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Soft Paws: A love of all God’s creatures

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By Guest Columnist Aaron Clause

For Capital Region Independent Media

Pictured with CGHS/SPCA Adoption Counselor Legacy Rhoads is Kitty, a 1-year-old domestic shorthair who was surrendered to us when her owners lost their home. She’s incredibly sweet and will never turn down affection! She’s often found lounging by the window in the sun. She gets along with other cats well, but it’s unknown if she likes dogs. Contributed photo

As anyone who tunes in regularly to Charlene Marchand’s Soft Paws column is well aware, it is quite obvious, from either a writing or reading perspective, that we are bound together with a simple unity: a passionate love for God’s creatures. We sometimes dance around the medical, the technical, the emotional details, but what truly combines our spirits is recognizing the compatibility of life and the beauty of companionship with those we share Earth with.

I’m sure nearly all our readers understand the feeling of owning a suffering companion, old or young. We are in a unique place of stewardship when that knock on the door arrives, and it’s a call that goes beyond the simplistic “it’s just a pet.” When we take on the burden of care for any creature, it’s a spiritual appointment we undertake. Those who develop this kind of tenderheartedness will understand the heart of every person they encounter who truly cares about animals.

My son, Elisha, was allowed to retain the companionship of such a creature for his 14th birthday one August. His charge became a little cream-and-white hamster he christened “Sarah.” After just a few short days, Sarah’s health declined rapidly, and she showed signs of a life-threatening, high-mortality disease called “wet tail,” a gastrointestinal, bacterial infection that causes diarrhea, dehydration, and frequently, death within 48 hours.

Within a few hours of noticing the condition, we were able to make a same-day appointment, close to closing, at The Village Animal Clinic in Voorheesville, with a promise that they had a very special pocket-pet veterinarian on staff who would do anything they could to help.

We rushed an emergency trip north to the practice, where Sarah was brought in, immediately evaluated, treated with subcutaneous fluids for dehydration, and sent home with a seven-day supply of tiny hamster-sized syringes of antibiotics, a tube of probiotic rodent paste, and crossed fingers and prayers.

The message of this column is this: everyone reading these words is likely to understand why we didn’t just get a $15 replacement hamster instead of going through all the time, money, worry and stress. This is our commonality. We understand that commitment equals sacrifice when it comes to the animals we care for, and when we volunteer that sacrifice charitably, we all plug in and link up to a neural net of devotion and joy that we can share in heart and spirit with every Elisha and Sarah.

God bless those at The Village Animal Clinic. A few days after, Sarah appeared to be fully recovered, exercising in her hamster wheel, pouches full of seeds and pellets, perhaps wondering why she felt so good after this big ape force-fed her nasty tasting juice twice a day for a week. Or perhaps she was just thankful; I know I was.

I wish I could stop the column there, but just two or three mornings after her surprising recuperation, we woke up unexpectedly to Sarah’s peaceful little body, laid behind as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We found our peace knowing that, while she was a part of our family, we blessed her in everything we did for all 27 days she was with us. Some missions are long, some are shorter – but what matters most is our obedience to the promises we take on.

Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044 or visit our website at www.cghs.org. Our food bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Aaron Clause is an administrative assistant at the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. He may be contacted at cghsaaron@gmail.com.

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