I apologize my friends for this long missive, but everything is so quick and fast today, I wanted to take a moment to remember a loved one that passed today.
In 2005, this poor little girl was loose in a field for months in Winslow Township, South Jersey where I live. She was thin and gaunt and could not be caught.
Winslow Animal Control could not catch her either so I called Marion Churchill at Compassion for Camden since we did not have a cage large enough to trap a dog this size nor did we have the funds to purchase a dog trap. Compassion for Camden purchased a dog crate for NJAFA that we still have. We set the trap in the field and Sharon and Lee from Winslow Animal Control and me (the new girl in town) caught this poor hungry starving mastiff. I remember the day well seven years ago.
I then called Ms. Lucie Fainsbert from Mastiff Club of America
Lucie took this poor emaciated creature and asked what should we name her. We should name her after you Lucie said . No Kathy is a horrible name for a dog. What is your middle name? Sue, I replied.
That’s it, she shall be Suzie.
Over the past seven years because Suzie could not be adopted due to health issues, Lucie kept her as her own. Over the years, we have followed Lucie and Suzie from Princeton NJ through their journey of rescuing other mastiffs and Lucie’s book, “Heal My Broken Heart”.
Through the years, Lucie has helped us through thick and thin, placing and rescuing the large mastiff breeds that people cannot or do not want.
Tonight, we received this message.
I’m writing with tears in my eyes and a terrible emptiness in my heart. Our dear Susie is gone. It never gets any easier no matter how many dogs you have to help over the Rainbow Bridge. We gave Susie the best life we could and she in turn gave us much love. Her face grew gray as did her feet, but she kept going until she couldn’t anymore. She must have been 11 or 12 yo. Thank you for bringing her into our lives, Kathy. We will miss her.
May you rest in peace, dear Susie.
Lucie
Sweet dreams “Sue Sue”…This old lady will see you soon.
Kathy McGuire