Mumnemia & CompassionFatigue

I have been diagnosed by two friends--the two of them don't know each other--

My friend Ylva said to me, "Mia, you work to much, you suffer compassionfatigue."

I actually became happy hearing that beautiful word.....compassionfatigue....lovely.

And today, in the afternoon I took the kids and went to a British Forces Pub. Wow, since I am suffering from compassion fatigue, I thought I needed to be around happy loving British people having a cider. It was like walking into a big wonderful family. I like their relaxed way of having a pint on their way home. I ran into a friend, Jane, and I "complained" that I forget a lot of things lately and it drives me crazy.

Jane said, "Mia, you are suffering mumnemia!" (get it? anemia but since I am a mother of 2 small children and 12 dogs = lack of sleep=mumnemia)

Gosh, there are a lot of beautiful names, and I love wearing these names. I received them because of Amore.

Animal Hospital with Compassion

Villa Felice, the ER animal hospital here in Arco Felice are doing a lot of work helping the animals 24/7.

This fantastic strong minded dog on the picture above, survived after being severely burned. the poor dear even lost her ears to this cruelty. This happened in February. Hopefully, her new family will pick her up any day now, and be able to love her as she deserves to be loved! What a will to live!

When I walk into any animal hospital in the world--and I have visited many-- I look for compassion in the workers towards the animals --that they are having as patients-- but also for the owners. It is a critical emotional moment for the owners when something is happening to their dear ones--for many it is their "kid". The compassion in the people at any of these facilities is really more important than the physical facility, and can make up for some shortcomings in equipment.

The late evening when Shiloh got hit by a car I called in to the ER animal hospital. I told the man in the other line that my husband was on his way in with our hurt dog. I was upset and stuttered and in a thin voice I contiuned, "He doesn't have his wallet with him and I am alone in the house with two small children."

The man was calm on the other side of the phone, "Don't you worry about that."

I knew then that he had compassion for the animal that would soon "walk" through his door... if he had compassion for a faceless lady on the other end of the phone!

This is good compassion Amore!

When A Best Friend Gets Sick

Yesterday was a horrible, scary day! Today is a nervous day!

Our neighbors are on a vacation and I promised to take care of their rabbit and to check in on their house. I came up with the suggestion that two of our dogs could run around in their garden some hours a day. People could see movement and the house/yard wouldn't look empty, and also to scare off any thieves. My dogs would love it too, new smells, and a new task for them. They are dogs, and dogs like to have an "important" mission or job to accomplish.

Anyway, in the afternoon, I let Shiloh and Clyde into their yard. I could see from were I worked in our kitchen that they were having a good time. But then, after maybe 2 hours, Shiloh was barking constantly for a long time and I couldn't consentrate on my work, so I decided to bring them back into our yard.

In the house I noticed that something was wrong with Clyde. My intinct told me something was terribly wrong. I gave him the comand to follow me and after one minute his back legs started to just buckle under him, like he started to get paralyzed! Suddenly, he started to shiver and shake, his eyes were rolling up into the back of his head, his head was moving around like Stevie Wonder and foam was coming out of his mouth! He fell down and was totally confused.

With adrenalin pumping through my veins, I snatched him up and got him to the car. Then, it was back in to quickly get Olivia (who by now was on the 3rd floor) and then Maximillian together and into the car as well. Each time I took one of the children to the car, I looked in on Clyde, fearing for the worst. But each time, he was still with us.

I motored out of our parco, up the road and onto the highway. On the way, I called ahead to Dr. Fritz' clinic, praying that they would answer the phone and be open! At last, after many tries, I was able to get them on the phone, and explain what was happening. I feared poisoning, as he showed many of the symptoms I'd seen in Sarajevo when dogs were poisoned.

It seemed like it took forever, but it was probably the fastest I'd driven the 20 or so kilometers to Dr. Fritz' clinic. They were waiting for us, and despite the full waiting room and another emergency, we were ushered into a treatment room. Clyde, thoroughly confused, dizzy and disoriented, promptly threw up.

Olivia was excellent, being a big sister to Maximillian, allowing me to focus on Clyde. I was so afraid that we would loose our gentle former stray who had adopted us.

Dr. Fritz confirmed my suspicions... he had all the classic symptoms of being poisoned. Infact, she opined that he had a high level of toxicity. They shaved his leg and inserted the needle to start an IV drip. They put him on valium to calm him, because he had started to shake with fright. Olivia became very concerned for her dog, and didn't want to leave him there.

But leave him we had to. They wanted to keep him over night. They weren't sure if we had gotten him to them in time. My Amore!