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JSchaaf
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| Posted: June 20 2006 at 10:06pm | IP Logged
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I don't have the mental energy to rewrite it all-you can see it here.. What I didn't write in the blog post is that the estimate for these twice/thrice weekly dressing changes is $800/month. And who knows how many months this will go on? The decision has been made to put Katie down. She's in a lot of pain and the only time she's comfortable is when she's full of drugs. The girls and I had a big cry and cuddle and talked a lot about pets and death and heaven and how sometimes doing the right thing hurts very much. I think the connection was made when Anne-Catherine said "This is how Mary must have felt when she knew that Jesus was going to die-she didn't want Him to die but she had to let Him die". Of course, that made me cry harder! That brought us to another question-Bethany wants to know if we can baptize Katie. I told her we would (planning on using tap water) but Beth wants us to use holy water. So, would it be a sacrilege? Do you think God would understand the heart of a five year old and be ok with us baptizing a dog??
Jennifer
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Taffy
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| Posted: June 20 2006 at 10:35pm | IP Logged
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I'm so sorry to hear about your dog Jennifer. My heart simply breaks for you. 
Personally, I don't think God will mind your baptizing your dog with holy water. God understands what it is to have a broken and hurting heart after all. Hopefully, someone with more knowledge will answer that question for you.
I hope that next week goes better.
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Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
Susan's Soliloquy
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teachingmom
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| Posted: June 20 2006 at 11:53pm | IP Logged
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I'm sorry for what you all are going through, Jennifer. That said, I wouldn't try to present what you want to do as "baptizing" the dog. Since dogs don't have eternal souls, they cannot be baptized. I think it would be confusing to your children to learn that later and remember "baptizing" the dog when they were young.
I do know, however, that blessing of animals is a time-honored thing for Catholics to do. Many parishes host a blessing of pets on the Feast of St. Francis each year. Maybe you could use the holy water and sprinkle some on the dog as a blessing and pray for the intercession of St. Francis for your beloved pet.
Anyone else with ideas for what might be an appropriate way to handle this?
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 5:38am | IP Logged
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I think Irene is right. I wrote a column about this once. (I just googled myself and can't find it online). Essentially, we took the "plain truth road" with our then 8yo, and told him dogs don't have souls. The dog died. A week later, Michael hit the very same topic in Faith and Life. There, in black and white, it said animals don't have souls. I was glad we hadn't lied. Michael was so raw at that point that finding out something we'd told him to make him feel better wasn't true would have been like pouring salt in a wound. Sprinkling with holy water and a St. Francis blessing is a great idea. If you don't have a St. Francis statue, buy one in the dog's memory. I also did a photo collage of happy days with the dog and put it up with family photos. A very kind friend found a small, carved wooden statue that looked like our dog. It stills sits on my husband's desk. And our wonderful vet (who happens to be married to Stephen's godmother) sent us a beautiful note. Incidentally, it was dh who suffered the most. I'm afraid you are in for more terrible, horrible for a while
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Dawn
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 6:20am | IP Logged
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Oh, Jennifer, I am so sorry about Katie. I saw your post this morning and immediately offered prayers for her. I will now add prayers for you and the girls. We have a St. Francis statue in our garden, and after our cat was put down last October, we found solace praying and thinking about her there.
Praying for your peace and strength as you deal with this ...
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys 
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 7:25am | IP Logged
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Jennifer,
I've been following along your hard week without your dh. I'm so sorry about the dog. I agree that you shouldn't "baptize" the dog but use the opportunity like Elizabeth said.
Prayers for strength and the family's consolation.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: June 21 2006 at 9:13am | IP Logged
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Thank you all. I think we will bless Katie with the holy water, but draw the line at an actual baptism!! I may have made a boo-boo when I told them she would be in heaven, though. Maybe by the time we get to that in the Religion books they will be able to forgive me for that lie.
Jennifer
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Jen L.
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| Posted: June 26 2006 at 1:31am | IP Logged
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JSchaaf wrote:
I may have made a boo-boo when I told them she would be in heaven, though. Maybe by the time we get to that in the Religion books they will be able to forgive me for that lie.
Jennifer |
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I don't know if this is doctrinally sound, but I have told my kids that pets and other animals might be in heaven, but not because they have souls. I have told them that we can't imagine how happy we will be in heaven, but we try by thinking of our perfect day or place -- just for a taste. In this imagining, we have animals and our pets!
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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momwise
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| Posted: June 26 2006 at 8:59am | IP Logged
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JSchaaf wrote:
| I may have made a boo-boo when I told them she would be in heaven, though. |
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I may be wrong but maybe the Church doesn't rule out animals in Heaven. I told my little dc when our dog died last Sept. that everything we need to happy in Heaven will be there, and left it at that. The Bible says the lion will lie down with the lamb--now I'm off to check the CCC.
BTW, I totally agree not to baptize--but a blessing would be really nice; I wish we'd thought of that. We did pray to St. Francis a lot!
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 29 2006 at 10:29am | IP Logged
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momwise wrote:
JSchaaf wrote:
| I may have made a boo-boo when I told them she would be in heaven, though. |
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I may be wrong but maybe the Church doesn't rule out animals in Heaven. I told my little dc when our dog died last Sept. that everything we need to happy in Heaven will be there, and left it at that. The Bible says the lion will lie down with the lamb--now I'm off to check the CCC. |
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I checked, and there was no mention of souls or heaven about animals. But Jennifer, you did the right thing, as the CCC does state:
2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.
My mother-in-law had to put down her cat on Tuesday. She doesn't show emotion or affection well, but this cat meant so much to her. Her husband had died 10 years ago. She received the cat as a gift and he's been her companion these 10 years. She's now all alone...doing well, but I know it's hard.
I was praying for both you and her during this week, thinking of how you are feeling the losses.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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ALmom
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We are sorry about your dog, Jenn. Our children made a tombstone for our neighbor's dogs (they were like ours and we buried them in our backyard) which included some memorabilia. We used one of those kits from wal-mart for stepping stones. Burying the dog, really did help the dc deal with it. I know for many years our dd kept the area around the tombstone free of weeds, and full of various flowers and tokens of her affection.
Around our house, we have many loved animals that are buried. My dad buried his dog too - he had to have it put down at the vet but he still brought the body home for burial.
Janet
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Topic: Jennifer and Her Terrible, Horrible Week
