Feb ’05

NO. 17

THE OLGA MALLI SOCIETY

… also known as the Kaisariani Animal Welfare Association,* was founded in 1995 and named after a young woman who was run over by a car while trying to save a wounded dog in the road.  Departed Friend reader Ella Meah wrote to DF about her friend,     Mary Malissou, who lives in Athens, rescuing and relocating dogs from the Athens streets, where they are in peril, to reinstate them on top of a mountain, away from street violence, overlooking Athens:

*(See Resources section for contact details).

Mary is a very marvellous woman.  She travels up to the mountain, every other day, with food for them.  She tries to rehome them, and has formed the society known as the Olga Malli Society.  My friend has few helpers, but goes up every other day, provides shelter for the dogs, at her own expense, loves them (they absolutely adore her arrival) and keeps them safe from poisoning and trapping in Athens…. I have also enclosed a poem which was written in memory of Olga Malli.  I believe that, even if an animal is gone, we can honour its memory by continuing our care for all other living creatures. I love this poem and I think it shows how we can still keep our Departed Friends’ memory, and their lives, a living testimony to their love, in our lives.

Ella Meah with a rescued puppy

Three score & ten

     are given to man,

But ours is a much briefer

     span ,

So, although I gave you

     all my heart,

The time will come when

     we must part.

But all around you,

     you will see,

Creatures that speak to

     you of me.

A tired horse, a hunted

     thing;

A sparrow with a broken

     wing…..

Pity and help  (I know

     you will)

And somehow, I’ll be with

     you still.

And I shall know, although

     I’m gone,

The love I gave you,

     lingers on.

Your Letters ……” *

You may remember I wrote to you a while back to tell you of the death of my beloved dog Dar – (Daria), how she was killed on her morning walk by another dog, and how I was hoping to have the owners prosecuted as some sort of small justice for Dar.  (See DF 15 – Ed.)

Well, I did all I could, but much to my disgust, was eventually informed by the very nice policeman dealing with the case, that, though he had tried to find a way, there was no law that existed to prosecute the owners of a pet dog that killed another pet dog. I couldn’t believe it – I still can’t.

I’m sorry to write in this way, but I am so angry, so heartbroken, so sad – I can’t pretend to be OK on paper, as I have to in my everyday life.

Dar deserved a peaceful death.  I should have been with her.  I always wanted her to die peacefully in her sleep – what we all want for those we love, I know.

I just wanted to be at her side.  I miss her so much – it’s unbearable, but I have to carry on, for my little girl Daisy’s sake.

I’m so glad that I named my daughter as I did because her initials spell out D.A.R. in remembrance and in honour of Dar.  I’ll always be glad I did that – especially now, losing her the way I did.

I would just like to say how much it meant to me that people mentioned us in their letters – issue 16 – thankyou so much.  You are so kind, it did help me.  Thankyou.  It does me good to know that there are other people out there that truly care and understand that a friend is a friend and can be loved and missed just the same as any human, if not more so, it doesn’t make it less hurtful that they have fur, four legs or feathers.

Dar was my best friend.

She still is.

She remains a part of me, always.

Beccy Hayden

 Daisy and Dar

Kerry was taken, to be left at the dump, at 4 months old.  Somebody got her, and I took her to a friend of mine, Wendy, who already had 5 rescued dogs, but gave Kerry a good life.  She was a sweet girl, who is very much missed by all. 

Sylvia Chamberlain

 ~~~ Kerry ~~~

who has gone to Rainbow Bridge (bless her)

Treasure Time

I scream inside to see ‘ 6 months’, it cannot be?

Six months without you,

My beautiful all-colours-in-the-cat-world cat.

Six months.

Time has stolen you away.

Time that gave you to me in the first place,

an abandoned kitten of 8 months old.

Time that gave us playful hours,

and love and joy together.

Time that never stands still.

Treasure Time,

it will never come back.

Mags Scorey,   6 October 2004

At last – an update of life at Catwork*.  Please find enclosed ‘diary’ – more a glorified newsletter than meant to be used for ‘dates’.    The diaries* took a bit of putting together this year – so many cats and so much to say.

People do not realise how just how many healthy animals are being put down on a daily basis – makes me so sad that I can help but a few. 

I’m very sad at present as Bruno (April cat – handsome boy) has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer – only a short while to live.  I saved him from being put down as an FIV – a year later he will die from cancer – makes all this FIV business such nonsense. 

All good wishes for 2005.

Barbara

For details of Catwork’s rescue work with FIV positive cats and for how to get one of their beautiful diaries, please see Resources section at end of newsletter. Ed.

Tribute to Flloyd

I am no stranger to grief as I lost both of my parents in my twenties.  However, this feels different.  Just before Christmas I lost my little boy – Flloyd – he was a 10 year old feral cat.  My sister and I rescued the family from the wild and were able to tame the two kittens that survived – Lily and Flloyd.  Flloyd’s mom and other relatives are still fed by my sister although they will not come into her house.  I hand reared Flloyd from a few weeks old and watched him grow in confidence.

His death has left such an enormous hole in my life and even though my boyfriend misses him too I don’t feel as though anyone else understands exactly how I feel.  I had to have him put to sleep which I cannot come to terms with.  I spent over £500 on him at the vets (that I couldn’t afford) only to discover that nothing could be done for him.  I knew he was suffering and couldn’t bear to see such a once strong and proud cat turn into a week and feeble animal.  At the moment I can only remember the period he was ill – does it get any better? …..

….. It would be really kind of you to remember Flloyd in your newsletter – he never did like having his photo taken and I respected that so I really treasure the one I sent to you – it was taken in my bedroom with my phone.  My spirit must have known that he wasn’t going to be here for much longer as this was taken just before he fell ill…..

….. I’m not ready to go out to his grave yet, but I shine my torch on it every night from my bedroom window and say goodnight to him.

Karla – Flloyd’s broken hearted mom

 Flloyd

 When a pet passes away

“The loss of a pet can be upsetting.  For some, having a pet die is like losing one of the family.  Often the animal was their only companion.

Now Pet Bereavement, the area’s first counselling service for people who have lost their pets, has been set up in Luton. The organisation covers the Herts, Beds and Bucks area and provides emotional support, helps customers organise pet burial or cremation and orders keepsakes, such as a plaque or ashes box.

Founder Maxine Sinclair said:  ‘Some pets live for 14-18 years and obviously people become very attached to them.’

Pet Bereavement is based at The Spires, Adelaide Street, Luton.  They can be contacted on 09068 020164 (calls cost 60p a minute).”

Luton & Dunstable Herald & Post:  3.2.05

A Christmas Story

Alison and Patrick live in a village near Tonbridge; they foster cats for ‘Caring for Cats’ (details in Resources section) – a registered charity which rescues, looks after and re-homes ‘unwanted’ cats.

As Christmas approached, Alison thought it would be a lovely idea to have a cats’ Christmas tree in their enclosed garden and to invite people to write messages about pets who were in their thoughts at that time.  These messages would then be used to decorate the tree.

Some years ago, a very special cat called Jessica came to live with Alison and Pat on Christmas Eve and they always called her the “brightest star in the sky”.  Very sadly, Jessica passed away last year and so it was decided that in tribute to her the messages should be written on stars.  Alison and some friends set to and made lots of stars, decorating them with all kinds of embellishments and another friend bought a beautiful tree.

At the beginning of December, Alison, Pat and their friends held a ceremony when they read out all the messages before hanging them on the tree.  They also hung some lights and cat wind-chimes on the tree and sang carols.  It was a very still, cold night but to their surprise the wind-chimes and stars started moving like there was a breeze and one of their friends commented that it was as if the spirits of the animals were there with them all.  A neighbour was watching out of her window and she said that the stars were all twinkling so it really does seem that something very magical was happening that night.

The tree is still up at the time of writing and will remain so until it drops but we will all remember the first cats’ Christmas tree in Paddock Wood.

Reproduced with kind permission from Caring for Cats http://www.caringforcats.org.uk/index.html

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