not know why he shared so much but Speirs was able to recall a lot more than his memory knew he had. 

Sadly, even legends come to an end. Speirs last years were rough and he struggled with health issues. He was not officially diagnosed but it is believed he died of Alzheimer’s. His last months were painful to everyone and the family was on call 24/7 to care for him. 

Speirs died April 11, 2007. He was almost eighty-seven years old. 

[dulwichdiverter]

Horses for courses

ABOVE: CELESTE CARDEW WITH ROSIE AND ROXIE

Photo by Lima Charlie

DULWICH RIDING SCHOOL HAS BEEN RUN BY THE SAME FAMILY FOR ALMOST 60 YEARS. OUR WRITER DISCOVERS WHAT MAKES IT SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE

BY LOUISE KIMPTON-NYE

In these times of turmoil and uncertainty, it’s good to know there are still a few places you can go where little has changed for over half a century. One such place is Dulwich Riding School, where generations of local youngsters and adults have come to ride and spend time with horses since it was opened by James Thomas Bellman in 1961.

The riding school has been in the same family ever since and is now run by Bellman’s granddaughter, Jaye Montebello. “When my grandad died and my mum took over the stables she asked me to help. I said I’d help out for a year. I ended up working for my mum on a voluntary basis for 17 years because my passion for the yard took over and I couldn’t leave.”

Clearly, it is this passion – as much for people as for horses – that drives Jaye and makes the riding school thrive. When I enter the yard, there’s a sense of calm and friendliness. The L-shaped stable block flanks the cosy yard and several horses, ears pricked, look over their stable doors. It’s easy to see why for so many young people this place is like a second home.

When Jaye took charge of the school after the death of her mother last year, she planned various changes. “But everything that was changed we have put back to how it was before”, she says.

Jaye has continued her grandad’s tradition of using all leather tack with no synthetic materials. Leather snaps more easily, preventing injury if a horse gets its head collar caught up while inside the stable.

The horses’ welfare has always been of paramount importance. Bellman was an expert on how to treat typical horse ailments and Jaye has many boxes of notes written by him. It’s a valuable resource that shows the difference in practices between then and now, and Jaye hopes to put it all into a book one day.

But while little has changed in the riding school itself, people’s expectations certainly have. “Years ago you could come as a beginner rider and expect to stay a beginner for a long time because that’s what it takes,” says Jaye. “Nowadays people expect to make much faster progress. Parents are more competitive and people aren’t willing to wait, but we say it’s better to do things the old-fashioned way and take your time.”

Another big change is the soaring costs involved in running an inner-city riding school. “Our rent [the site is owned by the Dulwich Estate], rates and bills have gone through the roof,” Jaye laments.

“Being in London it’s hard finding a balance between earning enough money to cover the costs and taking care of the horses’ welfare.”

There’s also a lot more paperwork to do. Health and safety is a much bigger consideration now than in days gone by, and the stables are inspected six times a year by various bodies including the local council and the Association of British Riding Schools.

“It is a dangerous sport and although it’s a nightmare to set up, once you have all the paperwork in place you can have total confidence,” Jaye says.

There are also yearly visits from the county vet. Every horse is checked over to make sure it is fit to work and all the tack is checked to ensure it fits properly. The farrier comes every five weeks to assess all the horses’ hooves and to reshoe them as needed.

What sets Dulwich Riding School apart from other schools is not only its traditional approach to horsemanship, but also the way it is a training centre for school leavers, offering a two-year apprenticeship for 16 to 18 year olds. “Most apprentices have started with us at 10 or 11 years old as riders,” explains Jaye. “Then they become volunteers before going on to do the apprenticeship.”

Over the years Jaye has worked with many children who have been excluded from school and young people facing other issues. She is passionate about this aspect of her work. “I had a girl who had problems at school with bullying. She is now my assistant manager. I believe that if a child wants to do something they will give it their all and she has a passion for horses. One day her parents came in and said, ‘Wow, she’s mucked out 12 stables today – we can’t get her to clean her bedroom!’ I tell them it’s not me, it’s the horses. People just bond with them.”

Some years back, when the place was in need of decorating, Jaye stayed behind after work to tackle the mammoth task of painting the indoor school. An ex-pupil of the riding school from Peckham heard on the grapevine that she was doing some decorating and rounded up his friends to help.

“He told me I’d given him so much when he came riding here that he wanted to give something back,” Jaye says. “In three days they helped me paint the entire place and all it cost me was a few pizzas and bottles of coke. It’s things like that which happen and you think, ‘These kids have so much to give but they are not given the chance.’”

With cuts to youth services in recent years, Jaye has noticed a decline in the number of youth organisations bringing young people to the riding school. Youngsters who do attend are from a diverse range of backgrounds.

“You could have five kids sitting round for lunch”, says Jaye, “one girl whose dad is a multi-millionaire next to another girl whose mum is a single parent, but when they’re here there’s no difference, they can mix with anybody. It is very social and community-based.”

Celeste Cardew joined the school as a working pupil when she was 12. She’s now going into her fourth year at the Royal Veterinary College. “I can’t get away”, she says. “I love it here.”

Jaye would love it if Celeste could stay and help run the riding school. “But it is an accolade to us that her early days here helped her to get into vet college”, she says. Jaye hopes that her youngest son, who is currently at university, will take over the riding school as he has inherited the family passion for the place.

Many former pupils come back and visit the school years after they have left. Jaye loves the fact they can do this, as the yard provided her with a space to be during difficult times when she was growing up. “They come in and say it hasn’t changed a bit,” she says. “They make themselves a cup of tea, sit outside, have a good moan for an hour, then you might not see them for another 10 years!”

Of course, at the heart of the place are the horses themselves. “They’re very good levellers,” says Jaye. “Last year my mum died, my eldest son went off to China and my youngest son went to uni, all within three months. How on earth do you get through that? But horses are always the same. You give them compassion and you get it back.”

[lynnsmasterpieces]

My third experience from my dog spirits is from my Luna girl.  She is the reason I started my store Luna’s Love of Life Gifts!

Without warning cancer attacked our baby girl and took her away from us 4 months later!  She was only 6 years old.

My best friend and I shared an apartment together in 2005 -2008. That is when our Luna girl came into our lives. I became Aunt Linda and Cathy (my best friend) became mommy. Then there was Cathy’s son, Mitch. Now, Mitch is Luna’s “BOY”. I couldn’t even begin to covey into words the love relationship Luna and Mitch had for each other. Cathy’s son Mike loves Luna too but tried to keep a distance because he was allergic to dogs. And Lou is Luna’s daddy.

Luna getting ice cream.

Mitch loves his Luna girl

Luna and Spensar are friends!

Luna checking out her Easter basket

Luna feels secure in the stereo cabinet

Luna knows she is so cute

Mitch can’t leave me, I have his shoes!

Luna waiting for Mitch to wake up!

Luna making herself at home

Baby Luna meets her Aunt Linda for the first time

We shared an apartment for several years until I moved in with my other friend in Huntley.  It was so hard to leave my Luna girl.  Every time I came back to visit with her I would bring her a “baby” (stuffed animal).  So she would always look for her “baby” when I came over.  She loved me so much that when I came over she would put her head into my body and cry.  Lot of the stuffed animals I brought to her were children’s favorite cartoon characters.  One of those “babies” was the red “Clifford” dog.  You will see the importance of this later on in the blog.

Young Luna carrying all her babies in her mouth

In May 2010, Cathy and Lou brought Harry home so Luna could have a playmate. He is a British Golden Retriever. He loves and misses his Luna girl so very much.

Harry is very depressed, Luna has died and he is sucking on two of her babies.

Harry taking care of Luna

Harry and Luna hanging out together.

Harry loves his Luna girl.

Our Luna girl was diagnosed with lymphoma at the end of April 2011. She was only 6 years old (In humans that would be a 40 yr old woman).

She went into remission for 7 weeks. The cancer came back attacking her skin. She had these ulcers popping up especially on her paws that it became very hard for her to walk. 

LUNA JUST FINISHED GETTING MEDICINE ON HER SKIN ULCERS

Luna and her socks

Our vet put her on “rescue” protocol which is just a name for using a different combination of chemotherapy drugs when and if your dog stops responding to the first protocol used. Since cancer cells tend to adapt and become resistant to certain drugs after a while, a new combination of drugs can often help your dog get back into remission.

Luna only had a 20% chance that the drugs would work,  much less put her back in remission. But with all our friends and family praying for her and her wonderful vet, Luna went back into remission in July. We were all so very happy.  Everyone who loves Luna including her vet said how Luna doesn’t act like a dog that has cancer.  Each week she had her chemo treatment, she was doing such an awesome job fighting this dreadful disease.

On August 19 of 2011, she had her chemo treatment and as usual she was doing great. On Sunday morning, August 21, 2011 she couldn’t keep any food down. So she was brought to the vet that morning, was given a blood test to check if the cancer had come back. She showed no signs of the cancer coming back so Luna went back home. Mommy fed her mixture of chicken/rice to see if that would help with her vomiting.   Later that day our precious Luna became lethargic and went back to the vet. On the way there she died in her mommy’s arms. Her vet said the cancer was so microscopic and was attacking her intestinal tract.

Needless to say, I was devastated to hear that cancer has taken my little girl’s life.  I was doubled up in pain from the loss of my precious girl.  It was such a shock because she was only 6 years old and it came so suddenly.  Within 4 months cancer took my baby girl.

I want to explain my living situation at this time so you can understand when I tell you about my experience with Luna’s spiritual visit with me.  I was living with my friend in Huntley (same friend who lost Annabelle).  She had 2 daughters, one whose bedroom was next to mine and her oldest daughter lived in the basement with her 3-year-old daughter.  Her oldest daughter also had a cat that lived both up and downstairs.  There was a door to the basement so she did have some privacy.  The 3-year-old had lots of toys to play with including a “Red Clifford Dog”.  There would be many times the 3-year-old would come upstairs to visit with us even if her mommy stayed downstairs.

After the loss of Annabelle, my girlfriend had decided to get another dog.  She got a long-haired dachshund named Scarlett.  The following year, my girlfriends daughter decided she wanted another dog too.  She got a long-haired dachshund named Toby.

There were 3 dogs in the house now.  Their names are Dukie, Toby and Scarly.  Everyone in the house did their “own thing”.  I was more of a “home buddy” so I stayed home more than everyone else.  Somehow all 3 dogs became attached to me and they would all sleep in my bed.

I always felt Luna’s presence with me.  I have this one picture of Luna where she is laying down but her head is turned looking at me.  This picture is  hanging on the wall . I can see her eyes looking straight at me.  I can be right in front of the picture, to the right of the picture or to the left of the picture and her eyes are staring at me.

Few years after Luna has passed I had a more vivid visit from my little girl.  One morning I woke up before it was time to get up but the dogs needed to go outside.  I got up let them out the back door and brought them back in and went back to bed.  A few hours later it was time to get up.  Everyone else was still sleeping so I let the pups out again.  But this time there was a “Red Clifford Dog” sitting at the back door. (The red Clifford dog is one of the “babies” I had given Luna).  At first I thought that maybe Melodi (my friend’s granddaughter) had gotten up and left her Clifford dog at the back door or even Guiness, their cat somehow brought it from downstairs.

When everyone else woke up, I asked her daughter if Melodi was up and left Clifford at the back door.  She told me that Melodi is sound asleep and has not been up at all.  I then asked if she thought it was possible that Guiness was playing with Clifford and left it at the back door.  She told me that it was too heavy for him to drag all the way up the stairs.

Somehow the “Red Clifford Dog” made its way up from downstairs with no one in the house bringing it there.  I firmly believe that my Luna girl was telling me in her own way that she is with me and watching over me.

I don’t have a picture of Luna and Clifford but I do have a picture of Luna and Eeyore.

I am curious if any one esle has similiar experiences after their beloved fur baby has died.

  MY SPECIAL ANGEL DOG LUNA My third experience from my dog spirits is from my Luna girl.  She is the reason I started my store…