Henry the Miracle Kitty - the Power of Prayer!

This is my friend, Henry.  You will love his story.

If you never believed in miracles, you might after you read Henry's story. When my friend Henry was on vacation with his parents early last fall, he got very sick.  His parents immediately took him to their vet upon their return, and Henry was put on a steroid and an antibiotic for a few weeks and had a few more followup visits to his doctor. It was decided that poor little Henry should have an ultrasound and a colonoscopy! His vet then discovered that Henry had a large mass on the outside of his colon, and it was spreading; a biopsy sadly indicated that the mass was cancer. The doctor was shocked and Henry's parents were devastated to hear this sad news; after all, their Henry was only 3 years old.  Since the mass was restricting Henry's colon so much, he was given 3 months to live. Henry was to be kept on his meds along with an additional antibiotic to try to clear up the inflammation along the inside of his intestine.  This would keep him comfortable.

Here's where the miracle starts! After that last appointment about 6 weeks ago, Henry's mom started praying fervently for him. In her own words: "When I fed him, when I held him, when I gave him his medicine, when we napped and when I just generally looked at him, I prayed for him. With every syringe of medicine (3 of them 2x a day), I would tell Henry that this was magic juice and was what God was going to use to help heal him. 

 So..........

Henry started gaining weight.  He had been down to 6.5 lbs.(Henry never was a large boy, like some of my more robust feline friends!); he was now up to 8.6 lbs!!!!!  He was pooping everyday, and had the most normal poops he had ever had in his life.  So, when his parents recently took him to the vet for yet another ultrasound, this time the doctor returned shaking his head not in sadness, but in bewilderment, announcing,  "It's gone! The mass is TOTALLY GONE!"  He showed Henry's parents the ultrasound and said he looked everywhere for it, and it was totally not there. Well, Henry's mom started jumping up and down doing a happy dance, just like I did yesterday when I heard this news.  The doctor had no explanation.  That's when Henry's mom said that she had been praying for Henry every day since his diagnosis. 

Can you believe it???????   His mommy and daddy were so happy.  I am so, so happy, too.  Henry still has some thickening in his intestine, and the doctor thinks it is a  food related allergy, so they are working on that. That happens to humans, too....did you know that?

Henry's mom thinks that God had to heal him cause He was tired of her bugging him!  Maybe that's true; you can be the judge of that.   All I know is that Henry is a miracle kitty and there is power in prayer!

                Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all of you!

 

Lucky Shamrocks!

I can't believe I gave out over 104 lucky shamrocks this week; I probably could have given out 50 more--but I ran out.  Daddy said we should keep a 'spread sheet', whatever that is, on how many little prizes we make and give, so we know how many to make for the next holiday.  I guess that will be a good idea once I know what a 'spread sheet' is.  Anyway, I promised I would tell you about my one friend at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center.

Let me set the stage.  Mom and I always start on the fourth floor and work our way down to the lobby and gift shop where I do tricks and then just greet people.  On the fourth floor, my first visit is Arizona Oncology where I do my tricks in the reception room and then go to the infusion room where I meet, greet and entertain from one to twenty patients receiving treatment.  Yesterday as I walked down the hallway, I heard, "Oh, it's Zoe. I am so glad you're here; you always make me so happy."  The sad thing was I am not sure who she was because she had a mask over her face, but I must have seen her before because she certainly knoew me.  So, I ran right up to her, but jumped in the infusion chair next to her.  As she petted me and told me again how happy she was for my visit, mom gives her one of my lucky shamrocks with my picture on it.

As she looked at it and thanked me (not my mom), a nurse's voice came from the lab room, "Rip off that mask, Mary; your numbers are great  - 40,000!"  Well, she literally ripped off the mask with one hand, flung it on the floor, signaled for me to jump into her lap, kissed me on the head  and said, "Oh Zoe, see.  Your lucky shamrock already did its thing; you are God's little angel in fur."  Sigh.....Mary made my day and mom's, too.

I continued on my visits and was thanked for all of my shamrocks; I ran out by the time I got to the second floor!  I guess I will start on the second floor when I am giving out Easter Eggs in a few weeks, or better yet, my 'spread sheet' will tell me what I need to know!

 Advice for today:

• Plan ahead
• Don't be caught short
• Use a spread sheet

I Love to Read (and be read to...)

This past weekend I went to my first book fair in Tucson, Arizona.  It was amazing!!!  There were 400 authors there, and I got 4 books autographed to me, Zoe the Therapy Dog.  Reading is very important and there are even organizations where therapy dogs like me help children with reading like Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.).  It is a very interesting program that is spreading throughout the country at local libraries.  You should see if your library has this special service.  I love to read and be read to... here are some pictures of me with some of my favorite books.

Coated with Fur - a Vet's Story is by Kristen Nelson - you will love it!!!
You can learn much from her blog, too.

My heart skipped a beat when mom read about Sugar and her surgery...I didn't like the Elvira snake chapter too much, but you might!

 These are my autographed books.  Mom likes the illustrations - I think she is thinking about writing and illustrating a book about ME!

This book, Cats on a World Wide Quest was written and illustrated by mom's friend, Deb Kress.  Check back soon for more information and pictures about this book!

Here is my advice for today:

• Parents - read to your children and pets.
• Children - there is something magical about the world of books -- as Dr. Seuss said, "Oh the Places You'll Go!!"
• Get veterinary advice on Dr. Nelson's Veterinary Blog. 

Buckle Up for Safety!

Here I am buckled up in my harness in my secured car seat ( in the back seat behind the passenger seat.  I always have full view of my mom!

After reading a friendly posting on Facebook, I just had to write this blog entry, and I'd like to star with a  few rhetorical questions.  (My vocabulary is quite good!)

One of my many harnesses

• Do you wear a seat belt in your car (as a passenger and/or a driver)?
• If you have children, do they wear seat belts if they are of the correct weight and height?
• If you have small children are they in a restrained car seat?
• Is your small child's car-seat  properly secured in the  back-seat? 

Safety first-fashion second!

If you answered yes to even one of these questions, then I have one more very important question:

Why should it be any different for your "fur-child"?

I am not promoting a particular crate, doggie car-seat, harness or restraint; I am promoting "travel safety" for you and your pet-family member. From all the articles I read, a secured crate is by far the safest type of travel.  Next in line, is some type of  body harness or my favorite ( because I am safe, stylish and can see out the window  AND my mom), a secured car-seat with your pet in a harness. We, pups, need to be secured;  "Just like a human in a car accident, a seat belt will help to protect your pet from smacking the windshield or flying out of the car in the case of a collision. A seat belt will also keep your pup from hitting the hard interior of the car and injuring itself in situations where you need to slam on your brakes....in  the case of an accident, an unrestrained 10-pound dog traveling in a car going 50 mph will fly forward with an effective weight of 833 pounds. An 80-pound dog in a vehicle going only 30 mph will have an effective weight of 2,400 pounds — over a ton. (Nicole Pajer, Should Dogs Wear Seat Belts? - Cesar's Way).   

That same article addresses dogs in drivers' laps as well. Whether your dog is restrained or unrestrained in your lap, he or she can be a potential distraction to you, the driver, or worse yet terribly injured or KILLED if your airbag is activated.

According to the USA Today, "The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that looking away from the road for only two seconds doubles your risk of being in a crash...(and)

"It's really up to the owner, but people take a gamble when they put their animals in the front seat," says Kristina Dello of Cherry Hill.

My wish is for every state (or country) to have a law requiring animals be restrained for their safety and the safety of their human family and friends.  In Arizona, where I live, that law is "on the books" but not in effect yet.  According to the USA Today article:

"•In New Jersey, under state law, NJSPCA officers can stop a driver they believe is improperly transporting an animal. Tickets range from $250 to $1,000 per offense, and a driver can face a disorderly person's offense under animal-cruelty laws.

•Hawaii explicitly forbids drivers from holding a pet on their lap. In Arizona, Connecticut and Maine, distracted-driving laws can be used to charge drivers with pets on their laps.

•In Rhode Island, Democratic state Rep. Peter Palumbo has proposed legislation to make having a dog in your lap a distracted-driving violation after a complaint from someone who witnessed a driver, whose view was blocked by a lap dog, change lanes."

(Jim Walsh, Phil Dunn and Alescha Williams Boyd)

Please read these interesting articles for more information:

States Unleash Laws on Restraining Pets While Driving  USA Today 

Should Dogs Wear Seat Belts?

Do You Buckle Up When You Drive? 

My advice is simple for today:  If you buckle up, buckle "us" up as well!