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December 30, 2007

A Mother's Last Wish

Muncie, Indiana, December 28, 2007: Christopher Burrows can tell you his Mommy has ALS. He knows it makes her muscles tired. But Christopher doesn't know that it will end his mother's life. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or "Lou Gehrig's Disease") has an average life expectancy of 3-5 years. Christopher's mom has had ALS for 3 years.,,

Muncie, Indiana, December 28, 2007: Christopher Burrows can tell you his Mommy has ALS. He knows it makes her muscles tired. But Christopher doesn't know that it will end his mother's life. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or "Lou Gehrig's Disease") has an average life expectancy of 3-5 years. Christopher's mom has had ALS for 3 years.

Christopher doesn't understand death or many other things. Christopher is autistic. Born with Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic cause of autism, Christopher, 10, struggles to understand simple things, let alone things that would confound most 10 year old like death and dying. What Christopher does understand is love and the warmth of hugs.

Christopher adores animals. Because of this, his mother Claudia applied for a multipurpose service dog from 4 Paws For Ability in Xenia, Ohio. Just before Christmas, Claudia and Christopher got great news: Christopher had been approved!

Many children with autism tend to wander away and are unaware of environmental dangers such as traffic, bodies of water, or the ill intentions of strangers. Christopher needs a strong companion at his side trained to provide the special assistance he needs. In addition to providing constant companionship and unwavering friendship, these four-legged wonders are specially trained in search and rescue skills. Christopher's service dog will be trained to "tether" to Christopher, allowing he and his mom (now using a wheelchair for outings) to spend time together without fear of wandering.

In addition to his Fragile X and autism, Christopher has a number of physical health issues that contribute to daily challenges. Christopher's low muscle tone necessitates braces, called "AFO's", for his legs. Due to poor immune system function and asthma, Christopher is home schooled. Coupled with the physical differences and the isolation, Christopher has a difficult time making friends. This is where his 4-legged friend will come in. Christopher's service dog will serve as a social conduit when on outings with Christopher.

Since both Claudia and Christopher have wheelchairs for extended outings, Christopher's service dog will be cross-trained to help both mother and son with practical matters like opening doors, pushing buttons for elevators and retrieving items.

There is only one hurdle to cross for this single Mom's dying wish to come true: training a service dog for Christopher will cost $14,000. Claudia is committed to helping 4 Paws raise the needed funds to make her dream of a service dog for Christopher come true.

Based in Xenia, Ohio, 4 Paws For Ability strives to provide service dogs to families and children that struggle with life's daily challenges and who would otherwise be turned away by many other agencies. 4 Paws trains a variety of assistance dogs, including but not limited to seizure assistance, mobility assistance, hearing ear dogs and autism assistance dogs. Some of the dogs even serve a little time in the Rover Prison Rehab Program as a stepping stone to becoming certified service dogs.

"We have discovered a magic that exists between children and dogs, a magic that can become a life-saving miracle for a child paired with one of our Autism Assistance Dogs," states the 4Paws website www.4pawsforability.org. You can help bring some magic to Christopher's life by making a tax deductible donation to 4 Paws For Ability in Christopher's name.

December 11, 2007

Well done, good and faithful servant

Two weeks after my return from Hawaii, I woke up to discover that my Senior Cat, Bear, was dead. Everyone who owns a pet knows that the pet's life is limited, but of course we don't know how limited. And are we ever reallyprepared?

Bear was a rescue cat. He saw one owner through until his or her death, and Jack and I adopted him in April of 1998. Then he saw Jack through his illness and death. He was always there for Jack. He then discovered Shadow, and was his mentor and big brother for three years.

I took this picture when I was helping an animal rescue put together a newsletter. Bear was up for adoption, and he caught my eye...


When Shadow came one the scene, Bear was quick to eat Shadow's food first...he figured Shadow could eat his boring senior cat food. So Bear began to grow heavier. And heavier.

Bear taught Shadow all the fun things there were to do: Search and Destroy House Plants was high on the list. Climb as high as possible...like the top of the refrigerator...accidentally knock down lamps and vases and things while rubbing up against them...and try, always try to get up on the counter when food was there...use the best furniture and new carpet as scratching posts: the scratching posts Mom gets at PetSmart are so dorky! Etc.

In the last couple of years, there was lots of mutual exercise between the two cats. Running around and tussling with Shadow so much had to tire him out. The vet had been concerned for several years about his weight, but we couldn't find a solution. Through everything, he remained totally Bear. Good natured, hungry, loving, hungry, and steadfast. And hungry.

Here are the two of them in their normal snuggling position:

Well done, Bear. You did good. Well done, good and faithful servant.