________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONTRIBUTE | ADVERTISE | SHOP | COMMUNITY | CAST | REVIEWS | CONTACT
2015-12-15: Hi! You're probably here because you did a Google search for 'plus sized horseback riders' or you saw my content quoted elsewhere. There are a couple of things I'd like you to know.

I am still here! But I am living away from my horses and not riding often. I could tell you a lie and say that I am, but I have always endeavored to give you the truth here. As a result, I'm not feeling terribly motivated to write blog posts and I feel out of touch with the community.

I'd love for you to stay a while and look back through the archives. Visit the links listed below. We still have an active forum community and I post on the Facebook page from time to time.

I have tentative plans to try to get more involved in the horse world in 2016, and I will absolutely share whatever that adventure becomes with you, so keep checking back!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

For the love of an animal...

At the end of the day, when an animal cannot make a decision itself, we are essentially the only ones who are responsible for doing the right thing for them. It is a heavy burden, and the right choice can sometimes be overshadowed by selfishness. Of course we want to keep our furry familiars with us, sometimes even when it is not the best choice for the animal.

A year ago today, a young woman who is very special to me and who I have mentioned in this blog several times as my partner in crime and sister made a decision to do the right thing for a dog that she loved very much. Bella was plagued by demons that none of us could really understand and after three years of blood, sweat, tears, and a lot of money to try to help Bella, my then 17 year old sister helped her best friend cross the Rainbow Bridge with dignity and let her find peace.



There was not a whole lot that Shay wanted more in this world than to be able to keep Bella with her... but she made the decision, as the only one who could, to cease her demons. Many times, she has questioned herself - even today, a year later, there are times when she wonders if she made the right choice. I know that she did. And so does Bella.

I spoke to a friend of mine last weekend who has an intuition for animals. She said to me that animals come here for whatever period of time they have, for a purpose - to teach us a lesson or show us something we didn't know about ourselves - and when their purpose has been completed, they leave us, to make room for the other animals that will teach us other lessons that they were not able to. When they depart this earth, it is their time, whether we feel that it is or not, so there is no resentment, no distrust of a human that may have to make that decision for their creature, because the time is right, whether we know it or not. I choose to believe this.
Posted by at

5 comments:

  1. Equine MumSeptember 17, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    Lovely blog! Why not come over and visit http://hay-net.co.uk/ where you can post this blog and follow other Equine Blogs too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Captivating CarinaSeptember 17, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    What a beautiful testimony to Shay and Bella. This brought tears to my eyes. I don't think anyone who knows Shay and knew Bella would question her decision or doubt that she made the absolute right choice, for even one second. What she had to do was something that was way beyond her years and she never should have had to face, especially at such a young age. I have so much respect for her. Please give her a hug from me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Such a difficult decision and such a brave decision. Brave being something that we wouldn't choose to do but must do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HeatherSeptember 18, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    Shay is VERY brave to make that decsion. I kept my old dog several months longer than I should have, but it was to be at peace with myself and all the kids next door that loved her too. But had I not made that error with my old dog, I would have made the mistake with my rescue Arab mare-Jasmine. Both of which were rescues and one was just in a more dire situation when PTS.
    Yes Shay, it'll hurt for a long while, but in the end you know what you did was right.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DomOctober 7, 2011 at 12:29 PM

    Beautiful entry and Shay is INCREDIBLE for making that tough call. <3

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)