Devon ODay - My Angels Wear Fur: Animals I Rescued and Their Stories of Unconditional Love

My Angels Wear Fur

MY ANGELS
WEAR FUR

Animals I Rescued
And Their Stories of Unconditional Love

DEVON O DAY

To Kimmi,
A real friend hears the song your heart sings,
and sings it back to you when you forget the words.
Thank you for always helping me remember!

Copyright 2002 by Devon ODay

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise indicated, photos by Devon ODay.

Published by Rutledge Hill Press, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee, 37214.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ODay, Devon, 1962
My angels wear fur : animals I rescued and their stories of
unconditional love / Devon ODay.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-40160-029-8 (hardcover)
1. Pets. 2. Human-animal relationships. 3. ODay, Devon, 1962-I. Title.
SF416 .O35 2002
636.0887dc21

2002008627

Printed in the United States of America
04 05 06 07 08 QW 10 9 8 7 6

Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

GENESIS 2:19

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Some people read the Bible and get amazing insight. Some people go fishing and get close to God. I have found that God has sent animals to help me understand His plan for me. When I wont listen to Him, when I cant hear Him, He inevitably sends me an angel in fur to show me His divine teachings.

Kindness, unconditional love, faith, hope, steadfastness, courageall have been exhibited by the animals that have crossed my lifes path. God is constant in His teachings, and He wont give up on us. Sometimes, for all of us, He has to find the key or the method to bring us understanding. For me, it has come dressed in fur, smelling of hay, or begging for dog biscuits.

If we can all be as good as the simple creatures weve been given dominion over, our lives will be rich.

May you find joy in your days,
May you find satisfaction in your tasks,
May you find contentment in yourself,
And may you find comfort in your loss.

As you cuddle up with your angel in fur, listen to the words God might be telling you through this animal!

Thank you,

Steve Bard and Lara Turner, who give all they have and all they are in the unselfish saving of animals.

The Tennessee Farmers Co-Op, for helping with the Pet Hotline and for providing great products and good prices.

Sonya Velez, for your angel work with nashvillepetfinders.com.

Cathy Pelletier, for practicing what you preach, for continuing to consider me a writer, and for giving me Earl.

The crew of volunteers of Saddle-Up and Angel Heart Farms.

Hoyte and Jane Eakes, for everything!

Dr. John McCormick, Dr. Linda Taylor, and all the crew at McCormick Animal Clinic in Nashville.

Cherry at Nashville Humane Association.

James and Jim, for taking care of my babies when no one was looking.

Vernell Hackett, The Kinleys, Lorrie Morgan, Drew Womack, Phran Gallante, and all the Music Row insiders who help so much in the fight to save animals and give them a safe place to be.

JuRo Stables, for helping me out.

Cheatham County Animal Hospital, Hermitage Animal Clinic, and The Pet Emergency Clinic on Eighth Avenue.

Helen, at Springfield Animal Control.

Judy Ladabouche, for doing such a thankless job and creating a wonderful facility!

Alisa, Jenn, Charlotte, the guy backstage at the Billy Gilman concert, Carroll, and everyone who has given my babies a home!

To the amazing pet lovers in publishers clothing at Rutledge Hill Press: Bryan, Geoff, Larry, and precious Sara, who just plain gets it. The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association. Tracy, Bob, and Bill are among the most noble horse people I know.

Dr. Chris Shue, Debbie, and the compassionate staff at Kingston Springs Veterinary Hospital. You were an incredible, compassionate anchor in one of my most difficult moments.

Gerry House, for your friendship, support, and belief. Part of accomplishing anything is having a safe place to fall.

Al, Duncan, and Mike, for always letting me see your hearts.

Marla, Leeanne, and the amazing e-mail group!

To Steve Earle, for inspiration.

And most important, the greatest of thanks to Pat, Charles, Faith, and Campion. Your constant belief, you spiritual roots, your love around me like wings have kept me on course, on the path, and on my way. I love you.

Over the years, animal rescue and adoption have transformed my life over and over and over. At times I have become transfixed on being almost forty and childless, until it has occurred to me that Im not childless at all. My children just have feathers and fur and find me completely flawless.

Although the subtitle of this book is Animals I Rescued, none of these stories are meant to focus on my actions when I found or rescued an animal (or when animals in need found me!). On the contrary, this is a tribute to the animals that have divinely moved in and out of my life... and rescued me.

To me, animals exemplify all the qualities God asks of us. They love without judgment. They always turn the other cheek. They are loyal and caring, and they see through each of us, to the hidden souls of our real beings. There is nothing but simple truth and a sense of right and good in our animal friends.

If by reading any of these stories, one person is moved to adopt a new family member from a pound or shelter, it has been worth every word. If by touching a spirit with these words, someone stops by a roadside and helps a hurt stray animal in need, this book will have been a gift of life. If by reading these words, you feel a closer bond to those furry soft faces that look up at you with such adoration each day, then my time has been well spent.

Enjoy these stories and love Gods creatures.

Women and cats will do as they
please, and men and dogs should
relax and get used to the idea.

UNKNOWN

Louisiana is known for incredible food; a steeping of cross-culture that blends African, Cajun French, Native American, and Southern; and strange swamp creatures of great assortment. Rural Louisiana is not, however, known for its wonderful and humane treatment of abandoned and sheltered domestic animals.

I began doing volunteer work in college, at an animal control facility located in a flood-endangered field right behind a building marked Mosquito Control. Obviously, the animals were not considered important enough for anyone to care that they were quartered near drums of the pesticide DDT (still legal at that time). This was before visiting veterinarians began to donate their time to help with medical care for the unwanted and unhealthy strays of the earth. This was not a shelter. It was a poundthe last stop, the ninth life, the end of the tracks. Mange was rampant, as was kennel cough. Animals were wet and shaking, and food bowls were filled with rank and stinking food mixed with water and urine. This little animal facility in the forgotten part of my hometown became my new focus. I have come to realize that this was the condition of animal facilities all over the country during the years before animal activists and volunteers began to bring change about through legal battles and elbow grease.