August 2020
Dear Elephants, Humans and Birds,
I am sorry for the late newsletter (blame Matt) but this has been a horrible month for me. My dog, Opie, my beautiful 7
1/2 year old mixed hound dog, got sick and died. We were back and forth with him to a specialist hospital in Clark
Summit, Pennsylvania, but upon taking him there for the last time, he died in the car. The veterinarian there thought he
threw a clot. There was a lot of conjecture and all kinds of tests done, but nothing truly definitive was decided as to why
he died. It is possible that he had cancer in his spleen. He had gotten fully better and was fine when he took him home.
We were supposed to wait a few months and then have anther ultra sound done on his abdomen, but he had another
episode like the one he originally had and died in the car on the way back to PA. They performed CPR on him, but it did
not work. We were told that CPR is not very effective on dogs, but they tried.
His absence in the house is sorely felt. He was a very big presence. He looked all hound, but his mother was a mixed
great Pyrenese and he weighed more than 107 pounds.. He was nutsy and very, very noisy, but he was sweet as sugar.
He only listened to me when he wanted to, but I am a terrible trainer. My dogs train me, rather than the other way
around. Edison, my little sealyham terrier, is lost without him. They were attached at the hip and Edison followed him,
slept next to him, played with him and adored him. He was really Edison's big brother and Edison is depressed and is
totally different without him. He lost a lot of his "happiness" Edison was always the happiest dog I have ever had and
now that is gone. We miss Opie so much, it happened so fast. Dogs live in your heart and their absence hurts like hell.
The birds and cats are good. One of my chickens, Sophie, has cataracts in her eyes and I took her to Cornell University
to be examined for it. She is going for a cataract operation as soon as I hear from them with an appointment. I don't
want her to be blind, so I am doing everything I can for her.
We have not had meetings since March, so we are going to try something for September. Crystal Reed, from Melky Bird
Rescue, who was going to be our Anniversary speaker, is going to present to us at a Zoom Meeting. I will let everyone
know the evening of the event and hope you can all join us. Pat will be the event administrator and she will tell everyone
what to do to be part of this. It is very easy; even I can do it. This will bring us back together and I will try to get such a
meeting done for us every month.
I wish everyone well and hope to see everyone soon.
Oh, I learned that Fritha, the elephant, died too. It has been the month from hell.
RICHIE
I am sorry for the late newsletter (blame Matt) but this has been a horrible month for me. My dog, Opie, my beautiful 7
1/2 year old mixed hound dog, got sick and died. We were back and forth with him to a specialist hospital in Clark
Summit, Pennsylvania, but upon taking him there for the last time, he died in the car. The veterinarian there thought he
threw a clot. There was a lot of conjecture and all kinds of tests done, but nothing truly definitive was decided as to why
he died. It is possible that he had cancer in his spleen. He had gotten fully better and was fine when he took him home.
We were supposed to wait a few months and then have anther ultra sound done on his abdomen, but he had another
episode like the one he originally had and died in the car on the way back to PA. They performed CPR on him, but it did
not work. We were told that CPR is not very effective on dogs, but they tried.
His absence in the house is sorely felt. He was a very big presence. He looked all hound, but his mother was a mixed
great Pyrenese and he weighed more than 107 pounds.. He was nutsy and very, very noisy, but he was sweet as sugar.
He only listened to me when he wanted to, but I am a terrible trainer. My dogs train me, rather than the other way
around. Edison, my little sealyham terrier, is lost without him. They were attached at the hip and Edison followed him,
slept next to him, played with him and adored him. He was really Edison's big brother and Edison is depressed and is
totally different without him. He lost a lot of his "happiness" Edison was always the happiest dog I have ever had and
now that is gone. We miss Opie so much, it happened so fast. Dogs live in your heart and their absence hurts like hell.
The birds and cats are good. One of my chickens, Sophie, has cataracts in her eyes and I took her to Cornell University
to be examined for it. She is going for a cataract operation as soon as I hear from them with an appointment. I don't
want her to be blind, so I am doing everything I can for her.
We have not had meetings since March, so we are going to try something for September. Crystal Reed, from Melky Bird
Rescue, who was going to be our Anniversary speaker, is going to present to us at a Zoom Meeting. I will let everyone
know the evening of the event and hope you can all join us. Pat will be the event administrator and she will tell everyone
what to do to be part of this. It is very easy; even I can do it. This will bring us back together and I will try to get such a
meeting done for us every month.
I wish everyone well and hope to see everyone soon.
Oh, I learned that Fritha, the elephant, died too. It has been the month from hell.
RICHIE