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Open 11 am-4 pm Tuesday through Saturday Closed Sunday and Monday webmistress                   |
In Loving Memory of Spice:
Just a short note to thank you for all you do for the critters that need help and let you know that our girl Spice crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on April 8, 2008. I can still remember the day 13 and a half years ago when visiting the shelter I told Dennis that one of the litter of new puppies had been upchucked on by her brother and he laughed and said they had just come in and it was probably car sick. I told him if he liked I would take her out and clean her up at the sink. She was the runt of the litter and fit in the palm of my hand. I cleaned her up and dried her off as best I could with paper towels then put her in my flannel shirt pocket to keep her warm. My wife and son fell in love with her and we spent about three hours at the shelter that day trying to decide if we wanted to bring her home. She on the other hand knew the good life and fell asleep in my pocket as we walked around checking out the other animals. Just before leaving and closing time I asked Dennis how big she would be and he said about 20 lbs and 18 to 20 inches tall - she turned out to grow to 65lb and 32 inches tall. Like any major commitment we decided to wait 24 hours but by 10:00 the next morning I called the wife and told her to go get her and bring her home. Thus began a wonderful, love filled 13 1/2 years with our little girl. She was supposed to be the son's dog but she decided that I was to be the Alpha male and he was her brother.
She grew quickly and looked like a Aredale with a bad hair day. She loved chasing squirrels and rabbits never really trying to catch them just for the fun of it. We spoiled her and she spoiled us equally but listened more to me than the son or wife. She loved to lay by the sliding door watching the wildlife as I worked on the computer and I became her door man and better have a treat for her each time she went out and came back in. Surprisingly she was a healthy dog that would eat anything except fish. Her last year she developed a back problem which made it hard for her to get up and down the stairs and into the car which she loved to go for rides in. Dr. Joe [Caffarini] was suprised that she did as well as she did but on April 8, it was apparent that she was getting worse and having blood in her stool so we had to make the decission to put her down and stop her suffering. I can't say enough for the staff and Dr. Joe at Lockport Animal Hospital, their professionalism was at its highest that day as normal and helped us cope with a trying time. We brought what was left of our little girls stuff to the shelter as we knew that Spice would want us to share it with the needy animals there and we will in time look again for another member of our family from there. Thanks TLC for all you do and all the caring you give the needy critters of the world.
Bill, Char, Zac, Carpenter, Grandma Horsley, and Sally Mae (the 3 legged cat).
