Glenda,
As usual, I think that Wendy always states things
perfectly. I've been
reading your story, but I've been unable to think of
what to say. I had to
decide what I felt first. Wendy's honesty put me in
the right direction.
I think it's easy to place blame and to point a
finger at you (Glenda). I
was saddened and confused about the circumstances
and why things happened
the way they did, but I think that I am not above
reproach. I live with the
guilt of how I mistreated a kitty and a dog in the
past. Just like Wendy, I
am ashamed of my actions. In junior high/high
school, we had a dog that we
didn't give attention to. My mom had 5 girls, a
lousy husband, and we had
trouble taking care of ourselves, so the dog
suffered too. Luckily, we found
her a good home.
Then, as if I didn't learn my lesson, I took in a
kitty when I moved out. I
was not in a good place to take care of another
living being--dealing with a
loss and very sad. I didn't play with kitty, didn't
scoop litter as much as
I should have, just didn't care. Since I didn't
really care so much about my
own life at the time, kitty got left out too.
Luckily, I found someone to
take him after I realized that I was not being fair
to him.
We can all say, "How could you do such a cruel and
senseless thing?!" and we
can all say that we would never do such a thing.
But, can we be sure? I've
come a long way in my understanding of animals,
creation, etc. I've made a
long journey (in my short life thus far) in
appreciating our fellow
creatures, but I wasn't always that way. I wasn't
outright mean, but I was
neglectful and immature. We all have things to learn
and past mistakes to
atone for (be they relationships with animals,
humans, whatever). Some of us
have reached this point by many different
experiences and avenues. While
there is no excuse for what we've done, there's no
reason to dwell on it. We
should acknowledge our mistakes, forgive ourselves
and others, and vow to
make a difference with our lives. We cannot wallow
in despair and regret;
instead we must commit to an improved future--which
you are doing Glenda.
Good for you.
Best wishes,
Melissa
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of wendy
Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 11:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: To Glenda re. Marmalade
Glenda,
I have been reading about you and Marmalade the past
few days and mulling
over all I have read. I can completely see how each
person can feel the way
they do. What happened is horrific. I know all of
us are saddened by it.
Obviously, you have learned your lesson and I can
tell you feel badly about
what happened. I don't want to say something
hurtful or mean, although what
happened to Marmalade, honestly, has made me angry
and sad. However, as it
has been pointed out, this happens every day to
hundreds of animals in the
world. Marmalade is just one. A grass roots
foster/rescue program is
needed, but who among us has the time or is willing
to sacrifice? We live
in a damn rat race. And I do not think that shelter
work is every person's
calling. I am starting up a pet sitting business
and taking care of my
brood, among all the other stuff going on in my
life. Volunteering isn't
part of the mix right now, but I do feel like I'm
doing my part in my
little corner of the world, for now.
I am glad you feel you can come here for help. I
think the people here are
wonderful. Hideyo is very intense. I personally
think she feels things
more intensely than many of us do; that observation
is based on what I have
seen in the past. I think she will come around
again. She's angry and hurt
now, as many of us are, and you are the easiest
target for that,
unfortunately. However, even though you made a
mistake, it was not
intentional, and you were trying to rectify it. We
ALL make mistakes.
Every last one of us. One time, when I was just a
girl, one of our cats (we
had many) attacked my face. I was trying to pet him
and talking to him
really sweet, and he just attacked me and scratched
me up. I was bleeding
pretty good from several places, but my heart hurt
more than my head. He
jumped off the bed and walked off like he was the
cat's meow and I kicked
him in the behind. I was probably 8. He died a few
days after that. He
couldn't pee
and my mom was the type not to waste money on our
pets; she had to make
sure she always had a six pack handy. I have always
felt really badly about
that. In hindsight, it's quite possible that this
kitty had crystals or
already had a UTI. But I'll never know and I choose
to carry the grief that
comes along with the responsibility of a mistake. I
know there are probably
others here who have unintentionally hurt an animal.
I am certainly holding
no grudge against you as I have no room to judge
your mistake. I do hope
that, as others have said, it can be turned into
something good, for little
Marmalade's sake. That is all that can be done now.
Prayers going out for
your heavy heart.
:)
Wendy
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
committed citizens can change
the world - indeed it is the only thing that ever
has!" ~~~ Margaret Meade
~~~
----- Original Message ----
From: glenda Goodman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, August 9, 2007 12:01:23 PM
Subject: Fwd: MARMALADE...THE OUTCOME...
--- glenda Goodman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:59:33 -0700 (PDT)
> From: glenda Goodman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: MARMALADE...THE OUTCOME...
> To: [email protected]
>
> HELLO EVERYONE,
> THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE ADVICE AND SUPPORT.
> THE
> WORST HAS HAPPENED. I FEEL REALLY HORRIBLE RIGHT
> NOW.
> I JUST WANT TO LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW THE WORST
> HAPPENED:
> WHAT I WAS TOLD WAS HE WAS PUT DOWN, BY MISTAKE.
HIS
> PAPER WORK WAS NOT READ. FOR AS OFTEN AS I WENT
DOWN
> THERE AND BUGGED THEM, I GUESS I ASSUMED EVERYONE
> KNEW. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS IN THE 'WILD CAT'
> SECTION...I
> GUESS THE LESSON HERE IS:
>
> EVEN IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE MAKING PEOPLE ANGRY AND
> UPSET
> WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING AN ANIMAL DO NOT BE
> AFRAID
> TO GET IN SOMEONE'S FACE. THE FACT I DID NOT RUB
IT
> IN
