There Is No Place Like Home

In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's homesickness and fear overwhelm her, and she closes her eyes and clicks her shoes together and repeats a now iconic phrase.

There is no place like home.

There is no place like home. 

There is no place like home. 

Over the last four decades , Dunblane has been home to enough animals to fill a modern day arc. 

There was Birdie, an ancient Appaloosa who was so ugly that she was beautiful. Birdie came to Dunblane because the world had turned its back on her. She was one in a million, and she knew that there is no place like home. 

Cheep was a newborn starling I rescued from the clutches of our ginger cat Jingles.  This happened on the morning that Nina's sister passed away. Against all odds, Cheep survived and thrived. We created a living space for Cheep in a little room. We watched him grow in grace and beauty. When Nina would come home, she would say "Cheep, mama is home" and Cheep would go berzerk and fly to her and bury his head in the crook of her neck.  When we released Cheep at Bear Creek, we wept. Cheep knew that there is no place like home. 

There was Panchito, the tiny opossum who showed up at the Copacabana Deck. He was frail and scared. The clutter of cats took him under their wings, and it was amazing to witness. Panchito would come and sit right next to us, as though this was a natural thing opossums did.  He knew he had nothing to fear, and that there is no place like home. 

One day a cat showed up at the back door. He was missing an eye, had matted hair and was skeletal. He was frightened, but did not run away from us. When trying to come up with a name for our new friend, our then four year old son said " How about Fluffy?" It was perfect. Fluffy knew he had reached sanctuary and that there is no place like home. 

I could go on for hours. I could write a novel about the pets that have graced our lives and made us better human beings. I'll spare you. 

There is no place like home for our pets. They make our homes complete. 

I love this picture of Crookshanks. His body language says it all. He is completely relaxed, enjoying the day without a care in the world. This was  not always the case. He was a bit of a wreck when we rescued him. With patience and unconditional love, we bonded. He is a real sweetheart, and knows that there is no place like home. 

Our pets are part of our family. 

Our homes are their homes. 

Let us celebrate our animal friends and thank God for them. 

Every night I pray for our little reflection group. 

Tonight I am also going to pray for our pets who brighten up our lives and homes. 

If any of you has a pet who is a little under the weather or is very sick, please send me a message with your pet's name and what is wrong. They need to be included in our prayers. 

Here is a prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi

We now ask You to grant our special 
animal companions your Fatherly care
and healing power to take away any
suffering they have. Give us, their
human friends, new understanding of
or responsibilities to these creatures of
Yours. 

Amen 

Diosito me los colme de bendiciones y alegria 

Paz 

I love you 

John