Philanthropy

Dedicated to saving and finding loving homes for Retrievers and Retriever mixes six years and older.

In March of 2008, I adopted Daisy, a sweet older Lab/Chow mix from a Lab rescue. Like many people, I'd never even thought about adopting an older dog. Then I met Daisy, one look into her trusting, loving eyes and I knew we were destined to be together. Like many older dogs, Daisy was deemed inconvenient by her thoughtless owner and was dumped in a rural high kill shelter. Daisy was also heartworm positive. I scheduled her for heartworm treatment immediately – and after two months Daisy was on her way to a full recovery.

The bond between us became stronger each day. We attended obedience classes, did yoga together, went for daily walks around the city and had lots of snuggle time. When my husband I adopted two rescue kitties, Daisy welcomed them into the family with gentle patience. Even Gatsby, my Golden Retriever mix (who has some fear aggression issues) immediately accepted Daisy.

Daisy went everywhere with me and social invitations always included her as everyone fell in love with her easy going and friendly manner. We got her a step stool so that she could get on the bed and she slept between my husband I every night. Daisy finally found the loving forever home that she so richly deserved and I felt blessed to have Daisy in my life.

In October of 2008, seven short months after I adopted her – Daisy became ill. I brought her to the vet several times and it was thought that she had a stomach bug. After more than a week, Daisy still hadn’t recuperated and xrays detected a spot on her spleen. I rushed her to a specialist and an ultrasound confirmed that she had a mass, which was most likely cancerous, on her spleen. I had to make a hard decision – if Daisy didn’t have surgery she would almost certainly bleed out, but surgery was risky due to the fact that she had so recently undergone heartworm treatment. I consulted another vet who agreed that surgery was the best option for Daisy.

On October 30^th, Daisy and I got up early, went for a nice long walk and then sat together in a quiet meditation. At 9:00 am we went to the vet where they began prepping Daisy for surgery. I stayed by her side until the moment they took Daisy into the operating room. For several hours, I waited and prayed. At 12:45 the surgeon came out and asked me and my husband to come into one of the exam rooms immediately. He told us that Daisy had done well throughout the surgery but was not waking up from the anesthesia. I was brought into the operating room and stood gently stroking my precious girl as she passed away quietly on the operating table.

I decided then and there that part of my life’s work would be to save and find loving homes for older Retrievers (and Retriever mixes!). As a tribute to my beloved girl, Daisy’s Place was born.

Five days later, I received a phone call that a local shelter had an older Lab/Hound mix scheduled to be euthanized (due to her age which the shelter guessed to be around 9 years old). The dog was a stray and nobody had claimed her – I knew instantly that she had been sent by Daisy and immediately brought her home. Magnolia became the first dog to be rescued by Daisy’s Place and is thriving and happy in her new forever home!

Look for my upcoming Daisy Chain Collection - each piece is lovingly created and a portion of all proceeds will benefit Daisy's Place and the sweet old souls who are awaiting their forever homes!

Many Blessings, Melissa

"Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love...they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog - it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big." - Erica Jong