Mia Mattsson-Mercer Born in 1964, Sweden. Author to three books. Writing a web-column for the Magazine NARA. “That’s Amore” is my catch phrase. Finishing the manuscripts for two different books. Also HomeSchooling Mother. Worked: United States, Germany, Switzerland, Bosnien, Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Bahrain Founder/CEO Animals Without Limits. I am a proud Lyme disease, Child Abuse and Animal Warrior.
A lot of dead dogs are laying along the motorway. Sometimes you can see a dog that is clearly afraid, standing by the roadside trying to cross over the highway. Always when I see this, it leaves me with tears in my eyes, and my heart pounding so hard in my chest.
One day recently when I came driving where we live--a very busy street--three dogs wanted to cross this street--one managed to come over to the median of the street--small grass strip--The other two started to panic since their "leader" was already away from them. I knew they would make a decision out off stress and get killed. Even though this is a residential area, the drivers pilot their cars, trucks and motorcycles at a high speed, and no one stops to let people cross, much less dogs. At most, they just beep their horns.
I stopped my car and jumped out, shaking with anger. I threw myself out in the street screaming and cursing in Italian--strange how I manage to remember those words, when other "good" words don't lodge in my memory at all--
Now the drivers stopped but not for the dogs. They were all staring at me and in a suprise/shock--who the heck was this tall blonde woman running around screaming in the streets?
Even my landlord came driving from his house--silver Jaguar--He had seen me from his window.
"Maria, Maria!! What is wrong?"
In bad Italian I pointed at the now parked cars and flopping my arms like a Pelikan;"Crazy idiotas broom broom aoi aoi tre belli cani" (translation; crazy idiots drives like hell nearly killing three beautiful dogs.)
He looked at me and I could see his thought; "My God! She is crazy running around because of dogs!!"
Scuza mi, Svedese hormones!
But I would do it again! This for me is my way of Amore... even crazy Amore!
Animal Amore starts early on in life, if you just allow them to be themselves.
A blog reader sent me this and it is very cute to read. This is Amore!
This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.
Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month.The day after she died, 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 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 play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when yo u see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, 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. I recognized Abbey 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
Finalemente! Internet is back in the house since loosing it last Thursday. I love living here, I love the people, but that it has to take several days (5) to get someone to come to my house and fix my problem is terrible. Finally, when someone arrived it took them less than 5 minutes to fix it. I never know if I should cry or laugh!
When I made a complaint to the "middle link", between me as a customer and Telecome, I got the answer; "Oh Telecome is the worst company to work with."
That does not make me feel better! This is no Amore!
What a wonderful idea! Dogs and Inmates.
Think if every shelter could have this kind of work for their dogs. I have always said; mixed dogs are wonderful. They are many times very smart since they have to work with all their senses to survive. Same with many children. When we adults doesn't interfere to much in their "own thinking" with our perceptions of what is right and what is wrong.
Below is a wonderful article from North Carolina, USA.
When we lived in North Carolina, USA, I volunteered for the shelter that Linden Spear The Haven outside Raeford.
I am so glad for her new project!
"RAEFORD — When Bob Lewis and Buddy the dog first met a month ago, they were a little skeptical of each other. Both were tough, street-wise and more than a
little wary of people. Lewis, an inmate at the McCain Correctional Hospital in Hoke County, had been behind bars for about 10 years. Buddy, a medium-sized mixed-breed, had been held at a no-kill animal shelter for much of his short life. Their shared history brought them together. The pair met through a new Sandhills community College program at the prison that teaches inmates how to instruct dogs in basic obedience.The program is an offshoot of the college’s three-year-old Puppies Assisting with Sight program, or PAWS, where inmates learn to train seeing-eye dogs for the blind.
Joe Bailer, the program’s instructor, said he came up with the idea to teach basic obedience to regular shelter dogs this year while the group was waiting on a fresh shipment of dogs for the PAWS program.
The PAWS’ dogs are specially selected and come to the prison from Florida, Bailer said. In the meantime, Bailer wanted to teach inmate-instructors a new set of skills — basic obedience training dog care.
To do that, Bailer partnered with Linden Spear, who operates the state’s largest no-kill animal shelter — The Haven — at her farm outside Raeford.
In January, Bailer and Spear selected 10 to 12 dogs between the ages of 6 months and 12 months and assigned them to inmates in the program.
The inmates were then tasked with naming the dogs, feeding and bathing them, and teaching them to sit, stay and lie down on command. The end result, Bailer said, is that the dogs become more adoptable, and the trainers become more experienced. So far, it’s been successful.
Five dogs from the program have been adopted, Bailer said. The program also has been good for the emotional well-being of the dogs, who would otherwise have little one-on-one contact with humans.
“The dogs have gained three to five pounds apiece, and they’ve become very ciable,” said Bailer, who watched the animals go from shy, scared creatures to outgoing and affectionate pets.
Lewis said his charge, Buddy, has blossomed since the lessons began about a month ago. Before, Buddy would shy away from people or bark in fear, Lewis said.
Now, Buddy — though still “vocal,” as Lewis puts it — appears to be a happy, well-adjusted dog that can roll over on command and even sit with a dog biscuit on his paw until he’s allowed to eat it.
“They’re just diamonds in the rough,” Lewis said. “They just need someone to pay attention to them.”
The dogs aren’t the only ones who are blossoming because of the program, said Mary Jones, program supervisor at the prison. Jones has noticed the biggest change in Lewis, who was often worried and angry before he started the program. Since then, he’s become happier and more relaxed.
As an added bonus, none of the inmates involved in the PAWS program over the last three years has returned to the prison, Jones said.
“The interaction with the dogs has a lot to do with it,” she said. “A lot of
the prisoners don’t have any family or any support. They just don’t care about
anything. Through the dogs, they learn how to basically love.” Lewis agreed.
“I’ve learned that these dogs look at you unconditionally,” he said.
“They don’t care about your past. It’s taught me to learn to care for something
other than myself.”Fayetteville Observer writer, Jennifer Calhoune.
This is barking good Amore!
I got an e mail from a woman--I salute you for leaving your name-- in Sweden. Attached was a link to a Swedish newspaper about "a soldier throwing a puppy off the cliff" --I had written about that a couple of hours before her email reached my inbox--
She asked me if I had seen the item, and "how it was allowed to be happening?"
I realized that she had sent it to me because I am married to a man in the US Army. In effect, I had to justify the actions of many military members for the actions of that one (Marine). I then thought about the article I wrote about the abused 6 week old child that was burned, drugged and beaten. As a mother, do I have to defend myself as a mother because there are harmful mothers?
Or a rider that is beating up her horse, do then all riders have to be bad persons?
Pedophilia... are then all males to stand accused of abusing children?
I remember in 2004 when a Swedish TV program was made about people who claimed they could communicate with animals, but then failed to stand up to the test. After that broadcast, I had to defend my abilities what they had failed to achieve, because we were in the same business, even if I hadn't even been asked to join the program. (Later on the camera man called me and said they didn't want me on this particular program because they wanted it to be negative, and I was too skilled... I would have been a counter-balance to their desired negativity.)
It just makes me sad and mad that people cannot understand that evil and stupidity doesn't have any occupation, nationality or uniform. It has human skin, specific addresses, and individual names .
Fight evil, inhumanity, fraud and lies where and when they appear. Combat individual instances of evil individually. It helps no one, and ultimately hurts the cause, to paint everyone with the same broad brush.
This is not Amore!
A baby in Bogalusa is fighting for her life after being beaten, drugged and burned.
A Marine throwing a puppy off the cliff and it is showed on a video on my tube. Many upset people and also the marine officials are doing everything in their power to find this person.
This is not Amore!
