Frederick Benjamin

Everyone who knows me is aware of my love for animals. I rescued Fred from the streets of New York City, and we both never looked back. Losing Fred is not something that I'll ever get over, so to memorialize his passing, I made a little card that I laminated and gave to all of his vets and assistants. It looked like this:

To Fred's handlers, doctors and technicians,

Psalms 139:14 KJV - I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works...I believe that is the case - all of God's creatures are powerful and fragile, all at the same time.

Your heroic efforts could not save Fred but please take heart that you have touched my life deeply. My gratitude and thanks for your day-to-day routine task of saving lives has not gone unnoticed. We do not know why Fred was taken, even the best possible medical science has yet to yield a solid answer to that, but he has touched all of us, and we have all had the beauty of experiencing his bright and shining light, goodwill and innocence. May we never forget his unconditional love, and learn and grow from it. May you all be blessed for your kindness and wonderful gifts, and may you continue to use those gifts and talents for the greater-good.

Luke 12:48 NIV - ...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Finagler Wilmington

Photo Credit: Mimi Vang Olsen/New York City

Finagler, a.k.a. "Poke" came into my life on a rainly July 4th weekend. I was visiting my friend Brian in Delaware, and we were on a long country walk when all of a sudden a scraggly, emaciated kitten, too young to be from its mother, jumped out in front of us, stopping us in our tracks. We were surrounded by miles of soybean fields, and there were no farms or houses nearby. We looked all over for a mommy cat, and took him home to warm him up and feed him from a dropper, and then visited the nearby farms to see if they'd lost any kittens, but they had not. Long story short, I had planned to go back to New York on the train, but they didn't allow animals, so instead, Brian drove me to my sister's in New Jersey, and from there my brother-in-law drove him to New York City. The rest is history. I took Poke to the vet, nursed him back to health, and I was blessed to have him with me for the next nine years, until it was his time to leave us, on a rare, full lunar eclipse. He will always live on in my heart and in my life.

I have many photographs of Finagler, but I thought it would be nice to use this painting that my friend Mimi made of both Fred and him at home. It looks exactly like them both, and it captures that twinkle that Poke always had in his eye.

Angelo

Photo Credit: Robert Fresco/New York City

My friends Judy and Robert have a little doggie named Angelo, who sometimes likes to bite off more than he can chew.

Peter

Photo Credit: Mary Evans/Hudson Valley

My friend Peter likes cats (only two are mine).