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Jeanne's House of Angels Newsletter

Special Pet Edition

This is my mom Renee and her Bassett Hound "Baby". Baby was my mom's little joy when she was down or not feeling well. My mother treated this little doggie as a real child, and pampered her more than herself.

I share this with you all as this is just a little sample of the small things that made my mother smile and for her to be happy. Her family, her friends, and above all her doggie "Baby". Baby will be 12 years old in August.

Melissa

Rene Eiler with Baby

All the while the kids were growing up we had dogs. When Becky came to live with me in 1998, we were in an apartment and we couldn`t have one. She left us while we lived there. Last year we moved to a house. My husband talked about getting one but I was leery- it made me so sad to think Becky wasn`t there to pick one out.
Becky and I always sat out at night to watch the sunsets, unless she was out with friends. I took out hers and my canvas chairs and put them on the porch. I would sit there each night and talk to her. My son had bought her one to take when they went fishing, and I kept hers next to mine. A few weeks after we moved there, I heard a noise on the porch, When I looked out, there was a dog sitting in Beckys chair. When my husband left for work at 5am the next morning she was still there. She was so friendly to me but scared of my husband. She was skin and bones and obviously abused. I gave her some leftovers and to make a long story short, she never left. I took her to the vet and they said she was about a year old and looked to be very badly beaten. I got her shots and because she was considered a stray, I was allowed to keep her. Every night she sleeps in Beckys chair ( my first sign) -doesn`t go near any of the others. I hadn`t paid too much attention to her markings but when I took a picture of her for the vet, I noticed a butterfly one on her side. (2nd sign). When I was trying to figure out a name for her everyone had ideas, so I tried them all. The only one she reacted to was "Angel".(3rd sign). She gets so excited when I say it. I feel like Becky sent her to me because she knew how lonely I was without her.
This morning I noticed Beckys chair was ripped- Angel tried so hard to get in it but kept falling through. She won`t go in any other one- just goes to the chair and whimpers, then lays down on the rug that I placed next to it. If thats not a sign , I don`t know what is!!

Joan-Beckys mom

Angel
See the butterfly marking

April came to be a part of our family when my son Thomas found a little puppy dumped at the neighborhood school one Easter. She was apparently a part of a litter that became separated that weekend as they were dumped on Good Friday. She was part Border Collie and part black Labador. This little sweetie was about 6 weeks old at the time. She had a lot of separation and
anxiety issues needless to say. She had to be my constant companion. As she went through the puppy stage there were days I wondered if she would survive. She could wreck the house in nothing flat! She grew to be a respected and very loved member of the family. She also had much need to be very protective of our son Nicky. I think she sensed his disabilities and felt he needed extra care from her as well.

April was one really smart girl! We had a greyhound at the time and she was always tricking him. She loved to tease us all. She traveled a lot in the car with me. She quickly became my traveling buddy and we loved to get out and do 2 mile walks. I was soon called April's mom by the neighborhood. Everyone loved her.

There was a time in our lives that it seemed our world was crumbling around us. It was then that I began to believe that God had sent April to us for a reason. She was a devoted source of unconditional love. She taught me much and helped me realize the answers to my prayers lay before me.

Sadly I noticed April couldn't keep up with our walks any more and health issues began to plague her. It put her in such a depression to not be able to do the things she loved. Then it was discovered she had cancer. I couldn't let her go so surgery was schedule with hopes of sparing her a few more years. However the tumor grew so quickly that the vet cancelled the surgery. Her time was running out. I made the difficult decision to have our vet come and relieve her of her pain. It was November 11, 2005. Nicky and I were alone that day. The vet, her assistant and I were in another room with April. She went quickly and peacefully. The moment the vet declared her dead Nicky let out a laugh. The three of us looked at each other so strangely. We couldn't help but wonder if April told Nicky goodbye on her way out.

More sadness touched our lives when we lost our precious Nicky on March 13, 2006. At the moment he was pronounced deceased a picture took place on a friend's cell phone. It's truly amazed us all and there can be several different views of what it represents. Strangely someone who didn't know us saw the picture and said she sees a 4 legged animal taking a spirit home.
Regardless of whether that's it or not I pray Nicky and April are running and playing in the beautiful gardens in heaven while they await my arrival.

Dianne White

Our beloved dog Daisy left us last October 5th, 2006. Just 10 days later my precious Mom passed away. Thru the 2 years that Mom was sick, we visited her every day! Daisy always came with us!! Mom used to say. “Look at this Dog..she knows I need her too”!!

Well I believe in my heart that Daisy left, to be there for Mom when she passed away!

In January of this year I had a Medium give me a reading. It was my first one since Mom was gone. Mom came thru, and in her telling of my Mother, the Medium said .. it is very important that I tell you there is a dog with her. It has the most beautiful shiny coat! Well that was our Daisy, w/ her silky brown chocolate coat..without a doubt!!

So now when I think of Daisy..I also think of Mom and vice versa. Knowing the two are together, strolling heavens gardens!!

Angela

Linda Taylor with Daisy

My sister Sharon and I wanted a cat to honor our cousin Sammie who was killed in a car crash age 20,so we went down to our local pound and found this beautiful black & white cat which we looked at him and with being black and Sammie had black hair we had to have him, but we didn't want to name him Sam so we named him Sambucca and my Dad loved him until he got very sick and we did everything we could but he had feline aids, so we had to put him to sleep. My Dad was so sad about what was happening to him we had him for 10 wonderful years my dad stayed up the night before making him a casket, he said he didn't want to cremate him so we had a service for him because my Dad said Sambucca was a big part of our family and he deserved a proper burial .
So with my Dad- Art Polon always having a big heart it is our pleasure to include him with this beautiful story.
Love Sue

Art Polon with Sambucca

Evan and Simon
the early years

Evan and Simon

Evan and Simon
When Evan was 9 years old, we adopted 2 kittens. One of them was black and we named him Samson. The other one was part siamese and we named him Simon. Simon adopted Evan as his person. Whenever we were home with the cats, Simon was usually with Evan. He even slept with Evan on the nights that Evan was at my house. In the spring of 2005, we found a lump on the back of Simon's head. Evan and I took him to the vet and found out that there was really nothing that could be done for Simon other than to make sure that he was loved. Evan was so upset and wanted to know why it had to be his cat. We took him home and made sure that he had love and attention. The lump continued to grow. By the middle of July the lump was as big as a baseball and we knew the decision was coming. After Evan's accident, I knew that Simon would not make it long without Evan here so I made the decision. Simon was taken to the vet, put to sleep then cremated. His ashes are buried with Evan.

Heidi

My cats

Since the death of my youngest son Evan in July of 2005, I live alone with my cats. They have been a great comfort to me. I always have at least 1 cat that is ready and waiting if I'm having a bad day, feeling blue or just lonely. They give me a reason to get up each and every morning. (9 cat faces staring at you waiting for their canned cat food!!) They have added fun and laughter to my life at times when I could find no humor anywhere else. They have brought so much joy to my life. I never planned on having 9 cats living with me. After rescuing a kitten from a home where many kittens have been runover, finding the siamese kittens that I had been wanting for years and my daughters cats moving to my house, my number grew from 4 to 9. I would not give up any of my precious babies!!

Heidi

Snowball

Sabrina

Tabitha

Bugz

Bobcat

Samson

Snickerdoodle

Tigger

Fuzzy

This is Tiffany. I got her when my husband an I first got married in 1990. She was about 6 weeks old. My husband hated cats, but he grew to love her because of how smart she was. She would play catch with me with some little foam balls I bought her. I would throw them, and she would get them and bring them back to me. When my oldest daughter was born (she was probably 5 weeks old), I was taking a nap and my daughter was in her crib in her room. I woke up to Tiffany kneading my chest and meowing up a storm, kind of like a panic. I heard Ashley screaming, so I jump out of bed and run to her room, with Tiffany ahead of me. Tiffany jumps up into the crib and when I look down at Ash, she had a blanket wrapped around her head. People say that cats kill newborns, but I believe this cat saved my baby's life.
Tiffany crossed the rainbow bridge in April of 2000, at the age of 11 years old, when my second daughter was 17 months old. She doesn't remember her. But she will always be a part of me.

This is Toby, our plain ole, stuck up Tabby cat. He is 4 years old. His birthday is around the middle of August. When I got him from the pound in September of 2002, he was 8 weeks old. As you can see, he is stuck up. He is self centered and is not very sociable. If you leave your purse on the floor, he will get into it and take things out of it. Crazy!!! He is not a lap cat and he definately does not want to be held. He will come to you and let you pet and rub him, and he will purr, but only on his terms, not yours. He will play with Peanut, teasing him into chasing him and then he'll pounce on Peanut when he rounds a corner. He just won't play with you. He thinks he rules the house. He does keep the fly count down when they get into the house. He will let you know when he is out of water or food, and he loves to go outside, where he won't wander far. Overall, he is special in his own kind of way.

This is Peanut, my crazy Shih Tzu. He is 2 years old. His birthday is November 23, 2005. We got him from my best friend, whose husband he didn't get along with. As a matter of fact, he hated men to a passion. We don't know why, when my friend got him, he was that way. My husband worked with him, and finally 4 months after he joined our family, he is my husbands best friend. He is a silly dog, runs around in circles in the house. He has literally created a "moat" around the living room from running. He loves to go bye bye, loves his walks, and he loves to play and snuggle. He also loves to play with Toby, who has dug his claws into him, but he always comes back for more. He is definately a lap dog. He also knows when you are sick or not feeling good, as he will not leave your side.
He is a very special dog and the family wouldn't be whole without him.

From Amy - Kenneth Clevinger's daughter

Tiffany

Toby

Peanut

From Heidi - Evan Laws mom

From Sue - Art Polon's daughter

From Angela - Linda Taylor's daughter

From Dianne - Nicky White's mom

From Joan - Becky Vidmosko's mom

From Melissa - Irwin & Renee Eiler's daughter

From Heather - Zack Wolford's mom

I WANT TO SHARE ABOUT MY SONS DOG
CRICKET HIS CHOCLATE LAB WE JUST GOT CRICKET AND 6 MONTHS BEFORE ZACK WAS KILLED AND HE IS ZACKS DOG ALL THE WAY STILL NOW HE IS JUST LIKE A KID AND HE RUNS AROUND ARE FARM BARKING AT WHAT WE THINK IS NOTHING WE NO IT ZACK . CRICKET WILL NOT COME IN AT NIGHT HE WOULD LAY OUT ALL NIGHT LONG .

QWEENIEBEAR WAS ZACKS BLACK LAB WHICH MEET ZACK IN HEAVEN THE DAY AFTER CHIRSTMAS 2006 QWEENIE WAS THERE FROM THE TIME THAT ZACK WAS LITTLE AND NOW THAT ARE IN HEAVEN

Cricket

Qweeniebear

From Rose - Jason Murray's wife

I'd love to tell you about our 2 dogs. Jason gave me Jake, our basset hound, for our 7th wedding anniversary. He is a real sweetie. Jason always let Jake up in his lap even though he is a Hoss!! :) I will cherish him for the rest of my life. Our other boy is Dexter (boxer). Jason got him from a friend at work about 7 months before he moved to Heaven. Jason absolutely loved Dexter. He had always wanted a boxer & was very upset when we could not keep Dexter contained. He got loose a million times. Actually at Christmas, he told his cousin, Clarissa that he would let Dexter move to her house. She lives in Virginia, she has a young daughter, Jaden :), and her husband, Bobby is in the Navy. Bobby goes out to sea alot & Clarissa is home alone. We have no other family there. Jason was worried sick about Clarissa & knew Dexter would protect her. After Jason moved to Heaven, Dexter became very depressed & got loose many times, our neighbor did not like this at all. Dexter always came to Jason, but would never come to me. Anyway, our neighbor threatened to kill Dexter while our kids were listening. I had to decide to give Dexter to our cousin. One of the hardest decisions of my life. But Dexter is happy now & Jaden loves him. I really miss Dexter. But, I'll never miss anyone as much as I miss my Jason.

Jake

Dexter & Jake

From Janet - Nicholas Piccolo's mom

Since my son, Nick's passing there has been many beautiful birds everyday on our porch and around our house. We even saw an owl and falcon in our backyard tree that just stayed there for awhile just staring at us before they gracefully took off in flight. In fact when we saw the psychic, Sylvia Browne at the Montel Williams t.v. show last year, and asked her if our son sends us messages, she confirmed to us that our son is very good at sending us messages especially birds. Nick has also sent us butterflies. We knew this especially on our 29th wedding anniversary, Nov. 20, 2005, only three months after Nick's passing when a big beautiful yellow and black spotted butterfly flew all around my husband and me several times as we came out of a restaurant into the cold New York air. Seeing a butterfly so late in the season in NY was confirmation enough for us to know that our son took on a new spiritual life at peace and is watching over us all the time spiritually. This experience was very comforting to us. Another comforting healing was when one of our son's close friends gave us her one year old pet sun conure parrot (picture attached) to take care of because she just became a cop and couldn't find time to take care of him herself anymore. This was the best gift she could have given us after our son's passing August 18, 2005, especially for my husband whose been so depressed and who became so attached to this bird. They are inseparable and our parrot, Tucky is such a comfort for my husband. So, yes, I do feel animals are God's creatures sent to us by him to comfort us especially when we need them most during our healing.

Tucky

Here are my babies. I'll start with the cats, otherwise they'll get an attitude (well, more than they already have)
Maggie was our first and she is a daddy's girl. Her favorite thing? Sleeping on the dryer when there is a load of clothes in it. She was abandoned very young, about four weeks old. She decided that we
were worth of her company and has been with us for over six years. When we moved into our very rural house about four years ago, we named it "Maggie's Farm" And I am sure she wouldn't have it any other way!

Maggie

Freddie showed up about a year after Maggie. Out of nowhere this cat was at our doorstep, meowing loudly. Knowing a little bit of catese, we figured she was hungry. So, we fed her and she never left. We have no idea how old she is and obviously at first, we didn't know she was a she. I named her Freddie, after "Freddie the freeloader". So even after discovering "he" was a "she", we still called her Freddie. It looks like she really doesn't care.

Freddie

This is Jackie and Baylee. Baylee had a one night stand with our neighbor's dog (without protection, which we had warned him about). Anyway, Jackie and six others were a product of that tryst. We took one look at that goofy looking face and fell in love. (I told my husband the same thing when I met him!) Anyway, we decided to keep her too! Baylee is so protective of her. They look almost the same size in the picture, but Baylee is about 25 pounds heavier. They have been my lifesavers when I start to feel sorry for myself.

Jackie & Baylee

I had to put this picture in. I was in the kitchen, when I heard this noise in the back room. I looked around the corner and their was Jackie with her head stuck in the trash can. I grabbed the camera and got the pic. When I called her name, she lifted up her head and the top was stuck around her neck (It looked like one of those cone things vets use.)
I was laughing so hard I couldn't even take a picture of that lid hanging around her neck.
We gave her the nickname "Princess Skunk Monkey"

Jackie aka Princess Skunk Monkey