Monday the 8th of October: today we are mourning the passing yesterday of Miss Trixie – the smiling, hopeful face of an abuse survivor that finally found love.

As I said yesterday, and have said before, Rosie is incredibly lucky. She was rescued before her internal organs were as damaged as her external body. She continues to improve daily, she embraces every experience with wide-eyed wonder and I feel privileged to be the one to guide and care for her.

I’ve not always been that lucky. Like Miss Trixie’s mom, I have lost my heart to little ones so damaged that we shared only the briefest of moments before they crossed over. That pain and disappointment didn’t deter me and I am certain the pain of Miss Trixie’s passing won’t deter Kristen from taking on another needy soul when she has had time to heal.

Many of you have written to ask why anyone would want to take on a dog like Rosie or Miss Trixie. One of my heroes is Amanda Lollar – the founder of Bat World. She was not a bat enthusiast until she found a tiny bat on the sidewalk one day and, after some soul searching, realized she could not ignore her. Rescuing that little bat gave her so much pleasure that she has gone on to experience tremendous happiness, and tremendous sorrow at times too, saving thousands of little lives.

For me – and I am guessing for most of the folks that take on these animals – at some point I realized like Amanda did – it would hurt much more to think that I could have helped and didn’t.

Why am I writing this? Because I don’t want Miss Trixie’s passing to deter anyone from taking on an animal like her. YES, there is the possibility that he/she might not live as long as you hoped; BUT wouldn’t you rather know that you gave that creature the happiest moments in a life devoid of comfort? Look at some of Rosie’s videos or at the video of Miss Trixie racing around her backyard…how could anyone ever regret providing those moments of bliss?

I am mourning Trixie but I am also angry. I don’t understand how the ASPCA, the SPCA, the HSUS and all those other multi million dollar organizations continue to be so inefficient when it comes to educating people on hoarding/puppy mills and backyard breeding. I don’t understand why they don’t push harder to match up special needs animals with people willing to provide shelter to them. With the money they collect, couldn’t they foot the vet bills and make it easier for people to help?

As a community built on love for Rosie – and the animals like her – we can do more than those organizations can. This week I am going to reach out to everyone I know that is adept in social media and public relations to get some ideas on how we can build a grass roots movement to change the situation.

In the meantime – holidays are coming up and each of you probably has someone in your circle of friends/relatives/co-workers thinking of going to a pet store for a Christmas puppy or kitten. PLEASE STOP them. Direct them to Rosie’s site www.everythingrosie.com or direct them to www.facebook.com/heartsunitedforanimals for some super information on where those pet store animals come from and how their parents suffer. And then help them find a resource for a shelter pet. Your message will be much better received if you provide a solution and not just point out a problem.

Anyway… I will have some new Rosie pics this week. And I thank you for the support you give Rosie, for the support you gave Miss Trixie and for caring about the ones the world is too comfortable just forgetting…

Love to you all,
Cinnamon