Milo & I wanted to wish you all a very happy & safe weekend from everyone here at Dyson Abbey and also to remind you how rewarding fostering can be. Writing posts about wildlife and our precious four-legged friends is always such a labour of love for me but the photography not so much hence I’ll be saving the shameless photobombing selfies of our feline family for another day. I have a renewed respect for the patience of all of our photography blogging friends and it’s completely true what they say about working with children & animals (well bored felines anyway).
With most shelters overflowing with unwanted and neglected animals what can be more worthwhile than saving a life like Milo? If you’re on Twitter why not help by an RT which might just find an animal on the euthanasia list a home. And to remind you just how fulfilling either adopting or fostering a rescue animal can be, I’ve posted this touching verse which never fails to reduce me to tears. Hankies at the ready!
There I sat alone and afraid,
You got a call and came to my aid
You bundled me up in blankets and love
and when I needed it most you gave me a hug
I learned that world was not all that scary and cold.
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend.
You loved me and healed me and became my first friend
And just when I thought you’d done all you do,
There came along not just one lesson but two
First you said “sweetheart you’re ready to go,
I’ve done all I can and you’ve learned all I know”
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss,
Along came a new family they even have kids!
They took me to their home forever to stay.
At first I thought you’d sent me away,
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear,
No matter how far you will always be near
And so Foster Mom, you know I’ve moved on,
I have a new home with toys and a lawn
But I’ll never forget what I learned that first day,
Is that you really never give fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by,
We may never meet again but now I know why.
You’ll remember I lived with you for a time,
I may not be yours but you’ll always be mine
Barb Lieberman
Beautiful! And so are you for rescuing!
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Well I don’t know about that especially as we fell into fostering entirely by accident but I do feel kinda proud that our fosters have gone onto better lives with loving families
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Giving a Forever Home to any rescue pet is one of the most incredible loving gestures there is! Love this post! 😀
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Thank you muchly and you’re right! Rescuing an animal is one of the most worthwhile things you can do
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If you foster and/or rescue, you can actually save two lives, the one you are fostering/rescuing, and the one that takes its place.
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I’ve never thought about it like that but you’re so right; Milo here is our sixth foster
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Such a sweet poem and I’m glad that you are one more rescue person helping our furry friends,
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Well it takes an entire family to help out our little rescues
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Reblogged this on No Mad Sojourn and commented:
Just recently, I’ve been havings thoughts about adopting a cat.
I’ve had rabbits and hamsters but have never had a pet that permanent roams the house. My rabbit did for a bit and chewed up a lot of my wires, left fur everywhere and ate my entire trough of basil plants (I was so mad! 🙂 ). Still, the cutie pie wins me over every time.
I’ve never thought about fostering because I don’t think I can bear letting go when the time comes. Attachment issues. Heh. Maybe ability comes with practice, and for more noble reasons than taking care of a rescue for oneself.
The wonderful poem shared by this post says it all. For me, at least.
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We’ve always been dog people but somehow we ended up with cats as well. We’re currently on our 5th & 6th foster and I can’t tell you its easy letting them go because it isn’t (I cry for England) but knowing the alternative life they might have faced makes me stop feeling sorry for myself and ready to welcome the next frightened little bundle
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we love people like you!!!!
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We’re just an ordinary family; I sense that you are another animal lover?
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What a fantastic photograph!! You get bragging rights for that one.
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From a professional & first class photographer like yourself I shall take that as a great compliment. But I have to say it took me over an hour, copious amounts of cat treats (which meant all the other cats were photo-bombing) and about a hundred shots. I even tried to reason with Milo, assuring him that it was for a very good cause. I’d broken out into a sweat by the end of it and had to have a lie down in a darkened room. Needless to say I won’t be taking up a career in photography any time soon and you photographers have my utmost admiration!
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I’ve been considering fostering for a while now, since we’ve got a bunny of our own and we’re not looking for a permanent pet due to travelling plans! The only thing we’d have to be careful about is our landlady – we’d probably have to get permission before we could foster anyone.
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Fostering is a good way to help out if you’re not able to commit long-term for an animal, sometimes its just a couple of weeks whilst an owner is in hospital but sometimes its for an emergency short-term situation whilst something longer term can be sorted out. I know I’ve said this before but by fostering you really do make a difference
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Oh my friend how much you hit my heart with this one. Just yes
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It gets me every time I read that verse
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Ah hem, what did you say about your photography? Super shot 😀 Think we’ll want some more, and very soon. Here’s to one, two, three etc etc etc more rescues
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We’re on our sixth! Milo was a foster fail in that the family who took him returned him because he has digestive problems but as long as you follow the diet he’s usually pretty okay. In fact he’s a home bird and spends most of his time cuddled up to somebody so we don’t want him to go through more upheaval so he’s staying
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Milo is a lucky fellow. We had a kitten who turned up almost dead and developed awful gut problems. The vet put him on a soya diet that was very easily digestible – did the trick. Only downside was all the cats ballooned in size 😉
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Milo too is now the size of a house but I don’t think its as bigger deal as the family made out; think they just weren’t committed enough which doesn’t bode well for their next pet
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EEoww Miss Dallas iz Nylablue here….me n Mumm jsut read yer bloggie n da sweeeet poe-em n we wanted to say yer da bestest!!! Ya iz a Fostur Mum to kittehz too!! Yer amazin n me iz glad we found yer bloggie!
**paw kissez** n phankz, Nylablue n Sherriellen Mum xxxxx
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I think we’re the lucky ones because they all chose us
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😉 Dat iz true too Miss Dallas…
When me Mum came to see me she did not nose she waz gonna ‘dopt me. Me did not act nice to any of da other Hu’manz; just to Sherriellen so when Aunti Renee called Mum freekin out me waz gonna be PTS Mum said “YES”. She neber new me werked me magick; iz our little seecret…
Lub Nylablue ❤ ❤
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A touching post Dallas. You really are the ‘bestest’! 🙂
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We fell into this completely by accident and they chose us. Thought of you when I was trying to take the pictures and realised I was certainly no Madhu
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You are too modest…..that is a brilliant shot! 🙂
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I really hope to adopt a dog from a shelter someday and hopefully I can find a bichon. We have PetFinder here in the US which makes it easy to search for dogs online, especially if you are searching for a particular breed. Someday when I have a bit more money and I live in a building that allows dogs (oh yeah, I’m in the process of moving to NYC and I’m pretty sure my new apartment building doesn’t allow dogs). I definitely miss having a dog, it’s been rather empty in the house since our dog’s passing.
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I think a rescue animal knows when its been saved and there’s no better feeling in the world than knowing you’ve saved a life
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Great post!
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Thank you, Mariam & Merry Xmas
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