Meditation Garden (Memorial)

Baxter is a sweet Puggle, which is a Pug/Beagle cross, who has pelvic limb paralysis from an unknown cause (perhaps from jumping off a couch). His owners found it necessary to surrender him because they could not manage him anymore. Luckily, he gets around great with or without his wheelchair and has developed front legs that rival Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. Baxter loves to play and run after a ball. He is also another enthusiastic greeter with visitors.

Grandpa Louis came to us as a foster from Big on Beagles. He was named after Country Music Hall of Famer “Grandpa Louis Marshall Jones,” born exactly 100 years ago, who was a banjo player from Niagara, Kentucky, and a cast member on Hee Haw! Louis is strong willed and a loner, who will howl if another dog tries to lay on his bed with him. He needs his space and if anyone stands too close to him, he will also howl. On the flip side, he will plop himself down on any bed he chooses, no matter who has already claimed it. From years of living in a kennel, he walks with small, quick steps, which looks as though he’s walking on his tippy-toes.

We lost our sweet Carlton Snoop Dawg last weekend. We had been fostering him since July 2013 for Big on Beagles. Marna could not have said it better;

Our Carlton. Our funny, bow-legged beagle from Ottawa, still so young at approximately 10 years old, could no longer carry himself on those wonky legs. He was our Tiny Tim. We wanted to fix him but we couldn’t in the end.
And now his little spot on his favourite blanket at Sheba’s Haven is empty. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we want.

JThe day you hope will never come, came today. We kissed our Jerry Maguire for the last time; he went so peacefully. Jerry came to us on October 9, 2010; we were fostering him for Big on Beagles. I appreciate the special tribute Marna, founder of Big on Beagles has written about our Jerry.

He wasn’t exactly a football star. Never enough meat on the boy to be a Quarterback. He preferred the sidelines, cheering on the team while sitting on the lap of one of his many admirers while gulping down a ballpark frank…if he could get his paws on one.

Jerry was scooped up off the streets near Belleville by the folks at the Quinte Humane Society exactly 5 years ago. He instantly won their hearts. Jerry had a way with that, despite his fish breath. He had an effortless way with making you fall in love with him, plain and simple. Maybe it’s partly in the way he would crawl into your arms while purring like a kitten. Maybe it was in the way he trusted you completely within seconds of meeting you. Maybe it was just those eyes.

Jude Paw came to Sheba’s Haven as a stray from the Mississauga area, and is being fostered for Big on Beagles. Red, as we call him, is a very, very affectionate dog who greets everyone with joyous enthusiasm. Judy, our other nickname for Jude, has had two surgeries for a perineal hernia, which has since returned. Unfortunately, his heart is not in good enough shape to withstand more surgeries.

Synjyn, our sweet fellow, is the Haven’s mascot. We wanted a healthy puppy to be a friend to the Haven’s palliative dogs, but Synjyn has developed seizures. He’s not food oriented, but becomes very focussed on his favourite ball, which he sleeps with. At one time, we had rescued a 15-year old wolf that had trouble walking. Synjyn was always there to comfort him. He’s very smart and knows his commands, but does exactly what he wants. He is very reliable in testing the personality of another dog for, say, aggression; he will protect himself and fight back. Being very gentle and wise, he would never start an incident himself.

Yukon was an old soul when he came to us in the spring of 2014. He enjoyed investigating the back yard and liked watching the world go by in the front yard. Yukon passed on, gently, with Bill and I by his side.

We lost our Toula last week. Her body just finally gave out since her diagnosis May 2014 at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Toronto. They found spots on her spleen which they assumed was tumors. Since her liver was a quarter of its normal size it was not feasible to do any type of surgery to confirm.

Toula came to us on 28 September 2013 from the Burlington Animal Shelter. She had been a stray and they were thinking about 10 years old. Toula was always happy and very friendly. She would greet you at the door, her tail wagging. Always ready to play with a toy in her mouth as she bounced around you. There is definitely a void here at the Haven without our boisterous Toula.

RIP Sidney