Welcome To Our New Members!, Post your introductions here.... Options

[LS Support]

hi there, glad you could make it i am happy to provide this new forum for members of
the L-S old forums ( http://lightning-strike.com/forums/ )as well. as those working their way from our battle-torn alt.support.grief.pet-loss
newsgroup on USENET. perhaps we all can use this as a troll-free resource as i will be ruthless
on off-topic postings and finally have the tools to squash any problems

this would be a great forum to introduce yourselves, if you want. i will kick it off for y'all.

my name is marcdavid, people call me MD (i am not a doctor or vet, a rumour that has
been around ever since my pet-loss work has). i started the lightning-strike site back in '96
as a tribute to my very dear friend Tribble, who passed quickly from a thrombotic clot. it was
a nightmarish scene at the end, my wife (now ex) was a new vet and we tried to save him
but he died in my arms. i have not had a pet since, not my own...we did have 7 cats when i was
married though. to be truthful, i am kinda burnt out on cats and hope to get a dog one day,
a jack russell terrier is my hopeful. oh, right now we do have fish. and a snail. and cuz i left
the window open, about 100 flies

im a 40yo freelance writer in columbus ohio and have 2 great kids ages 6 and 3. they keep me
on the run constantly. so although i will visit here several times a day, i may not post as much
as the rest of you but rest assured i will be reading and wishing you well during these hard times
in your life.

over the summer, i hope to completely redesign lightning-strike.com. i also have a very nice
chat room up and running now if anyone has the interest to participate. it has not been released
publicly yet, so let me know and i can get it readied.

welcome again, i hope you find the support you need here

[Africangirl]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Avril, and I have lived in Norwich, UK since May 2003 when I moved from South Africa with my 3 very special cats, Shanti, Austin and Little Patch. I am a very young 50 year old, my wonderful husband died very suddenly 15 years ago, and my cats are my world!

I came across this amazing site the other evening when I was sitting here feeling so very alone, and anticipating the fact that I was about to lose my beloved Shanti. My very special and beautiful girl had been ill for many months, and to this day we have no idea of just what was wrong. She was only 10 years old, but this awful cruel disease ravaged both her beautiful body and phenomenal mind. From the start, early last year, things seemed to steadily snowball, and I did absolutely everything I could to try to help her. It has horrified me to watch her steady decline this week, in particular, and when she was finally put to sleep Friday lunch time it was with a sense of excruciating pain but deep relief that she was set free, at last!

I am devastated to have lost such a very special little girl, who has played such an important role in my life for almost 9 years. I am a passionate animal lover and have lost many very dear pets in the past. Somehow this time it is so much more painful, and I am completely devastated. I know I will heal with time, but right now my entire being is wracked with the pain of having lost Shanti. In the end she had lost all dignity, and I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that I gave her the Greatest Gift I could have when she was put to sleep yesterday.

I am completely heartbroken, but I do still have two extremely special furbabies. They also need extra love at this time, and I will give them both the care they so richly deserve.

I am so grateful to those here who have been so kind and supportive to me, and I will be sticking around here for a long time. It is wonderful to be able to support each other as we grieve for our dearly loved pets that have departed from this world

It is just a little over 24 hours since my beloved Shanti died. I am totally broken hearted, but I am consoled to know that her bright, beautiful spirit is free at last, and that this cruel, unknown disease that ravaged her body and her mind can no longer have any control over her.

I will take her ashes back to South Africa next time I go, and scatter them on a hillside overlooking Grahamstown, her home, where I scattered my beloved husband's ashes all those many years ago

RIP my angel ... you are free now and your suffering if over at last my precious girl!