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.
This is the misread and wrongly understood Athena. Please read this link
Lynn (UK) called me and asked if I could go with her and have a look at Sammy's (Wishbone) eyes. He is a stray that she feeds every day. She even put a collar on him to fool the dog catchers to believe that he has an owner. But people keep stealing his collar! Lynn is an "old fox" and stubborn, and keeps getting him new ones.
He is the sweetest thing, so gentle and polite, and sure enough his eyes are looking "old." AWL will make an appointment for this little fellow to see an eye doctor Tuesday. Keep your paws crossed that he isn't going blind.Thanks to your donations we can make sure the strays get the medical care they need. That's Amore.
The spring is coming slowly to Napoli, and that means riding lessons on content horses. I have to make sure my children know not to ride on unhappy horses....and it makes me more relaxed than having to interfere with the owners cajole them on how to make their horse "content."It is wonderful to see children bloom among animals. That's Amore!
For my Swedish reading people, here is this weeks column. It is about how wonderful children are able to communicate with animals. How we grown ups lost our ability-- more or less-- forgot our past when we were able to communicate with them, our animals who are teaching us a lot--if we dare to listen.
Magaizine NARA, enjoy and feel free to leave a comment for feedback.
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I also want to thank them for going in there this Sunday, cleaning in the puppy section. A video will soon be done.
Jackie and Richard US, also donated money, and brought blankets to Benjamin. Big hearts!
Maria Svegard with husband Richard and daughter Engla and beloved dog Tuss (and Abbi) thank you for your donations every month. Abby is doing great, she is still the sweet heart!
Jerry, for making big plans to Rosella's shelter with donating concrete. And it was Jackie and Richard who brought him out to the shelter, its their friend. Thank you for sharing good quality people :-)
Sabine and Malte von Vultejus, for 2 bags of dog food, and a very nice donation, all the way from Germany
Tracey Klebber your support means the word to me/us...and to both Craig and you, thank you for your generous donations. Breathtaking....
Erica, Bobby o Giove Andersson-- SE --still you are thanking us for Giove and sending us money too, wonderful hearts.
Kenny with Monica-- SE for updating our AWL homepage with a smile on your lips. That's Amore. You also are going to create the Swedish AWL homepage.
Milla o Katie from Himmelska Hundar, and AWL SE, Your support and help means the world to us here in Italy. You are so fantastic to fix things. If a dog is freezing...we get a jacket for him. etc
That is amore team. Thank you all --you are giving me/us energy to keep up our work here.
Amore Voi
Remember earlier on the blog I wrote about Athena and her partner.
Well for Athena it hasn't turned out so very well for. I am frustrated since AWL got a problem that we didn't ask for and we made clear in the begining that we only would help with medical bills. Now, I am so sad because this girl Athena doesn't deserve to sit locked in a cage, she had it great with her freedom. She got fed, she had her partner and most important her freedom. But some people didn't like to see her in an abandoned car--with broken glass--with K9 dogs they practise to walk on smashed car window glass and its not dangerous for their paws.
The "rescuers" saw the scars and thought it was from the car but it was actually from dog teeth, and they were old scars. As you read they were in Rita's garage and Athena defended her bone when her partner wanted to take it. That is so very "normal." I wasn't there when it happened, but those involved were upset and Athena was the one to be blamed. She slept outside in a crate as you can see in the video with her partner in the garage. Many times this sort of interaction between animals sounds worse and we get scared, its like hearing two adults arguing in a different language. Because you don't understand what is being said, it sounds worse than it is. We don't know what the dogs are saying, but it sounds bad. But think about it, if they wanted to kill each other it would have happened already, and how could they live together outside in their freedom with no problems?
Rescuing dogs in distress or bad situations is a nobel thing. But like anything, it should be done with cold calculation, not in the moment of high emotion, or solely with your heart. When rescuing, you have to have many different plans. And, unless you are an expert, why not get advice from someone who knows a lot about strays? I have heard people say "I have had dogs my whole life!" But how many of them were strays you rescued? I have been cooking for 30 years but I am not a chef!
AWL is against putting dogs in shelters and here I am with a dog someone rescued and dumped in our lap. No foster homes, no adoptive homes, we can't take her in. She can't go back on the street, especially without her partner. No donations are even given to help defray the costs, only silence from the rescue people who were so happy on Facebook that they had "rescued" dogs. Where are they now? Where is the "follow-through"?
I was visiting her today and walked her, she is wonderful --- so loving and gentle. It is dangerous when someone starts a rumor that destroys the possibilities for a dog's future. Much the same for when people talk bad about another human, and start unfounded rumors. If you are going to play "rescuer", get the facts straight! I have so many stories about people screwing things up for the animals, and I still get many emails from good people who are being dumped on with others' problems.
What is worse, in Cumberlain County (NC, USA) 800 dogs euthanized every month, or the ones roaming free in Campania, Italy?
So thanks to some "bleeding hearts" who thought it was uncomfortable watching this pair in an abandoned car...look at this picture...this is the result of your actions!
We didn't even get a picture of her, we didn't get to whisper her new name in her ear. She never got to sleep in a warm bed. She bade farewell from us too quickly.
Saturday the 13th, we were out working at the shelter. We spotted something laying in the field. Olivia and I took a walk over and nearly tripped over an English Setter! Just skin and bones, her right eye was smashed out and she shook, scared and exhausted. I tried to put a collar on her, but she screamed out of fright. Olivia and I sat and calmed her down and on the second try, she allowed me. We walked back to the shelter and she was such a gentle dog. She didn't eat the sausage from my hand, but took it when I laid it on the ground.
No one could take her that day for numerous reasons. So she stayed at the shelter for a couple of days. Gerry, one of her sponsors, took her to his vet, but returned her to the shelter after the visit.
This past Saturday, the 20th, Todd and Gerry picked her up. First she was scared of leaving the dark, damp cage; she didn't know what would happen to her, would she be abused again?
Gentlely, they put her in my SUV and drove to LegaProAnimale to have her checked, eye and health wise. The other clinic we use was already closed and we knew we couldn't keep her there since they are not open on Sundays. Todd told me she was so sweet in the car you nearly didn't notice that she was there. Both Todd and Gerry saw a remarkable change in her spirit when they opened the back door to let her out once at LegaProAnimale. She was glowing and happy --- she knew she was saved and safe. In the waiting room, she socialized a bit with another dog and sniffed at some cats in their cages. She was admitted to the clinic, with the expectation of sterilization and treatment of her empty eye-socket on Monday, 22nd.
~~~~~
Today I got the phone call that totally broke me into pieces. Isabelle, the gentle soul, died during the surgery.
Today a couple of hours earlier Todd had found a warm foster home for her, and probably a family for her too. We only met Isabelle for a couple of hours each but our hearts connected to see her young body glow out of hope, hope for kindness and a warm, loving life.
A wonderful animal friend even sponsored her eye surgery, we had everything planned for this little girl, but the Universe took her away from us.
Our Animal friends sent me this: Some poet once said about dogs and the after life “if there is no heaven for thee, then there is no heaven for me”.
Godspeed and God bless you, sweet Isabelle. We are so sad that you left us so soon. We mourn your passing, but know you are in a better place, running in tall green grass, your body strong, and two good eyes seeing only wonderful things. No abuse, no neglect. Perhaps we will see and pet you again, one day, when we cross the Rainbow Bridge.
Todd helps Benji to get used to the donated inflatable protection ring
Last Saturday we were only a few people going out to the Shelter. Jerry, Richard, Drew and Todd were going to work on the building project. Jackie had the puppy section and I was meeting up with the veterinarian as well as making some mental tests on a couple of dogs that are to be adopted. Lindy was assisting with her calm and natural way. I have been keeping my eye on her for some time and she is a natural, gifted dog person. A non drama person, if she has any problems you can not notice it and that is what is a big asset to working with animal psychology. We had some bad luck to begin with. Our tire exploded on the highway and no spare tire (its already on) but fantastic friends helped us. Thank you Ethan for your help with Todd despite that you were sick, and to Jackie and the above guy crew that came and picked up Olivia and I, and all our things. But can you believe it? Five minutes down the road, Jackie gets a flat tire!! I started to giggle, not the right time but it started to get totally hysteric. The guys were behind us, so heroiclly they changed out the flat in 6 minutes. Many hours later than planned, we finally entered the shelter. We were lucky with the weather at least: sunshine.
The shelter was like a war-zone with dogs everywere, so many puppies and sickness and sickness. They had found a little dog that nearly couldn't walk, just skin and bones, his penis hanging out full of blisters, swollen and horrible. Blood in many dogs' stools.
I dragged the veterinarian with me and pointed at dogs everywere: this one, sick; that one is freezing to death. This veterinarian is very sweet and dear but she is too expensive for our foundation, we can not help many dogs at her prices with our resources. This shelter is also well away from our location and our veterinarians . Without our own rehab clinic we have no place to keep the dogs until Monday morning. When we get the clinic we will be able to drive them there on Saturday; treat and safeguard them and keep them warm, then drive them to our vets on Monday.
While at the shelter, I took a walk and nearly tripped over a curled-up English Setter, just skin and bones and with her right eye poked out. She screamed when I put the collar/leash on her. I sat and talked to her for some minutes and Olivia, my mission girl, did a good job comforting her too.
After a while did she follow us to the shelter and we fed her with some hot dogs. What a sweet heart, so gentle and polite and of course no microchip.
Saturday I am returning to pick her up. The shelter is full and I am praying to the Universe and bugging my real estate agent to hurry up and get our clinic as soon as possible. So many dogs are dying and suffering.
Please help us with donations or care packages!
Pictures: Copyright (c) Rita Schneider 2010.
Initially, everything went well with this married couple--but I had a feeling that they couldn't be adopted together, despite the appearance of them being "together". And yesterday we found out why. They were given a bone each and that caused a fight between them that the female couldn't get past. When I came to the place they are staying, the energies were vibrating high in the air, from both people and dogs.
After that fracas, no one dared to put them together in the garage again since the female snarled everytime she saw him. When they fought, he held her down gently, without biting, but when she was let up, she attacked him again. After a sleepless night for many involved we joined up today to talk about their future. Understandably, Steven was afraid of coming home to find one of them dead, and the female she had strong character. Wonderful without the male....
We tested them outside, both on leashes. Out of sight from each other, they were attentive to the human in control of them, and clearly affectionate toward Steven. But once within eyesight of each other, she was growling and he was whining. In the car on the way to the Veterinary Clinic, she was in a crate, and was quiet. He was all over the crate, not agressive, but wanting to be with her. He even squeezed himself in between the top of the crate and the roof of the car.
Steven will keep the male, they bonded right a way and he feels comfortable around him, and that is the most important to be honest so that we can solve for future of the female. It was heartbreaking, I will admit, because we feel like our human intervention is causing this aggression where once they lived together. Apart, they (really she is the "problem" in this situation) are fine and should be loving companions. But together, they will always be a ticking time-bomb at best. On discussion, we all felt that it had to be like this. She would never survive on the street, that breed will be killed right away.
I had to find a place were they could be spayed and neutered and at the same time be kenneled for observation, and while waiting for the vaccinations. At the Veterinary Clinic, we took first the male in for his examination, and he was such a good boy. 31 kg, full of fighting scars and not many teeth. Around 4 years-old. He didn't blink when they gave him the shots. Absolutely amazing his trust in we people, after what he has probably lived through. Dr. Lorenzo did a great job with this brute of a dog.
Next, we brought the female in. She's also wonderful, young, probably the same age. Again, not many teeth, and her hind quarter was full of scars (yet not many around her head, and her ears are completely without marks). She was also very good in the clinic. And once again, Dr. Lorenzo handled this dog with authority but compassion... neutralizing any instinct the dog may have had to attack or nip at any of us. Dr. Lorenzo's a tough, but caring guy... perfect in this situation.
The female is up for adoption. She is very dominant to other dogs. She gives warm kisses but needs a strong, secure hand. She probably shouldn't be in a home with children. She can be wonderful with children --- we just don't know, but we wouldn't want to take that risk. This is not a dog for "beginners", she needs somebody used to dogs, and preferably used to the stronger dog breeds. Like Dr.Lorenzo said about fighting dogs, they are good around humans but get triggered by other dogs [or cats, there was one brave cat that was peeking through the window getting them both worked up].
Is there anyone out there with tough-love inclinations that want to take on this rescured girl? Steve named her Athena, and we think the name fits. She will be a great companion, but will need a firm hand along with the open heart.
AWL received this "high quality" clipper system, a fantastic Rescue Blanket and a medical supplies from Himmelska Hundar.Thank you so much for your generous donations, Ulla L (SE) Bella A (SE) Tracey N (USA) your support means so much to us.!
Naples Friends of Animals (NFOA) donated many, many colorful leashes for walking our furry friends. Thank you!
Leena S. from SE, sent a big box -- care package --- with a lot of collars, leashes, blankets, shampoo and treats. That will absolutely come in handy. Thanks so much!
Organisation Chanse, thank you so much for your support in our spay and neuter campaign. Thank you again for the generous donation.
Sweden AWL for your donation and support to us here in Italy.
Picture taken by me on my iPhone!
Look at beautiful Giove from Italy! Never would anyone in their wildest fantasy have guessed that this dog, Giove would be on the cover of a Magazine together with his beautiful owner Erika.
Abby's family, who are waiting for her arrival, has a 2 year old daughter. She loves looking at the pictures of Abby, and she also makes small paintings for Abby.
Olivia is four years-old and loves Jimmie the dog on the picture (from Greece) When we visited Jimmie and his owner Milla, we asked Olivia how Jimmie felt, was he happy? Olivia looked at Jimmie and said "Yes, Jimmie is happy when it rains!" Milla and I held our breath because we both know that Jimmie dislikes the rain.
Benjamin is a strong, positive, happy dog with a lot of energy. Remember this pictures? (click)
Dr Damiani told me it was a very big procedure, they had to dig it out! Lots of blood!
Animals Without Limits had its first Swedish meeting, and it was together with brilliant and hard-working people who have also been in Asia working with the rescue bears, and in the Phillipines with the difficult work against slaughtering strays in a harmful way in the jungle. The board of AWL Sweden, are educated in many animal areas and know that it is all about the animals--we don't have time for the various, different drama.
Ulla helped us getting a fresh AWL hairline, --its tested on humans-- AWL loves this and we already had tried the shampoo on some rescue dogs here in Campania.You can buy these products at Himmelska Hundar.
AWL is looking forward to work with postive people, straight forward animal lovers who are not afraid. Money for our clinic is already promised, but as always, if you have a special wish were your donations should end, please earmark them.
Himmelska Hundar's Cafe (click on the link) is a fantastic and warm-hearted place, not only for dogs, but for humans too. Milla and Kate --the owners-- have a wonderful concept that is fullfilling many needs, and if not, they have contacts who can. They are huge animal supporters and have the great capacity to keep promises, to work for the animals even if the people are rude or need to be thanked all the time. I love them for that, if I forget to thank them they don't have any hang-ups. They keep doing what is most important, to help the strays and put their ego aside. And they are helping different organizations, some more, some less, but they are helping.
They are wonderful people also to children. I was amazed the whole time how they included Olivia in everything and everywhere, and if it didn't work they talked to her, telling her what she could do or what she couldn't. Olivia and I were in the cafe, when suddenly, Kate was on the floor playing with Olivia --- amongst the other customers and friends. How wonderful they are and how rich their lives are, being spontaneous, guiding and loving to other souls, young or old (or hairy).
Stockholm was very cold and with a lot of snow. Beautiful! It was not only the people who needed snow suits. The salt on the roads makes it diffcult for many dogs' paws. This little fellow had snow boots!
And, one of Olivia's favorites. She communicated with Jimmie, which made Milla (the owner) and me surprised (more in next blog).
Bosse with his sweet dog, came into the cafe to greet us. He hade DVD's for Olivia, and before I said something he had asked if he could take Olivia out to have a snow ball throwing with her? Off they went. (Bosse is the talented guy who gave AWL's loggo a facelift and made the fantastic AWL folder in Swedish).
I went with Abby to Dr Damiani's office to have her stiches removed last week, before going to Sweden. Abby was (of course) great, very calm but my thought is that she feels the good energies from Dr Damiani.
Her tests went through, her rabies serology report came back and she is ready to get her passport. --Also her Leishmania test was ok--
In May she can go home to her waiting new, warm family in Sweden.
