A Sandpiper to Bring You Joy She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach, a distance of three or four miles, whenever the world begins to close in on me. She was building a sand castle or some thin...
Friends Twenty-one years ago, my husband gave me Sam, an eight-week-old schnauzer, to help ease the loss of our daughter. Sam and I developed a very special bond over the next fourteen years. It seemed nothing that happened could ever change that. At...
The Deer and the Nursing Home The deer had been struck and killed by a car. A passing motorist on the narrow mountain road saw a slight movement and stopped. Huddled beside the dead deer was a fawn with the umbilical cord still attached. I dont suppo...
The Rare Mongolian Rabbit Perhaps the frequency with which it so often happens nowadays should have lessened the pain；misery does love company, after all. But hearing that my husbands job would bephased out was unforgettable and shocking. John, my...
Becky and the wolf With all her big brothers and sisters off to school, our ranch became a lonely place for our three-year-old daughter, Becky. She longed for playmates. We promised to buy her a puppy but in the meantime, pretendpuppies popped up nea...
The Woman Who Took Chickens Under Her Wing Minnie Blumfield never lost her enthusiasm. She believed that with age came courage, vision and a true appreciation of life--all life. Thats why, at the age of eighty-six, Minnie became the sole caretaker of...
The Gift of Subira Forty miles north of Los Angeles，there is a wildlife preserve called Shambala．With a raw beauty reminiscent of Africa，gigantic brown－rock outcroppings lay randomly dispersed throughout the sprawling land of the preserve．S...
Heartstrings People spend their whole lives searching for love．I was no different．Until one day I decided to look in the cages at the local pound．And there was love，waiting for me． The old dog was considered unadoptable．An under－weight...
The Yorkshire Christmas Cat My strongest memory of Christmas will always bound up with a certain little cat．I first saw her when I was called to see one of Mrs．Ainsworth dogs，and I looked in some surprise at the furry black creature sitting bef...
When Snowball Melted Lovebirds. Thats what all our friends called us when we first married. I guess Don and I deserved it. Money was tight because we were both full-time students, working to pay our way through school. Sometimes wed have to save up d...
Soul to Soul I worked at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital as a counselor in the Changes Program. We help people deal with the experience of losing a pet, whether through illness, accident or euthanasia. One time, I had a cli...
The language of the Heart Soapy Smith is a twenty－four－pound calico rex rabbit．A rex rabbit' s coat lacks the stiff guard hairs of other breeds，resulting in a fur texture that is as soft as a cloud．People look startled when they first touch...
Is Holly Working Today? For Holly and me，it started with a stray kitten．Abandoned in the harsh winter weather，she huddled in a ball on the front steps of our building，an elementary school for emotionally disturbed children where I provided th...
The Bryce Canyon Situated in Utah State，the Bryce Can yon is one of the National Parks in the United States of America，of which many stories were told，here is one of them． Before there were any lndians，the Legend People lived in that place，...
Kissing The Bride Western brides have been kissed as part of the wedding ceremony since the days of the Roman empire．Among engaged Roman couples，the kiss was a legal bond，the public certification that the union had taken place symbolically；if...
