Sympathy Card for a Dog Friend...

A friend of mine recently lost her dog due to health problems complicated by old age.  To tell you that she invested time and money and love in this dog's life is an understatement however, some of you out there know what that emotional investment is like.  If you have a friend who lost a pet and has a hard time dealing with grief, here 's some tips that I try to follow:

1.  It always helps to make a card!  Isn't that what we're good at?  Whether it's a little drawing or a beautifully colored image or a Cricut cut out... it's the thought that counts.

Sorry for the lighting. I'm still trying to get the photography part of blogging right.
I tried to keep the card simple yet hopeful.  Now that I'm looking at it... boy, is it simple. Or as Mary (Cardztv) says SUPER SIMPLE. 

I used DCWV Summer Dream Cardstock (glitter paper) and Create-A-Critter and Sweethearts Cartridge

2. I try to send a small donation to Kansas State University School of Veterinary Medicine. In exchange, they send a lovely letter to the pet owner (and you) acknowledging your donation in the name of "Fifi."  You can indicate how you want your contribution to be distributed:   Greatest Need, Medical Research, Veterinary Medical Education, etc .  Here is the link and if you click on the left side where it says Donate to the Pet Tribute Site, you can print the form.  They are very prompt in sending the letter to both the animal owner and you.

  http://www.vet.ksu.edu/depts/development/PetTribute/index.htm

There is a wonderful staff there that handles these requests and my experience has been, no donation was too small.

I found out about this great idea when my dog Auggie passed away.  My veterinarian made a donation on Auggie's behalf.  What a thoughtful thing to do.

Auggie Doggie

3.  And there are various grief hotlines and resources that you can direct your friend to. UC Davis used to have one, but now due to budget cuts, they refer you to other resources.    Please see the link attached:

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ccah/petloss_resources.cfm

Amuse-bouche:

Our dog training class had Obedience trials today.  My little dog, SamUL, did his trial on-leash.  My older dog, Colt, did his trial off-leash (because he has been in the class for over a year and shouldn't require a leash.   The operative verb is SHOULD in this sentence).  Colt's original family, my nephews, came to watch him perform.  Needless to say, he was distracted at the time of his trials and eventually was awarded a plaque.  The plaque read something about how the owner (me) wasted money on a trainer because he's hopeless.   My nephew was happy that Colt won a plaque and here is his photo.

Here is Colt's (AWFUL) performance.  

There were quite a few distractions but that is no excuse.

Here is SamUL's performance.  He is still considered a beginner so he did his 'on-leash.'  He did much better than Colt but then again, SamUL is an over-achiever... especially in the art of Couch Eviseration.
The video was shot by one of my nephews. I will leave out names to not embarrass the nephew who seemed to be having GI issues.