Research Studies
To determine the best treatment for Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, there is a desperate need for large, multi-institutional studies of red blood cell membranes' antigens and antibodies against these antigens. A foundation has recently been established for animal cancer and blood disorders. To make a donation, to learn more about AIHA projects they are undertaking, or to learn what you can do to raise public awareness, please visit the Animal Cancer Foundation.
Many survivors of AIHA victims have dealt with their grief in productive ways, from a supportive presence on the AIHA VetNet Forum to establishing local support groups to distributing informational brochures to veterinarians. We all are too familiar with the grief and constant anxiety accompanying a gravely ill loved one. We each have to find the most productive way to work through our grief and celebrate the life on our loved one, not dwell on their death.
We adopted Flash from Secondhand Shelties
on December 3, 1999. I believe that my Angel Lilli sent him to
us and that I was meant to be his Mommy. Flashy is the furthest
from a replacement for Lilli as I could get. He paces and wants
action when Lilli would be sitting quietly at my feet looking
up lovingly. Why such a beloved little dog was stricken with
AIHA will always haunt me, but I find peace remembering the time
I was fortunate enough to have with her.
Angel
Announcement
March 16, 1993 - December 1, 1999
Born in St. Charles and raised in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, Lilli was home schooled in proper social skills. Her keen intellect and creativity were evident from the early age of one when she cofounded Peppy Paws and started serving as its mascot.
Despite numerous print media and a television appearance, Lilli kept her paws firmly planted on the ground and befriended all humans she encountered. With an endless supply of kisses and tail wags, humans adored her, but rodents feared her. She excelled at stalking neighborhood chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits, as well as finding the most foul smelling stuff to roll in.
Other hobbies included walks with her family, stealing food, sleeping and performing tricks. She loved to "play brontosaurus" and wade through the perennial garden sampling various plants. She also took time to help those less fortunate by participating in fundraisers for homeless pets.
"She was our Queen of Cuddles and Kisses! She was our little treasure and we will forever cherish her and her memories" say her Mom and Dad, Nancy and Dan. "She will always be with us. We were so lucky to have been her parents!"
Other survivors include her littermate, Cinder; Grandmother Pat ; Uncle John ; and her successor, Flash.
In honor of Lilli, please spend a few extra
moments reminding your furkids how special they are and how much
you love them.
Shelties never die, they gain their wings and learn to fly!
A Living Love
If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember....
The first is a day, blessed with happiness,
when you bring home your young new friend.
You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed. You may have asked
numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding
a breeder. Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just
chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter--simply because something
in its eyes reached your heart. But when you bring that chosen
pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in
your hall or front room--and when you feel it brush against you
for the first time--it instills a feeling of pure love you will
carry with you through the many years to come.
The second day will occur eight or nine
or ten years later. It will be a day like any other.
Routine and unexceptional. But, for a surprising instant, you
will look at your longtime friend and see age where you once
saw youth. You will see slow deliberate steps where you once
saw energy. And you will see sleep when you once saw activity.
So you will begin to adjust your friend's diet--and you may add
a pill or two to her food. And you may feel a growing fear deep
within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness. And you will
feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until the third day finally
arrives.
And on this day--if your friend and God
have not decided for you, then you will be faced with making
a decision of your own--on behalf of your lifelong friend, and
with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit. But whichever way
your friend eventually leaves you--you will feel as alone as
a single star in the dark night.
If you are wise, you will let the tears flow
as freely and as often as they must. And if you are typical,
you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends
will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.But if
you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the
many joy-filled years, you may find that a soul--a bit smaller
in size than your own--seems to walk with you, at times, during
the lonely days to come. And at moments
when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen,
you may feel something brush against your leg--very very lightly.
And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lay--you will remember those three significant days. The memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart--As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own. You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you. If you reject it, it will depress you. If you embrace it, it will deepen you. Either way, it will still be an ache.
But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when--along with the memory of your pet--and piercing through the heaviness in your heart--there will come a realization that belongs only to you. It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost. This realization takes the form of a Living Love--like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted, this Love will remain and grow--and be there for us to remember. It is a love we have earned. It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go. And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live. It is a Love which is ours alone. And until we ourselves leave, perhaps to join our Beloved Pets--it is a Love we will always possess.
Martin Scot Kosins
I Am Not There
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.
Author unknown
Still Here
I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.
I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."
I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down
to me
I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I'm not lying there.
I walked with you toward the house, as you fumbled for your keys.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said "It's me."
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It's possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew...
In the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over...I smile and watch you yawning
And say "goodnight, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to
see.
Be patient, live your journey out...then come home to me.
Author Unknown
Visit Lilli and all her AIHA friends at In
Honor of, which is dedicated to the dear fur babies that
wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge and to all that have lost their
faithful and loving pet to AIHA.
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