I took this photo of Maria because I wanted to, I love taking portraits of Maria. In this shot, she is wearing the Tilley hat she stole from me and wears every day. If she sees any article of mine that she likes, she just takes it, and since she never buys anything for herself, it’s a way of giving her a gift. I usually don’t even know it’s gone until it’s too late.
The tip off is when she says, “oh, are you still wearing those jeans?” It means they are gone. Here, she is on the way to the manure pile in pretty much the same clothes she wears to go to the theater.
Sakler Moo looks ready for the start of school at the prestigious Albany Academy, he has his tie, white shirt, khakis and new shoes. Ali’s pride is quite evident, he is very happy for Sakler.
It is, I admit, a bit of a shock to see Sakler dressed up like this, he is already transformed.
This is not what he wore to Middle School or to soccer games or field trips.
Ali (Amjad Abdulla) is a surrogate parent to Sakler Moo, his parents are shy and private and speak little English. They are grateful to Ali for acting as their surrogate parent, he deals with the school, drives Sakler every morning to school and back, keeps an eye out on his young friend.
Ali has been keeping an eye on his gifted protege for some time now.
Sakler starts regular classes next week (he gets to wear a Blue Blazer also), his tuition for this year is all paid up and I’m trying to figure out how best to raise money for next year ($5,000) while also respecting his family’s desire for privacy and Sakler’s own privacy and need to adjust in peace and alone.
I spoke with a teacher at the Academy today, and he said Sakler was almost certain to change and evolve while he was at the school. “And it will be good for him,” he said, ” his will help shape the rest of his life.”
Ali has asked the school not to make too much of a fuss over Sakler, to treat him as they would treat any other student, which is what Sakler also wants, and I trust and hope the school will take his request to heart. He is quiet and shy, he does not ever seek much attention.
The family was unnerved recently when a local reporter, anxious to do a story on Sakler, tried to end run Ali and the family and showed up at the school asking to interview Sakler without permission. He is fourteen.
The reporter squashed any chance she has of getting a story on Sakler anytime soon. I was a reporter for a long time, I can’t imagine approaching a 14-year-old kid in school without permission, especially these days. The school was alert and called Ali, he said there was no permission given, and the reporter was sent away.
I told Ali and the family this will happen again, it will die down if they refuse to play along, and the reporters will move on.
The family trusts me and Ali and I have a close and trusting relationship, but I also want to respect Sakler’s privacy and take care not to invade his space throughout the next three years, while at the same time helping to raise money for his tuition- we need $5,000 a year for three years, this year is paid up.
We don’t need and aren’t asking for help from the school or the school community to pay Sakler’s tuition, we will take on the responsibility for it ourselves. Our tuition contribution will be paid every year, and on time. We seek only the help from the Army Of Good. So far, they have made it clear they want to help make this happen. I am confident about it.
People ask me what will happen to Sakler if I die or get hit by a bus, and the answer is I don’t know. I’ll do the best I can for as long as I can, and I expect to be around for a good while. I have no legal relationship or obligation to the family, my contribution is just that.
He is not my child or ward. I just want to help.
Sakler’s parents say they trust me completely, in part because I am close to Ali, and in part because I have known Sakler for more than two years and have never violated his privacy or dignity. I’ve met his mother and we are easy with one another. I bought her her first meal ever in a restaurant.
She knows about my role as a sponsor for the soccer team and my respect and affection for her son.
Trust takes time, and I am proud to have earned it.
My idea is to meet with Sakler every month or so, inside or outside of the school (with permission of Ali and parents and school when necessary), take a photo and ask how he is doing. I need to do this because people need to see Sakler once in awhile if they are to want to help pay his tuition. And if there is important news he wants me to share, I’ll share it. I don’t want people to forget him, I surely won’t.
But I won’t violate his privacy either. I have a privacy police.
Mostly, I will leave him alone and keep track of him through Ali. Generally, I will stay away from his school. Ali will keep me informed, and I’ll get a photo up every once in awhile. When I go near the school, I will ask Sakler, Ali and his mother, and then the school.
That’s my privacy policy, Sakler has a lot to handle this year, he needs the time and space – and privacy – to handle it.
If you wish to support his tuition fee for 2019 – I already have $1,000 in the Sakler Moo account – you can send a check or payment to me, Jon Katz, c/o Post Office Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. Please mark the contribution “Sakler Moo.” I have $4,000 to go. And thanks. All money will go into a new special account for this express purpose.
This is exciting, I am committed to it and grateful for the opportunity to help in this way.
The way I deal with loss and pain is to accept it, respect it, and then move forward.
Dogs are joy to me, never a misery, in life or death. I have this idea for honoring Evie, who died last night in Arkansas from respiratory failure from pneumonia.
Today, I thought it would be a valuable thing to try to adopt two other dogs in honor of Evie, and of the lost dogs that fall behind or are forgotten.
Chewbacca , a Yorkshire Terrier Mix, is described by everyone who knows him as a “very sweet boy who loves adventure and playing with other dogs.” He is a great citizen of the home, he loves walks and running around the yard. He is not a lap dog, a least not yet.
He’s what I call a “bright eyes dog.” He has fun in his eyes, the kind of dog that makes one smile.
He is ten years old and had surgery to remove his bladder stones. He is otherwise healthy, and because of his age, he is inexpensive. The adoption donation is $199 and FOHA will help with transportation costs.
So will I and the Army Of Good if the adopter is far away. Chewbacca is in Rhode Island, you can check him out here. If you need to communicate with a human, you can e-mail our friend Carol Johnson she’s [email protected].
The Friends of Homeless Animals/RI website is http://www.FohaRI.org.
Chewbacca needs a good and loving home, sweet is the word that seems to best describe him.
The other dog I think stands out and might have appeal for people who were interested in Evie – a half dozen wanted her – is Charles, a mixed breed to believed to mostly be Japanese Chin, a breed I’ve never heard before.
He is younger, five, and the adoption donation for him is $599 as he is currently undergoing heartworm treatment.
Charles. Japanese Chin?
Charles won’t be available for a couple of months until the vet clears him. Carol Johnson, who is fostering him in Arkansas, says he is very shy and she doesn’t think he ought to be with children, but she say she is a sweet and loving dog, he just needs to feel safe and loved.
He sounds interesting to me. Beyond the heartworm, he is in good health,but if you’re interested you can e-mail Carol at [email protected]. She is honest and practical.
I caution people not to adopt a dog for emotional reasons, it is a practical decision as well as a moral or emotional one. These are both unusual dogs, I have this feeling they would belong to some of the same people who were interested in Evie, both have far fewer health problems than she did.
Chin seems like an exotic dog who needs a quiet and stable place to live. Unusual, I’ve never seen one.
So this is my idea of honoring Evie, try to adopt a couple of dogs who need homes. It is awful to lose a dog, but the most wonderful thing about dogs is when you lose them, you can go and get another one, and all of the pain and grief melts away.
There are cruel people in the world, but there are also good people, many of them are reading this right now.
FOHA will pay the transportation costs for anyone who lives in the Northeast, me and the Army of Good will try and help people who live farther away. Thinking of you today Evie, there are too many people who mistreat dogs, but many more people who love them dearly.
Maybe some of those will adopt one of these dogs, and give some meaning to her life and death.
Note: Dr. Jonathan Bradshaw, who was up very late last night working with Evie, have, at their own expense, arranged to have Evie cremated and her ashes put into a special casket. He and his staff said she was one of the very sweetest dogs they have known. I’m not sure yet where the casket will go, I hope it goes to Carol Johnson, who worked so hard to give Evie some good love and good days.
I’m excited to get Bud, another small dog, and a Boston Terrier, but whenever I look at Red and take his photo, I’m reminded of just how much I love border collies. They say you have to be crazy to love a border collie, because almost all of them are crazy.
This is true, but Red is the first border I have had who is profoundly sane. He is solid as a rock, good in therapy work, good with sheep. He is always by my side, even when I write. I love the intensity of the breed, their intelligence and enthusiasm.
Fate has more fun not chasing sheep than most dogs have doing just about anything. And the Boston Terriers are a good counterbalance to them. Can’t wait for Bud to come her and join the pack, but Red is a joy to behold, every day.
Ray Telford dig a wonderful job rebuilding our barn and saving it from our donkeys, who were eating through a wall to get to the hay. Ray works long and hard and takes great pride in his work. He is also very nice.
His next project will be helping to straighten out the Pole Barn wall and replacing that ugly siding with some wood and a farm window. He will also help us rebuild the wooden gates to the Pole Barn, which the donkeys and the sheep have also eaten (they were not supposed to eat hemlock, but they did.)
Below, Ray’s new wall, complete with high strength chicken wire donkeys and sheep can’t eat through.
Saving Our Wall. Donkey proof wood and wiring.
Ray says he caught a big fish last week, the biggest in years. It’s so big he’s having it mounted. We like having Ray around, we are happy he has joint the world of Bedlam Farm, we need him. He has figured out there is absolutely no point in talking to me about mechanical things, he talks to Maria.
