She came into the world with a dog
constantly under her crib while she was sleeping and by her side when she wasn't.
Her love of nature and animals got stronger as she grew up. An injured bird, a lost
dog, an abandoned dog (tied to a tree), a dog "removed from its chain in the dead of
night", a dead cat on the road.... immediately turned her into the caretaker.
Whatever she was doing, wherever she was going, wherever she was, whatever her time
restraints and no matter the time of day or night, her compassion and love of
animals called her.
One
night, she and I were out for a night-time walk. The night was black except for some
street lighting. She spotted a toad frog in the middle of a busy road. Without
thought of her safety, she had to protect the frog from getting hit by a car. She
ran to the middle of the road to stop the oncoming cars, and allowed the frog to
safely get to the other side.
As a
young adult, after reading my first PETA magazine, meat never touched her lips again.
She became a very loyal vegetarian and never waivered even on special occasions.
She could never pass a CNIB donation dog without making a contribution.
Always on the alert, to educate co-workers and friends on their dog's needs, she never
missed an opportunity if she felt the dog wasn't properly taken care of.
At age
25 she finally got her own dog that an older couple didn't want anymore. She changed
her name to Gucci. It was the love of her life and she was so proud of her. It
was on that fateful day of September 21st that she was killed, by another driver, while
driving from Vancouver to Oliver to pick up Gucci from her grandma and grandpa's.
They had been dog-sitting while she was holidaying in Mexico with her husband.
Being
my only child, she is sadly and painfully missed but I know that wherever KELLY is she
will be safekeeping animals forever.
Love...
her mom, Diane |