A profound time
love, loss, light, celebration and gratitude
This last month has been a profound time in our community. One thing that has stood out for me so strongly is the power and magic of the Human-Animal Bond. In all its forms.
We have felt the community response to the death of Steve and Gaia. Last Saturday I attended the memorial service along with other members of our team and community. We were humbled to receive such warm feedback for the care our team provided Gaia in her final moments. Thank you to Georgi, Rachel and Dr Beth. And thank you to our community for donating to both Cherished Pets Foundation and Feed Me Bellarine.
This week we attend the funeral of Les Crampton who died in a house fire along with his sweet dog Sadie, who he had gone back to find. Wendy, who survived, has been a much loved and regular client at Cherished Pets since we opened our clinic in Madeley St in 2018. As we rally to support Wendy, we are reminded of the power of the Human-Animal Bond. People risk and lose their lives to protect their pets. This bond is unbreakable.
We lost sweet Molly .. a very much loved dog in our Foundation’s Home Care Assistance program. We felt this loss deeply so as a team we had a private burial and a small ceremony. Ritual can help ease the pain of loss.
As I write this, the news from Bondi is breaking, as are our hearts. I read a post this morning of a woman who is desperate to find her dog after they became separated in the panic. The reader instantly feels her anguish, against all the horror and loss and terror of this event. I have many Jewish friends and send love to them all through this time. We stand with you. Light a candle for our Jewish community.
We are heading into the Xmas period with mixed emotions indeed. However, the overwhelming emotion that comes up for me is love and gratitude. Gratitude for our safety, something we must never take for granted. Gratitude for the connections in our community. Gratitude for our team at Cherished Pets who go above and beyond every day to support pets of people everywhere. Gratitude for the power of pets to connect people, build community, bring love, joy and comfort and make our lives so much better.
This magic was felt in the room on Wednesday 3rd December when we celebrated 10 years of Cherished Pets Foundation. Just as the event began I received news that my 93 year old father had died, a few hours before my return to Adelaide to resume our bedside vigil. Dad was instrumental in me becoming a vet, and starting Cherished Pets. To be in that extraordinary moment was surreal. In fact, it was an out of body experience. Yet I felt compelled to stay at our celebration, I wanted to stay .. and it was the magic of the energy in that room that carried me. We are all connected and it is our deep love and appreciation of the Human-Animal Bond that binds us.
The end of year is here, and my next adventure begins. On the 4th January I am heading off on my Churchill Fellowship - and will be away for three months. I will start with two weeks rest with my daughter in Edinburgh before travelling to England, Scotland, Amsterdam, Canada and the USA. I have over 40 meetings scheduled across 8 weeks with incredible organisations and individuals who are operating at the intersection of social and veterinary services. My intention is to gain information, insights and ideas to bring back to Australia to inform the future direction of our social veterinary service and this emerging sector in Australia.
My deadline for this blog is upon me and I have more I’d like to say .. but we will wrap this post here. Please subscribe to my Substack and follow my upcoming adventure.
My advocacy work is self-funded, so if you can offer a paid subscription I would be very grateful too :)
In love and gratitude and light,
Lissi