Mom's work as good samaritan for IMHA noticed & awarded..- Benefits All our furry friends.. :)

http://thegooddogmacompany.com/good-samaritan-of-the-month/


we were just notified that the company will be making a donation (and a mighty generous one too) to Mica's IMHA Research Fund because of this honor. BowWoW! That means a new team player on Mica's Team, so PAWlease, give some love & support to this fledgling company. It may seem slightly DOGcentric of me, but to that I would just like to say a few things. 1) their hearts are in the right place, so asking you to support their efforts has all of our furry friends front & center, where they belong. I refuse to be faulted for that, but also, 2) a huge THANK YOU, to ALL those that keep what we do in the limelight, which in turn honors Mica, but that the wish we have to find the cure is still PAWsible, and with Hope, we still stand a fighting chance! Also, mirra & I really LIKE what The Good Dogma Company stands for, so if you can help them succeed, which is thanking them on our behalf, we would be much obliged, and we can keep the momemtum of the PAW it forward philosophy they stand for a reality!

As you know, times are harder than they have been for some time. Many of us have suffered in all kinds of ways. Even a small donation given with a big heart means hope toward finding a cure. Please, don't just ssume that someone else is always there so you need not be involved. Many of you know that only a month ago, our Baby, Mirra, lost her little sister to IMHA.
It came on hard and fast, in an otherwise healthy four year old dog. She was with our Mica in less than ten days. We invite you to once again visit us at ecollage.org and from there, PAW haps consider coming over to our Etsy shop, where purchases benefit Mica's Fund too, if an outright donation is not your cup of tea.. There are other links as well, including directly to the contribution page for Mica's Fund!
finally, we received a honor from the Good Dogma Company, so would like to recommend that you take a gander at the really commendable work they have started to do. As dog lovers, their hearts are deFURnitely in the right place kids...
We'd like to invite our pals to visit the Good Dogma Company link too. This is an honor for Mica, but in turn honors ALL of our furry loved ones..
Thank you for your consideration!
With love, from mel, mirra & angel mica

Spay/neuter/adopt day

Status: draft   Date: Feb 28 2012 2:08 pm

Entry Title:
spay / neuter day, maybe it should be called spay/neuter/adopt day

Entry Body:
I'm told it's spay / neuter day, and as many of you know, there are not enough good homes to go around as it is, and some of our furry friends just don't have the simple things in life.. A loving home is every dog / or cat's inherent right. As one of God's Creatures, it should be.

As it is, their lives are already way too short, compared to what most of us people get.
But we can do things to help change that. We can adopt the simplest of concepts, such as Spay/ Neuter & Adopt, FUR starters..
Some things simply come naturally, but we know you don't need a biology lesson. We just all need to do something to try and make a difference. We all won't pick the same things to do, which is PAWsome really, because there are SO many things in life out there that need fixing, so latching onto something worth your time is a good place to begin.
This is a site for the Love of Dog, so that's a good place to begin. (for our Dogster diary)
Animals need our assistance at times, just to get a fair shake in life. We created the concept of "companion animals" to suit our own selfish needs as it stands, but many of us fall short in how we allow millions each year to be put down, or starve or just suffer needlessly, because of human neglect, or worse.
We ask the world of them, when it suits our needs, but can we all live with what we ignore, day in and day out? There are many unsung heroes out there, volunteers, who work for the benefit of companion animals, for little or nothing, but the oPAWtunity to try and make a difference, for one, or many. They don't do what they do for attention, and all the ones we know don't get paid either, but their numbers are few and far between, really, by comparison to the numbers of people that exist.
What will it take, for the rest to get involved? I don't know, though I wish I had the answer. We can all do something, albeit making a donation to a worthwhile cause, on behalf of animals, yes, those of us that can't lift a finger of labor can certainly use a pen or swipe a credit card. But will you? It's more my experience, that the answer is no, not unless there is something in it for you. Yes, it's crass, but having spent more than a half decade raising awareness and funding for veterinary research on behalf of my Angel Mica's IMHA Research Fund, I can tell you it's almost a lost cause. It's like speaking on deaf ears for the most part. It's downright frustrating. But because they are worth it, we keep trying to help improve their lives.
Yes, times are hard. They have also gotten harder of late. Yet, we still find ways to live in luxury, with excuses about things that perhaps just don't pertain to us. I have heard it all, and then some. I have also seen that it is generally those who have the least to give are also the most generous of all. In some ways, that reminds me a little about animals themselves. They don't have things that they can share, really, but deep down, they have the ability to share the most of all, just themselves. How much I have learned, and will likely never have enough to pay back what I have been so blessed with either. Understanding that we all have our causes, and interests, and needs. Most of us cannot do it all on our own, but when we share the burdens in life, we spread out what we share, which makes everyones burden lighter. When we sit back, and do absolutely nothing, all we are doing is making another persons load that much more to bear.
So do something. Even the smallest act of kindness will be noticed by someone. It feels good to play a part in life, even when it seems that no one will notice. I know the one least likely to expect something from me today is my dog, Mirra, and yet, if I was completely honest, I would tell you the one in life I would put first is this one. The one that relies on me most, for everything, is also the one that would sit patiently for me to finish this, to just be with her. We don't even have to be doing anything, and I suspect that she likely thinks even that is something else.
This one truly deserves better, but she accepts me the way I am anyway. No matter my mood, or level of engagement, she's ready, willing and waiting. For me. And as usual, it is I that is truly the lucky one. Try and look at it from their perspective now and then, and think about something that you can do, that might enrich the life of someone less fortunate, someone that maybe just needs a family to love, perhaps a little obedience training, or maybe just a little attention?
Again, its a day someone chose to mark a calendar, not to commemorate a holiday, but to raise awareness to a situation that people created, in their infinite lack of wisdom, that we have created some major excesses, and even one too many that exceeds our ability to love and care for makes for a real tragedy, and collectively, our problem to deal with. For those that know and whose lives are blessed by having a companion animal share yours, I don't have to tell you what you'd be missing. You already know that. Yet those that not yet or sadly, who may never know the joy and love that this sort of friend can bring you, open yourself up to the PAWsibility.
If I have any regrets in life its that it took me so long to love one up close.
If you are remotely interested in what we do, please visit ecollage.org for starters. Who knows, it may just jumpstart some good ideas all your own. If so, PAWlease, share them with us.
While we are at it, some friends of like mindedness have some excellent thoughts of their own, and we are equally proud to tell you recommend their ideas, especially in PAW it forward.
Their hearts are deFURnitely in the right place.. Do Visit their blog and share something, of yourself on behalf of animals, who are especially deserving, today and every day.

http://thegooddogmacompany.com/

PAWlease pray FUR Sufi

Pawlease, furiends.. Pawray FUR mirra's sister, SUFI, who was just diagnosed after Christmas with IMHA. She is being treated in the San Francisco Bay area, and her mom is beside herself with worry.

Her current pvc is 17.. Poor Sufi is one sick dog.

we really do need a cure, because they still don't know what triggered it... Like so many we hear from this news hit us terribly hard.
Thank you FUR your pawrayers too mates.. We all need them. Pawlease know tht we have our loved ones in ours too.
May we all have good health in the New Year.
LOVE
Mirra, mel & Angel Mica

heavenly wings

Five years ago this afternoon, our sweet angel earned her Heavenly wings. It was not what ANY dog deserved. A creature, as gentle and fearless, loving and fun as one comes. The diseases that took her often strike together, telling the body that your own blood cells should be sought out for destruction.. The worst of them, in the form of IMHA, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, takes your red blood cells, those that carry oxygen, and necessary for all life functions, and makes them explode, inside, until you are literally starved for air. The second, namely immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, attacks the platelets, so your blood literally cannot clot. If you get as simple as a bruise, you literally bleed to death. It doesn't need to leave the body either. You simply go into hypovolemic (meaning low volume) shock, and you are gone.
Couple that with multiple blood transfusions, so many drugs you almost lose track, and a dog you barely recognize anymore after five days of wasting away, unable to eat, so yellow from jaundice you can hardly see through the torrent of hot wet tears.. When you learn the drugs that are being used to keep her alive have caused a severe and life-threatening pancreatitis, and all you can do is force a morphine drip so once in awhile, through the drug-induced sleepiness you glimpse a small glimmer of the dog you love, the girl you recognize, the one that is still trying her best to fight her way back to you, is already gone, while it breaks your heart not knowing what is the right course of action to take is, and never knowing what caused an otherwise vibrant, healthy and in the prime of her life dog that you love with all you have to give..to have to suffer this much! Not knowing where in excess of ten grand in half that many number of days that have elapsed, will even come from and realizing right then and there that she never will come home..

five years later, the tears are still here, and we still need a cure. Lately I wonder why do I bother to do what we do, because it takes SO much time away from the ones I love, especially Mirra.. We Can't do it alone, and the shoulders that bear the weight with us also cannot do it on their own either, but we are not getting though folks. While we have your undivided, I would like to thank those who have given of themselves, on behalf of others, and how much those of you mean to me, who have tried to help us find what we can to help those who are literally dying for a cure.
I sincerely hope you never have to face it, because it may end up being someone you love, and by then, it may already be too late.

five years later and no cure

Five years ago today we awoke to a battle named IMHA.. Within six days, we lost our lovely and (up to this point) very healthy Belgian Tervuren named mica-the wonder pup! You have heard all of this before, and we know, like so many others, how hard times are.. I suppose I never really understood back then, how long finding answers might take, to solve this wretched disease, and get a handle of some kind, that might make a difference for those who are still being diagnosed. But five years later, we are still at it, and again, we come asking for your support. The most recent hardship we heard of is a lovely three year old girl named Annie, who, like mica, is fighting for her life. I miss my angel, and because ours sent us a miracle, in the form of "Mirra", that I might not have made it this far.. But we cannot win without others, and sadly, for all those who do face this tragedy, so few give back to help us try to help others. Please, get involved, if not with what we are trying to do, with something that makes a difference.

We get so little time with the creatures we love & adore in this life as it is.. To be taken away one day short of all they truly deserve is a tragedy and a sin. Hug your loved ones and do what you can. Thanks for your time.rnLove, mel, mirra and angel mica

YAPPY FURth WOOday MIRRA!!

i'll be 4 on 30 MAY 2011.. PAWlease, come wish me well, then get involved to try and YELP!!-help other dogs find LOVING HOMES, as I am so lucky, but also PAWlease, don't FURget about my ANGEL mica, and her quest FUR a cure 4 IMHA..
visit
ecollage.org
and help us .. even a dollar-at-a-time makes a difference. you may not think so, but dollars do ADD UP when put together!!
LOVE
mirra & mel

thanks to all of our LOVED ones, who help make a difference..

(helping my baby spread a gouda word..)

PAWlease consider Mica's IMHA Fund and ecollageArt FUR the- HOWLIdays!!

FOUR YEARS and TWO MONTHS PLUS have passed, since Mica left us, and there is STILL NO CURE for these diseases.. We continue to lose dogs and cats well before their time, and as the humans who love and cherish them, it's killing us while it's killing them!
Won't you PAWlease help us help others?

I know times are "RUFF" everywhere, but IF everyone gave as little as ONE DOLLAR each, it would add UP and begin to mean something.

Recently, we added an ETSY store (an easy way to jump there is through mica's foundation site at:
ecollage.org

The "shop" may give mica's FUND another way to raise awareness and of course, FUNDS that are DESPERATELY needed. We hope that you will consider using this come the HOWLiday season, and spread the LOVE.

Alternatively, we have added PayPal to our repertoire to make a donation.
Here's how:

MANY have written asking HOW TO DONATE to Mica's IMHA Research FUND.

To makes a donation, you may send a check or money order, or use PayPal.
 Using PayPal, log in and click "SEND MONEY."


Enter the email address ecollageArt@centurytel.net
with the amount you wish to donate, and select "PERSONAL."

Then click the reason for the payment. 
Click "continue."


Review the amount, the payment method and shipping address. 
If you want to add a message, please do-(we would need your full name, and mail address- as well as an email- if you want to be in pictures. Rest assured we do not share ANY information with ANYONE!) then click "SEND MONEY."




As mentioned previously, you can contribute by mailing a check or money order to the credit union which manages the fund too. Please make your check or money order payable to
Mica’s IMHA Research Fund and mail to the following address:



USAgencies Credit Union 

attn: Jan D.

95 SW Taylor Street

Portland, Oregon 97205-3305




We appreciate any and all interest in our endeavor.




As a Dogster or Catster member, if you wish to join Mica's Team, we would be delighted to add your pet's badge to Mica's page, as well as our team photo- "The Many Faces of IMHA." The photo consists of those who have the disease, have lost their battle with IMHA, and those who have joined us to fight the war, to ultimately win by finding a cure!

Our sister Margo is now an ANGEL

she took a turn for the worse and is at the ER hospital right now.
mckenna has asked please for good thoughts for margo..
margo is now an angel..
God speed lovely one..

we will miss you so..
catster # 551171

should you wish to pay your condolences..
her sister Whitney and her person, Mckenna- my big sister, could use your love & support..
thank you

Margo has cancer

The oncologist confirmed that sweet little Margo does have cancer at 6pm this evening. We'll add some more details in a little bit, but we were hoping FUR better. The doctor is a terrific woman however and she has Mckenna's confidence, which means a great deal.

That she becomes part of Margo's Team will mean a lot from here on in. She begins chemo first thing Tuesday morning, and her belief is that it will help shrink the tumors in her lungs considerably, making it easier for her to breathe.

Margo has severe asthma- she may be just one more victim of 9/11.

We have no guarantees of course, but with treatment it could give them anywhere from 9 months to 2 years together, yet we are asking God and Angel Mica for more, if PAWsible.

THANK you Daisy Mae, Annie and Pack of 2 footed and Heavenly Angels and Angus The Warrior & his pack, for their generosity in assisting Mckenna (which means so much more than you know). You guys are just terrific friends.

We'd also like to thank Sully & Socks & your pack too for your POP, kind words and encouragement. We'll see that Mckenna gets this as well.
It'll mean a lot to her, and Margo too.

Thank you and God Bless you.

thank you everyFUR & PAWlease give a Yelping PAW

many thanks to the 3 FURiends who came by to give LOVE to an Angel very near & dear to our hearts, on her 4th WINGS anniFURsary. For your kind words and always lending a helping PAW, to us, as well as to others, and with solidarity toward our quest to find a cure for IMHA..

with LOVE, Angel Kiska & clan, Angus the Warrior & family, and Daisy Mae & her pack..
we would also like to THANK Angus, Daisy Mae & Annie, Kissy & clan plus Zeus & pack and Darla Mae FUR gifting too..

we aren't sure why we can't read messages but that must be a dogster issue..

mirra & i wish you every Yappiness & always the best health PAWsible..

Kissy, please love, give mica the biggest hug you can Angel, for mirra & her mom today..
tell her we miss her each & every day and we look forward to the day we can be together again.