A GUIDE TO THE BEST CARE FOR YOUR GREYHOUND
In Memory of our Beloved "Hamlet" 1991-2005
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Helping
Senior Animals in Need Today SAINTS was started in December 2004 after volunteers at other animal shelters saw many senior animals spending their last days in a shelter or pound. From the time we opened our doors, the number of animals in need has been astounding and ever growing. When SAINTS moved into it's first location it started with 16 cats, 12 dogs and 2 rabbits. SAINTS has since found it's permanent home on 3 beautiful acres in Mission, BC with a warm and cozy home, a sturdy and well constructed barn, several outbuildings just waiting to be renovated for future use plus fields to play in and a pond to swim in... we have found a little bit of heaven on earth for our very special friends. Since December 2004, SAINTS has had over a hundred and fifty animals come in through it's doors. Fifty-three of them have been adopted into wonderful loving homes. Fifty-four have passed away in loving care at SAINTS and the remaining 65 still call SAINTS their home.
At various shelters throughout B.C., dedicated staff and volunteers work tirelessly to find these special animals a place to finish their journey in comfort and in love. Because of their infirmities and physical challenges, many homeless senior and special needs animals have very little chance of finding a new home. SAINTS exists to help senior and special needs animals when all else fails. If we can, in time, find them a special home of their own, then we do. If that very special home never comes, they will be safe and cherished until the end of their days. We pledge to love them, to care for them, and make their dreams come true. We promise each of them that they will never be alone again. Life at SAINTS For those who choose to provide palliative care to the SAINTS
animals, it is a rocky road of joy, and sadness and hopefully,
peace. The peace comes when deep in your heart you know that you
helped that animal find peace too. Death is not the heart breaking
monster, life is. It is their barren lives and the possibility
of their lonely cold deaths, unwanted and unloved that is the
real monsterous thing. Once they come to us, whether for a week
or a year or even a moment in time, we have slayed that lonely
monster and bandished it forever from them. The SAINTS do not
die in lonely backyards, or cold, cement kennels, or shelter back
rooms, or afraid in sterile vet clinics with strangers around
them…they die in our arms with our tears upon their face.
And that moment of death means nothing, except the gentle end
of this life that they had. And with us, the life that they had
as they meet the final end is one that is warm, and loved, and
full of peace. This is what we focus on, and what we remember
each and every time we bear witness to their passing. Their death
is our loss, and yes it wounds our hearts, but it is a little
wound that heals quickly because it is a wound knowingly accepted
to give them a life that they felt was cherished. People ask me
does it get easier…and honestly, it depends…did we meet
our goal and were they happy, did they have enough time to feel
truly loved, did we plan their end well enough to meet their needs
and how deeply did they bury themselves in our hearts til we got
there. They never really leave us, we carry them each and every
day and they help us to find what we need to be there for the
next one. Thinking of all of this and remembering each life’s
ending as I wrap my heart around them, and mostly remembering
every single smile upon their face before they left us…that
is how I get thru each day and not fear tomorrow. http://www.saintsrescue.ca/about/about.htm
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