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June 24, 2007 |
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Akashi
FOUND by Jason Freitag
in Des Plaines, Illinois
Found this on Wolf Road; I thought this was a pretty touching card, especially from the vet.
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Country Wedding August 14, 2007 |
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
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That's really sweet. As someone deeply attached to her pets, I understand how this would be really appreciated.
That is really sweet. I almost want to cry for Michael's loss. <sigh>
I hope they billed him separately.
Our family received something similar from our vet's office after our cat died last month. It was very sweet.
aw that's really nice. at least some people in this world have a heart.
Oh Michael, whomever you are, I'm sorry for your loss. And you too Aerin.
Our vet sent a condolence postcard once but it was way more generic.
We got a letter like that from the vet after our pet rat was put down. It was a very lovely touch.
Hey, i live on Wolf Road!
Obviously it's a really long, long road, and you probably didn't find it anywhere near my house...but that was still neat to see~ Thankyou.
I have seen a number of pets pass on, but never had a vet who was this nice about it.Wonder what kind of animal Akashi was.
Jello makes a good point about the bill...
Dina, Aren't rats the best? I had one in college named Fiona who I still miss.
It's touching because it was obviously written out by hand (not a form letter) by someone who thought about it. Sweet and sincere.
I too like the personal attention given in this handwritten card. The great big Akashi on the right side is touching - good use of imagination. Nice use of color for signatures. Maybe Dr. Krings cared for Akashi for the span of its life.
Why though would the writer "hope" Michael will cherish his memories with Akashi? Michael was obviously a responsible pet owner and we know this because he took Akashi to the veterinarian. I think they could have worded that sentence better.
It is a sad find though. Michael threw away this sympathy card; I doubt it blew out the door with the wind. That could have been his final memory of his beloved Akashi.
On another note, Jason, were your parents horror flick fans or very foreign? Jason Friday has a lot of meaning behind it. I am curious about this!
~HM
i worked at a veterinary clinic for years, and this note brings back lots of memories. the vet finally decided that he didn't want us to write sweet notes in the margin like this one, because it made him feel as though he had to compose a touching paragraph as well. and he didn't want to.
the strange thing is that animals die in groups. we would go weeks and weeks without having to send a card like this, then--*BAM*--three or four patients would die.
How nice of the veterinary staff. I'm always surprised how some people just don't get that losing a pet is like losing a family member. I was wrecked after my dog died in sixth grade, and was crying at school and crap, and no one seemed to get it when I told them why I was sad. And my cat died several months ago, and that was horrible. I remember her sleeping with her big kitten head on my pillow when I was in elementary school (I'm now in my twenties, btw). Anyway, really nice of the vet.
I feel badly that this was lost, but perhaps it was too painful to keep.
I like it when vet's offices do this, it helps make you feel like they cared about you and your pet - and that weren't just a number or a profit margin.
My vet's office does really nice things like this for the loved ones of passed-on-pets.
I love this pet's name too.
My vet also sent me a nice note when my dog died . Please use heartworm medication for your pets ! Heartworms come from mosquitos , which I did not know .
I too think this is an amazingly beautiful thing to send to a grieving pet owner... (I wonder if some nursing homes/hospitals do the same thing for the families of long-term patients?) Its probably 'found' because seeing it hurt so bad. I still cry to this day when I see photos of myself and the family cat Muffy... got her when I was six and she disapeared when I was nineteen. I've hidden all the photos, I hope one day I can hang a few up instead of burying them at the bottom of the keepsakes box.
I wish vets in my city were this nice. It was suggested I leave when they were going to put my pet down! I refused to let him die alone. ab is right, so few people really understand how we feel about our companion animals. Never trust a person who doesn't like animals!
And by the way, "Salt"--go melt. A lot of Westerners know and admire Asian names. We even have Asian friends and family members.
My family received a card similar to this one when we had our cat put down. I will never forget receiving that card. Thank you.
When my sweet pooch had to be put down, the vet sent us a note that said, "She's not gone, just gone ahead." It still makes me cry, I was so touched. And the vet never sent us the bill.
When my first dog died I missed an entire week at work. When the second, his companion died, it was on a Friday and I went back on Tuesday, but I resented my boss for it. Both times I was more of a wreck than I ever have been about anything in my life.
I truly believe that dead dogs are the saddest shit in the world.
I forgot to add that my vet sent out very sweet cards about what great pet owners we were and how we gave her a great life, etc. It was great. Then the place where we had them cremated did the same, including a Rainbow Bridge poem, which is so sad it should be illegal. But also great. Very touching, thoughtful.
But it kinda sucked too, because I was going about my day- feeling almost normal again- working, coming home,and all of a sudden
!!!BAM!!!- Dead Dog Card.
Sorry people, I know I'm alone in this, but I think getting a sympathy card for a pet is weird. I also think treating an animal like a person is weird. They are animals. They do not have feelings of sympathy, regret, loss, depression or joy for that matter. They think about us as an extension of their pack, clan, or pride.. that's it. We as human beings assign feelings and emotions to their actions and motivations. Their life span is much shorter than ours they will die before we do, get over it.
i used to work with dogs, it was just dog boarding and daycare, but i got really attached to the dogs. one of the great danes that came in all the time died my last week there, it was so sad. my boss cried. but we didn't send a card that i know of. we should have.
Bored, you have no idea. I've had one cat for 17 years and he will come up and lay on the very ailing spot when I am ill as though he's trying to heal me. Oh well, you just don't know what you're missing if you don't have pets.
Bored, you have no idea. I've had one cat for 17 years and he will come up and lay on the very ailing spot when I am ill as though he's trying to heal me. Oh well, you just don't know what you're missing if you don't have pets.
Bored, you have no idea. I've had one cat for 17 years and he will come up and lay on the very ailing spot when I am ill as though he's trying to heal me. Oh well, you just don't know what you're missing if you don't have pets.
bored in Minneapolis;
You are a dipshit.
Sincerely,
Animal Lovers Everwhere
Bored, i actually agree with you... even though i am an animal-lover with a cat, dog, and a hedgehog, and i am a vegan/animal rights activist...
Animals can feel physical pain, and it is horrible to inflict it upon them, but as for emotions? I'm not so sure. I've never seen a sign in my years of handling animals that they have the mental capacity for emotions.
HELLO I do have pets, which is why I know that they are not capable of human emotion. They are nice and comforting but they are ANIMALS.
TO SPA IN THE SEA!!!! Akashi is a Japanese name first off, and secondly how would you know what race the man named Micheal is? He could easily be second generation Japanese-American or could have changed his name? Besides the most likely reason for him to have given his dog a Japanese name is because it was possibly a Japanese breed like the Japanese Spitz, Akita, Shiba Inu etc. So now may I ask who is the "twatface"?
Here's an idea. SALT is saying idiot things to piss people off. If he doesnt get a response, he stops. If people are tired of him, leave him be. Like a bad rash, he'll go away.
Hey "bored", all you have to do is watch the news to know that a lot of HUMANS don't have the capacity for human emotion. I'll take my pets over many people any day. (One cat headbutts me when I'm not feeling well and the other cat growls when there's a stranger on the property.)
Bored: "They are nice and comforting but they are ANIMALS."
Um, humans are ALSO animals!
I'm not sure about dogs or cats or rats, but if we look to the higher primates such as chimpanzees, they have been clearly documented as being capable of emotion such as depression, grief, etc.
Um, I think some of you are missing the point that the card is meant to make the PEOPLE feel better after the pet died. Regardless of whether animals feel 'human' emotions, these cards aren't written for the animals' benefit.
Bored, you're an ass. Whether or not animals are capable of emotion is beside the point; humans are, and this vet is acknowledging the loss that the human owner probably felt at the loss of his pet.
I love my dogs, and I think that they love me. But my capacity to love something, and feel loss, is not limited to only those creatures, or people, who can love me back.
i know how animals suffer in their long journeys to the slaughterhouse, so i don't eat red meat
but i love eating chicken and fish
many of us have double standards when it comes to 'animal' love
we grow "attached" to our animals and WE feel love for them. that's what this card acknowledges. and yes, akashi is a japanese name and i myself have every intention of naming my own down chuu (as in kiss)
Our vet sends a sympathy card to people who loose their friends as well with "The Rainbow Bridge" poem on it. It always makes me cry. I've lost 3 cats in the last 20 years and we have gone to the same vet all the time and its amazing because the doctors weep with us. Pets are angels sent by God to remind us of His love.
I especially love the artistic way Akashi's name was written. The fact that the author took the extra time to draw that makes it that much more special.
"I have seen a number of pets pass on, but never had a vet who was this nice about it. Wonder what kind of animal Akashi was."
It was a dog. Jason (who is an all-star finder) also sent in an Xmas card from Akashi and his (her?) owner.
A super-touching find for sure; hopefully Jason will drop by to add his 3 cents ...
Isn't it nice that the vet will send you a card after you pay him to kill your pal?
I have a special needs kitty that was recently very very sick. The vet assistants cried with me when we thought she was going to go. She pulled out of it though, and we got a "congratulations on feeling better" type card.
The comments here, about losing pets, breaks my heart. I know the pain, and am dreading when my little girl finally does pass over.
Yuck, i'm crying now. Thanks y'all.
I lost my dog when I was 12 and I still have the card the vet sent. I loved him very much & it was the first time I saw my Dad & uncles cry - he was the best dog ever :)
As I said before. I love animals more than I like people. I don't want to think of the day my baby girl goes off. Remember? my mini schnauzer?
I agree with orinoco womble. "Never trust a person who doesn't like animals! " Amen to that!
Bored. you may have pets, but since you can't see the emotion in them, you are clearly one of those that has them to have them, and has never truly bonded with them,because they're "just animals". I honestly don't understand how anyone who claims to be around animals, can say they don't have emotion. My cats are the most sensitive, and yes, CARING creatures I have ever had...their emotion is written all over their faces and they show me every day that they LOVE me and each other. of course, if you assume and react to an animal as tho it has no emotion, well, ya get what you give....and I feel sorry for you, because you ( and your pet) is missing out. And as someone else said, with so many uncaring people in the world, animals have proven again and again that they are capable of bravery and compassion, even at the cost of their own life. if you can't see that, you're just blind.
I have to agree with 'neverbored in MKE'. He's right on the money.
James thank you for answering my question. i appreciate it.
To weigh in on the new raging debate: having spent a lifetime with animals of varying species, I am confident that they do have emotions and express them clearly, via body language, facial expression, and sound.
HOWEVER...
they are not the same as human emotions, because each animal species views the world in it's own way. i am not saying that any animals' "viewpoint" is more or less important than my own, it's just different.
i think that both the idea of animals as unfeeling automatons who only respond to external stimulus, and the concept of animals as "little furry people" are deeply flawed and oversimplify matters too much. I think everyone should read Temple Grandin's wonderful book "Animals in Translation" it provides excellent insight into how some animals think.
Cheers
What is an emotion anyway?
When an animal wants to be petted how is that different than when a person wants to be hugged?
That said, i totally oppose the anthropormorphization of pets. Do not put clothes on your animal and do not tell me what colors or television shows your animal likes, that's bullshit.
The biggest difference is language. People are able to talk to each other and that allows us to make our emotions so much more clear and so much more complex and interesting. That's why (say what you will) we all value human friends over pets.
And why i will always value human life over animal life. But still won't eat dead animals, or even animal products very often. Cuz that's just stupid and gross.
i swear this is my vet, but he's in northern california. same name, same staff names. i got the same card when my dog died.
also, since none of us are cats or dogs, we don't know what they feel. i've had pets all my life and i believe that i recognize "emotion" from them. every night when i come home there is great joy from all the dogs and the cats as well. is it real? i think so.
if an animal bleeds, then they must hurt. Right?
Pets do have emotions. We had a little cock-a-poo for about 12 years and she was our only pet during that time. She had tons of toys she *never* played with. Then we got a second dog - a lovable German Shepherd. He came in, started taking over her old toys. All of a sudden, she wanted to play with them again, after several years of ignoring them.
The little dog would also help us corral the bigger dog when he would get loose from his room during the house-breaking process.
A few months ago, we had to put our German Shepherd down. He knew what was going on and I swear he was crying when we said goodbye to him.
Dogs have emotions. Maybe not as complex as humans, but they have them.
"She's not gone, she's just gone ahead" .. that's lovely. My former vet would so never ever do anything like this. When we had to have our dog put to sleep last spring, she pointedly made remarks about how we seemed to have taken better care of our other dog. Then I had to write them a check on the spot, sobbing my heart out, while my husband stood with our Basset hound's body in his arms. I will never forget it. We have a much better vet now.
Ignore bored he/she is just a stirring up shit. It was getting a little sappy there for a while. Thanks bored. People before pets.
WOW at the comments. I could really get into an educated and heated discussion, but that is not what this is about. The vet note was nice, I have received several myself. i would pick my dogs over MOST people I know any day, they are much better company. Dogs have emotions, and will even talk to you if you are willing to listen.
That is really sweet, I got a card like that too from our vet when we had to put our kitty down.
Coyote,
I think you are spot on there, well said. I kept thinking of 'Animals in Translation' while I was reading these responses, also of Jane Goodall's books, particularly 'In the Shadow of Man'. I have been around lots of animals thoughout my life and I am a wildlife rehabber. Cheers on your remarks!
Sorry forgot to mention, those in doubt of animal emotions should watch 'The Story of the Weeping Camel'.
When my cat died a few years ago I received one of these from our regular vet and also the emergency clinic where he was euthanized. I am not the kind of person to get overly sentimental with people or due to people I don't know but every show of sympathy I received during that time meant a lot to me. Even that stupid rainbow bridge poem was comforting.
But I also wondered if the vet staff are numb to these events - is it like when a Happy Birthday card for someone you don't know in accounting gets passed around the entire office? "yeah, yeah, another cat got cancer...happy birthday, Steve"
It's funny how "bored" claims animals have no feelings and only see us as an extension of their pack/clan/pride... clearly this person knows nothing about any animals except dogs, since dogs are the only common domestic pets that have a pack system.