(The following letter was read to all our staff during our staff meeting; it brought several of us to tears.)

Hello to everybody at Valley Animal Hospital,

      I don't really know where to start.  Tom and I have had a rough start to our new year.  We have lost 3 of our friends in 5 weeks and they all were part of our lives for almost half of ours.  Squeeky's mom gave birth to her and her siblings in our backyard.  One day, over the course of a couple hours, she came and moved her brothers and sisters but then failed to come back for Squeeky.  After several more hours of listening to her cry, (we wanted to give mom the benefit of the doubt) we finally brought Squeeky into our home.  She was our first and she was only 3 days old.  Within the same year, we brought Hippie and Peanut into our lives.  Hippie was abandoned at 3 weeks old by his feral family and Peanut was about to be euthanized with her siblings.  We took in her and her sister.  They were 6 weeks old.  They all died between 17 and 18 years old.  (Not Peanut's sister, Bug is still with us despite cancer resulting in the loss of her tail and obvious depression over her sister and friends.)

     Jason and Linda, I am having an extremely hard time expressing how much we appreciate your help.  You've always been great to us in every situation.  Linda, I personally have only met you once.  We both agreed that it was nice to put a face with the name, yet I've spoken to you several times over the phone.  Every single time I have been treated like a friend.  Jason, I would love to put in a whole paragraph about how we couldn't have gotten by without you, but I can't help to get to the point...you're the best!  Thank you both more than words can say.

I know Jody is not there to read this, but no worries; we have her address so she'll get her own letter.

Tammy, Hippie did not respond to many people in his long life like he did to you.  You could see it in his stature when you came into the room.  You could see his ears perk up if he heard your voice in the hallway. Sometimes he would close his eyes halfway, star purring and knead some dough.  We had so many visits that it became part of his routine so you could even see some sort of disappointment if it wasn't you who walked into the room.  The human race doesn't often give credit to non-humans for having emotions and the ability to form bonds.  Hippie's behavior is a slap in the face to those people.  You are one of the few people he actually liked and we could see it in your eyes that you truly cared.  Thank you so much for treating him like the special person that he was.

     Thanks Jackie, just for being you.  We haven't seen you much recently, but you've always been cheerful and respectfully upbeat; even in the wee hours of the morning.  Every time we see you helps us keep a positive attitude.

     Thank you Blake, Ashley and Dr. Kellams for all your effort to keep Peanut in our lives.  Thank you Ashley and Blake as well for your cards and kind words.  We know you both did everying you could to help us.  Hippie and Peanut's life-long friend...we think she just gave up.  We see it in people all the time, right?

     Thanks Ashley for actually calling us in the middle of the night to let us know the situation had taken a turn.  I'm not sure other people would have wanted to "disturb" us.  We surely don't imply that you did.  On the contrary, you gave us the chance to be with Peanut when she passed.  We're never sure how much our critters understand.  However, we feel if they have to pass in the hospital that they might at least feel some comfort by having their people around. That's all Tom and I can hope anyway.  Fate wouldn't let us have that moment and, despite our speeding, we arrived too late but you tried and we thank you.  Also, your "at rainbow bridge" card really hits home.  They're special words that have made me cry every time I've read them.  Tom and I are having a little problem with faith right now, but we truly hope that such a place exists.

     Thank you to the brains behind the idea to make paw prints in clay.  Believe it or not, when Hippie died, I went out by the pond and tried to find one of his footprints.  I wanted to go get some plaster and make a cast.  I was disappointed that I couldn't find one, but I guess when you dont weigh that much, you don't make tracks.  I was so thrilled when I saw his paw in a heart-shaped "cookie".  This is seriously one of the best ideas ever!  Please don't ever stop this practice...we can't possibly be the only ones who it matters to.

     ...We weren't sure if we were doing the right thing.  When we received that card from the Humane Society notifying us of your donation in Hippie's name, all of our doubts were laid to rest:  it showed you backed us so we must have been right.  No lie, holding and reading that card gives us both comfort.  Thank you, thank you, and thank you.  I seriously can't put into words how much that one gesture puts a little sanity in our lives.

     I've tried to write this letter several times.  At first, just for Hippie but then Peanut got sick and I started to rewrite it to include her.  Squeeky died before I finished and now Flapjack has been diagnosed with diabetes, so here we go again.  I am determined to finish this letter before anything else happens.  Every single time I've sat down to write this, I picture so many caring faces I can't put a name to.  We're just lost right now.  It doesn't mean we haven't noticed and appreciated how you all treat us like one of the family.  You all deserve our praise and for helping us through this difficult time.

     Please, please don't ever change!  I know how you've treated us has helped more people that you can count.  Once again, THANK YOU!

Tom and Stephanie