Loving our pets – Meredith and Abbey’s story

This is a story that is circulating Facebook thanks to all the pet lovers there. As an animal lover and a proud “dad” to eleven cats, the story moved me to tears.

I’m sharing this to encourage more people to love animals especially those who have chosen us as their family, and to begin inculcating this love as early as childhood, as the story of Meredith and Abbey shows.

Meredith’s dad tells the story:

“Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.

I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:  Dear God, will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven.

I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog.

I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.

Abbey & Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it.

Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.

That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand.

Meredith opened it.

Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’

Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

“Dear Meredith,  Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.

Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog.

Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I’m easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love, God”

By: Mark Castellano

1Malaysia in action at Selayang Hot Spring

One aspect of our visit to the Selayang Hot Spring every week that I have not mentioned in depth is the spirit of 1Malaysia.

1Malaysia is the ideology that stresses national unity and ethnic tolerance. I think the atmosphere at the hot spring is clearly 1Malaysia in action.

Racial harmony at Selayang Hot Spring

It’s not merely the peaceful gathering of people of various races and of diverse religious background in one place.

We see that every day everywhere in the country.

What’s different here is that it is not the interaction between friends, co-workers or neighbors.

It is the rapport among strangers, freely exchanging ideas and helping each other as though we were all part of the same family, which in a sense, we are. Many gladly extend a helping hand to anyone who needs it.

Today, we had the pleasure of meeting Saiful, who came equipped with a scoop at the end of a very long self-made pole. He used it to reach into the base of the hot pool to extract the sulfur, which he and his family applied on their skin.

All Hana did was ask his wife where they got the sulfur because it was very refined compared to the kind others extracted from another pond. Saiful immediately got up, reached for his scoop and went to get Hana some.

Saiful gathering sulfur

This triggered a wave of requests from the other regulars, which Saiful gladly obliged, sacrificing his time with his family.

One family was very grateful as they needed it for their toddler who had some skin problem which itched a lot. (See pic below)

Toddler covered with sulfur

No one has any documented proof of the benefits of applying sulfur on one’s skin, but as Saiful’s wife says, mud packs and certain natural soaps are used, so natural sulfur should work just as well.

Some regulars claim that soaking their feet in the sulfur spring water has helped rid them of skin problems. I am one of them.

"Men in sulfur"

I have had a couple of dry patches of skin on my left foot for a long time. Never sought any treatment for it as it does not bother me physically.

Without intending to “treat” it at the spring, Hana suddenly pointed out one day that the patches were disappearing.

I guess I can attribute it to the spring water as I have not treated it in any other way.

As always, please treat any claims made on this blog with caution as they are merely the experiences of individuals. Seek medical advice before embarking on any new “treatment”

Will monitor the condition of the toddler. I hope it does help as he’s so young and keeps scratching and causing scars on his cute face and body.

And that’s my hot spring story for this week. Have a great week!

Part 1of our Selayang hot spring experience.

Part 2 of our Selayang hot spring experience.

Humor – Story of 5 Piggies

Another joke to start the week:

After three crop failures in a row, farmer Jones could not pay his loan to the bank. “Give me one more chance,” he pleaded. “Don’t take my farm. We’ll be broke and homeless.”

The bank manager comes up with an idea. “Okay, one more chance, but not with crops. No one fails at pig farming so we’ll finance the purchase of five sows to start you off.”

Your neighbor down the road has a boar and you’ll have to take your sows to him so the boar can service them. In a few months, you should have a bunch of piglets ready for the market.”

Farmer Jones collects the five sows, loads them into his pickup truck, drives to his neighbor’s farm and unloads the sows into the boar’s pen. They then go into the house for a couple of beers.

When enough time has passed, they go back to the boar’s pen and load five happy sows into the pickup. Farmer Jones asks, “What if it didn’t take?”

“That never happens with my boar,” replies the neighbor.

“But how can I tell for sure?”

“Look, observe your sows tomorrow morning. If they’re rolling in the mud, it took. If they’re on the grass, call me.”

The following morning, farmer Jones observes his  sows strolling on the grass. He calls his neighbor who instructs him to bring them back to his place. Farmer Jones rounds them up, loads them into his pickup and takes them to the boar’s pen where the whole process is repeated.

Unlucky farmer Jones has to take them back four times. On the fifth morning, he is so worried, he can’t look. He stalls for half an hour then asks his wife to look. “I hope they are not on the grass, dear.”

“Well, they are not,” says the wife.

“Finally, they’re rolling in the mud!” he exclaims.

“No …”

“Well, what are those fool sows doing then?”

The wife answers, “Four are trying to climb into the pickup. The fifth has managed to climb into the cab and is trying to honk the horn!!”

xoxoxo

Have a wonderful week!

Humor – Lone Ranger’s Last Request

The Lone Ranger and Silver

Did you hear the one when the Lone Ranger was ambushed and captured by an Indian war party?

Well, after his capture, the Indian Chief proclaims, “So YOU are the legendary Lone Ranger! In honor of the Harvest Festival, you will be executed in three days!”

“Before I kill you, I will grant you three requests, one for each day. What is your first request, Lone Ranger?”

The Lone Ranger asks to speak to his horse. The Chief is amused but agrees and Silver is brought in. The Lone Ranger whispers in Silver’s ear, and the horse gallops away.

Later that evening, Silver returns with a beautiful blonde. As the Chief watches, the blonde enters the Lone Ranger’s tent and spends the night.

The next morning, the Chief tells the Lone Ranger he’s impressed. “You have a fine and loyal horse, but I will still kill you in two days. What is your second request?”

The Lone Ranger again asks to speak to Silver. Again, Silver gallops away into the horizon. Later that evening, he returns with a voluptuous brunette, who also spends the night in the Lone Ranger’s tent.

The Chief is even more impressed. “You are a man of many talents, Lone Ranger. What is your last request before I kill you tomorrow?”

This time, the Lone Ranger asks to speak to Silver … alone.

Silver is brought to the Lone Ranger’s tent while the Chief waits outside, curious about the final request.

Once alone inside the tent, the Lone Ranger grabs Silver by both ears, looks him square in the eye and says, “Listen VERY CAREFULLY…”

“For the last time, I said … BRING POSSE!!”