05/19/2017
APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG POST - WE OFTEN RECEIVE LETTERS OF GRATITUDE FROM ADOPTERS, BUT WE WANTED TO SHARE THIS ONE VERBATIM.
Dear Jo and Peter: I have been meaning to write this letter to you since I talked to you a while ago after many, many years.
I called you then and am now writing you and I hope you will forgive my tardiness in getting in touch with you via e-mail.
You and your incredibly generous hearted Bill Foundation have played a major part in my family for many years and I wanted to thank you.
I first adopted a pup from you named Dublin, exactly when I don't recall the exact date. But he was precious and became an integral part of my life and was on his way to being my service dog. Unfortunately, after a bit he began to have some physical problems and the vet determined that he had cancer. I was devastated. However, I was also very impressed with your reaction and your actions: You paid a great deal of money, which you probably do not remember giving, so that Dublin's last days would be most comfortable for him. He was so loving and he was so happy in his last days. On top of that, an action I never expected, when I had Dublin in his last day to be crossing over the Rainbow Bridge (I do NOT like that term "putting to sleep"), you, Jo, showed up and stayed with me until his last breath was gone. In addition, you had him cremated, at your expense, delivering his ashes and little footprint to me with as much care and loving as you had actually delivered Dublin.
It was my decision that I could not go through that grief again, having just the year before lost my two cats, Old Age and Pretty Baby after almost 19 years. My granddaughter at the time was about 10 or 11 and she said to me, "Well, PawPaw, if you adopt another puppy, it will be saving another life."
Without wasting much time, we were in my car and headed to where you had some pups up for adoption. In one cage, all alone, was a guy named Jampo... he frisked around and showed all his attractive trips while we looked and talked to him. When we turned away, he hurried to a far corner of the cage and began to wail at the top of his lungs -- and that was all we needed.
We got Jampo almost 9 years ago and during that time he was my trusted service dog, my constant companion and we loved him very much. He joined in all of the holidays with my daughter, her daughter, my son, his wife and son, bringing great joy to them and me with his loving ways.
This year, early May, Jampo began to limp and ultimately became paralyzed in both of his back legs. The vets determined that he had a spinal disorder with a disc damage and the operation needed was beyond my financial budget, as a senior citizen. We did everything that we were told to do that might help correct this condition.
To give you an idea of my relationship with Jampo, I want to tell you just one story: Whenever I left him alone, which was very, very rare, I always told him where I was going and when I would be back. He always retreated to his favorite "safe" place a chair on the other side of the room from the front door. When he heard the key hit that lock, he rushed to meet me at the door. In his last days of his precious life one day I had to go out and could not carry him in my arms or on my scooter, which I had always done when we went out together. I told him I would be back in about fifteen minutes and he retreated as I left my apartment.
When I returned, I put the key into the lock, heard scratching on the door and, as I opened the door, I could not believe my eyes. On his two paralyzed back legs and his two functional front legs, Jampo had dragged himself, while I was gone, about 20 feet from his favorite place to the front door to meet me as he always had done in the past. My love overflowed complete with sobs and I shall never forget that of him, it is one of my most precious memories and my family and I have millions.
One evening on the 10th of May, he became very ill, and -- though I had nursed him, feeding him with a spoon, and helping to evacuate his bowels and kidneys with my hands, I was frightened that it was time for him to go. A friend picked Jampo and I up, I cradled him in my arms and when we got to the vets, they immediately took him from me. A nurse came out in just a few minutes and told me that they had to put him on oxygen, because he was having labored breaths.
The vet then came in to talk to me and told me that he was in extraordinary pain, the paralysis had spread to one of his front legs, was affecting the other and was headed for his neck. I could bear to know he suffered so much and so I made the decision to let him go. The doctor brought him back to the waiting room, placed a blanket on the counter and then placed my beloved Jampo on it. Looking deeply into his eyes, I told him how much my entire family, the entire building and all the people on the streets of Hollywood loved him and all knew his name. He looked looked directly into my eyes and when I gave the signal to the doctor, he administered the last drugs and Jampo's eyes closed forever.
I can never ever thank you for your love and care with which you treated Dublin, Jampo and who knows how many countless number of adoptees. You always took the greatest care in making sure that there was always a great match... and, believe me, you brought joy to my entire family (and I am not kidding, everyone in Hollywood is in mourning for Jampo) and gave us all almost 9 years of precious memories.
Much love to you both and thank you from the bottom of the LaVallee family's hearts -- including the most important ones: Dublin LaVallee and Jampo LaVallee. No one has ever done a better job than the two of you to find, nurture and love animals more than you until you could transfer their love to people like me.
