Story #1 About Edie
Almost four years ago, I decided to start a blog.
I was still grieving the loss of my dog Shadow. And I was bringing a new puppy into my life. You know her as Honey.
I couldn’t bear the thought of living my life with another dog without making a record of our time together. A blog seemed like the perfect way to honor Shadow’s memory—until a few days ago, her picture graced the header of this blog. And to reflect on life with my new dog.
Those of you who blog know what those early months feel like. You pour your thoughts and feelings into your posts and wonder if anyone is reading them but you.
Eventually I started getting comments. This was one of my earliest:
“Just found your blog today through the Saturday Blog Hop. I clicked because I loved the name—and the blog is great too. Keep up the good work.”
That early comment was by Edie Jarolim, a professional writer who blogged at Will My Dog Hate Me, the guilt-free zone for good dog owners (isn’t that an awesome tagline?). She was the first person to recognize the inspiration for the name of my blog (this and this).
It was the first time Edie gave much-needed encouragement but not the last. I was gratified when she recommended me to follow her as the Pet Travel Contributor at A Traveler’s Library. I don’t think she ever knew how much it meant to me that such a wonderful writer felt I was capable of following in her footsteps.
Story #2 About Edie
The newspaper ad said that a local veterinarian would be talking about pet hospice care at the library. I had never heard of hospice care for pets but it sounded like a wonderful idea to me.
I wanted to learn more.
Listening to the doctor talk was very emotional for me. It took me back to the deaths of my first three dogs. And it gave me a new framework for thinking about end of life care in a whole new way.
The speaker said that the major concern when planning end of life care for our pets should be, “What does it do for our bond?” If an action stresses our relationship, maybe it’s not worth doing. And if it builds that relationship, even if it’s at the very end, that’s a wonderful thing.
I processed what I learned in Strengthening the Bond With Your Animal – Pet Hospice. When I hit publish, I felt shattered. But then I started getting wonderful, caring comments.
The first one was from Edie Jarolim. She told me about a friend whose dog received care from a hospice vet. And because we all recognize that our dogs will live much shorter lives than we expect to, Edie shared her thoughts on helping Frankie when his time came.
It’s a wonderful pet caregiver who faces hard truths early to give herself the best chance of doing the best for her dog in the future.
Story #3 About Edie
Edie started a new project. After discovering that her great uncle owned a kosher butcher shop in the same building where Sigmund Freud saw patients, she started the blog Freud’s Butcher.
I didn’t see Edie around dog blog circles anymore. Her research into her family history took her in new directions. But I put her new blog in my feed reader and enjoyed reading about her discoveries which she wrote about in her usual engaging style.
Offline, Edie’s terrier, Frankie, required a bit of care. He was diabetic and needed regular shots of insulin. Then he developed canine cognitive dysfunction—some call it doggie Alzheimer’s.
She came back to Will My Dog Hate Me to share information that might help others caring for a senior dog. And to bounce ideas off other dog people. But really, when things with Frankie were hard, she wanted to hang with people who understood what she was going through.
When Edie launched Operation Spoil Frankie after her own consultation with a hospice vet, she was surrounded and supported , virtually, by everyone in blogville who had come to know and love her.
And when Frankie passed, Edie looked for a way to help someone else, even in the middle of her grief.
How Knowing These 3 Stories Can Help You Help Dogs
How does knowing these 3 stories about Edie help dogs?
Edie Jarolim has touched a lot of people in the dog blogging community. Many of you reading this now probably have similar stories about how she has encouraged or helped you. And if you do, I hope you’ll share them along with what I’m going to tell you next.
Because it’s time for all the good karma Edie has built up to make a difference in the lives of senior dogs.
Edie has found a wonderful way to give back. She writes about it at Frankie’s Fund: Give Every Dog a Great Sendoff.
Edie has started Frankie’s Fund at Grey Muzzles to raise money to help senior dogs receive hospice help when needed. Grey Muzzles provides support to organizations all over the country who help homeless senior dogs.
Can you imagine what a gift it is for a senior dog who, after losing her home through no fault of her own, finds herself in a loving home for the rest of her days? And even if this dog has medical issues, there’s help to pay for the care she needs?
Edie wants to raise $5,000 by Christmas. Which should be easy if everyone who has been touched by knowing Edie and Frankie gives and spreads the word. And maybe a few of you who aren’t lucky enough to know Edie recognize a great cause when you see one.
Here’s how you can help:
- Give your gift at the Grey Muzzles donation page. Don’t forget to enter that your gift is in honor of Frankie’s Fund and enter Edie’s email “writestf at me dot com” so she gets a notice of your gift.
- Grab the Frankie’s Fund badge for your blog (if you use WordPress, don’t forget to use the custom URL feature to link back to Edie’s blog).
- Share the link to Frankie’s Fund on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, wherever you hang out online.
- If you have a tradition of charitable gifts instead of holiday gifts, consider adopting Frankie’s Fund as your charity.
- And if you’ve been touched by Edie and Frankie, write your own blog post telling us about it and urging readers to give.
I’m heading over to the Grey Muzzles donation page now. Won’t you join me too?
Your Turn: Have you been touched by an experience with a senior dog?
I can’t even begin to tell you what this means to me — partly because I’m so verklempt I can’t see through my tears. In spite of my guilt-free zone, I often feel like a bad person — and an inadequate one. This gave me a bracing slap upside my face, as well as making me cry.
Thank you, thank you, thank you — for your lovely tribute and for promoting Frankie’s Fund. Doing something for other dogs in Frankie’s name is a real antidote to my grief for him.
I love the new look of your blog, by the way. And I’m not just saying that because I feel like I have to live up to my reputation of being supportive.
You’ve been such a leader in the pet blogging community. Particularly for your insistence on being the guilt-free fairy. Whether it’s though a big gesture like the Pet Blogger Challenge or well timed encouragements on Facebook, you work hard to create a guilt-free zone.
Now if you can only create that guilt-free bubble for yourself. 🙂
And thanks for the compliments on the blog. It’s a work in progress. But my husband deserves all the credit.
I guess I have been living under a rock…I’ve never heard of Edie or her blog. Her Frankie’s Fund sounds like a very worthy cause.
Oh, and I knew your reference the very first time I saw your blog title 😉 I love the re-design.
But isn’t that the fun thing about pet blog land? Just when you think you’ve met everyone else, you suddenly find an agility freak with corgis who’s been blogging for years. 🙂
And I’m not surprised you got the Something Wagging reference. I find that corgi people are very literary. Maybe it’s from being exposed to the daily irony of a fast-moving herding dog with surprisingly short legs. 🙂
I’m sitting here, in my favorite chair, crying. Your post brought back memories of my own grief over my little Kissy. And, really, over all the senior dogs — and some that weren’t seniors yet — that have passed away over the last few years. Every time I read of Frankie on Edie’s blog, I cried (and still do) because it reminded/s me of what my poor Kissy went through in her last few months, weeks, and days. And I can SOOO relate to Edie’s feeling “like a bad person…an inadequate [one].” Those feelings still come back to haunt me at times, and Kissy’s 10th anniversary in Heaven is coming up on Thursday night. Maybe that’s why I’m so “anal” about the way Sam spoils Callie, Shadow, and Ducky with the garbage food he eats/sneaks them bites of when he thinks I can’t see. “The little bit I give them isn’t going to hurt them.” Well, that’s what I used to tell myself about some of the garbage food I gave Kissy from time to time, but I really wonder at times how much of that “little bit” added up over the years to cause her kidney dysfunction the last year or two of her life.
I have two charities in mind for this year’s holiday giving: Zuke’s Dog and Cat Cancer Fund, and now Frankie’s Fund via Grey Muzzle. I have to take Callie and Shadow outside before Shadow has an accident; but I WILL take care of those donations today.
I’m always so touched to hear you talk about Kissy. You obviously had such a strong bond with her.
But I hope that you feel hope for the future when you think of Kissy and not regret. We all want to keep our dogs from suffering. But really, all they want from us is to be loved. And you certainly did that for Kissy. And now for Callie, Shadow, and Ducky.
Thank you, Pamela, for the kind words. Yes, I do feel hope for the future when I think of Kissy. My only real regret is not having had her with me longer than the 15-1/2 years. But, she had a good long life and she knew I loved her unconditionally, just as she loved me. In some ways, Callie is a great deal like Kissy — calm and even-tempered, sweet, and quiet yet a little mischievous at times — but more self-confident and a good “other mother” to her two younger sisters.
Thank you for sharing your perspective and for promoting this lovely cause. As I mentioned in a comment on Edie’s blog, a good friend of mine has been “fostering” palliative care dogs for several years with the Nova Scotia SPCA and she is such a wonderful inspiration. I think this tribute to Frankie is just right.
Edie has been a huge source of support over the years and a reason for why I am still blogging after all this time and frustration. She admonished me once for saying I am not a “real” writer. Even though I still don’t think I am, hearing a professional writer say that to me will forever remain in my mind.
Edie has no idea how much she’s meant to lots of bloggers. I’m so glad her words to you keep you writing. Because it’s just not the same when Rescued Insanity goes dark in blogville.
The ill and senior dogs that comes through the Nova Scotia SPCA are lucky to have your friend. She’s giving a wonderful gift.
Great post. I just went and made a donation. It’s always heartbreaking when senior dogs come to our shelter who had to be surrendered. Recently we had a very spry 16 year old dog (16?!) but she found a great home to spend the rest of her days.
Here’s to Edie!
(It must have been hard to take Shadow’s picture off the blog. I know I had a hard time when I switched all of my Abby avatars and what not over to Rita’s pics.)
Yay! Thanks for making a gift.
And my Agatha was happier at 16 than at any time in her life. She was nearly blind and deaf but she was happy. So glad that pup found a good home.
Yes, it was hard to say goodbye to Shadow’s pic. I wonder how much of my reluctance to redesign my blog was because I didn’t want to say goodbye to her image. After all, I have Honey right beside me. 🙂
Glad to know someone else understands.
Edie was the first blogger I ever made contact with, through her Pet Blogger Challenge. It was my first blog hop, and my intro to the people I know treasure as friends.
So I am sharing your post on my wall, because I can’t say it better than you have, and a huge hug to Edie for being an inspiration and support to so many.
Interesting that you said Edie’s (and Amy’s) Pet Blogger Challenge helped you meet lots of your blogging buddies. I’d say the same thing.
BTW, thanks so much for spreading the word. As I noted above, Edie would like to raise $5,000 by Christmas (which would help an awful lot of dogs). I want to keep this in people’s minds as they do their end-of-the-year giving.
Thank you all for your lovely responses — and, especially, the donations that several of you made. In your last comment, Pamela, you mentioned my monetary goal of $5,000 by Christmas. I’ve already collected a nice sum — but need a way to publicize that. So if anyone who is reading this knows a good thermometer (or other icon) plug-in that I can post on my WordPress site to record the progress, I’d really appreciate it.
Edie,
Here are the top-rated plugins I could find. I don’t have personal experience with any of them, though.
http://wordpress.org/plugins/donation-thermometer/
http://wordpress.org/plugins/olimometer/
http://wordpress.org/plugins/charitydonation-thermometer/
And here’s one of my favorite tricks. If you know of a WordPress blog who has posted a thermometer widget you like, enter their URL here: http://whatwpthemeisthat.com/. It will tell you what theme they’re using. But it also names some of their widgets.
I’ll post this over at FB too.
I’ve tried the first two – I think they’re not compatible with the current version of WordPress. In any case, I couldn’t get them to work properly. I’ll check out the third — thanks.
As for the trick — what a great idea! I’ll look into that too.
So beautiful, Pamela. I adore Edie as well, and I’m so glad you wrote this post to honor her and Frankie. Further, I just love Grey Muzzles and their mission. It’s a worthy cause. Thanks for sharing these stories.
Thanks, Maggie. I hope you can share the word of Edie’s campaign. 🙂
Edie’s name is familiar but I did not really know about her or Frankie. What a wonderful cause for senior dogs, and I hope she is able to meet her goal. I made a small donation and also shared your post on Facebook and Twitter.