In April of 2007 we were on our way to visit my bestfriend. We took the "scenic" route...hubby has this thing for the back way to everywhere. The route just happened to be a long winding dirt road that is often used by people to dump their trash and unwanted furniture. It is also used to abandon unwanted baby animals. About half way down the dirt road we spot something in the middle of the road. As we got closer I realized it was a bundle of baby kittens. Hubby moved over to the shoulder of the road and passed them. I had hubby back up ...much to his arguement...and got out. Three of the cutiest little kittens  came running as fast as they could to me. I scooped them all three up in my arms and placed them in our van. Yes also to hubby's arguement...lol. Once at my friends house we got them out and realized they were only around 4 or 5 weeks old. Now our (my) intentions were to get them old and healthy enough to find a good home for each . We already had a very sassy adult calico and couldn't imagine her taking up with the kittens. And our son had a dog he had rescued from an animal rescue. Soooooo we had enough animals to take care of.

We bottle fed each one of the kittens. They did not know how to eat or drink from a dish. Try bottle feeding three kittens...wow is all I can say.At the time I did in home child care so the older kids had a great time pitching in to help . During this time hubby rescued a 5 month old Jack Russell puppy. By now we had enough critters running around and we decided the puppy would be better if we found him a good home. As luck would have it my Mom's bestfriend and her son were looking for a small house dog. The lady's son has some disabilities and a small dog was perfect. We knew the puppy was in the best of care but hubby had fallen in love with the little fellow right away. That was all hubby talked about forever ... how much he missed the little guy. I was so busy with all the other critters , child care and our own kids that I could not possibly see how we could take care of  anymore. 

My grandmother had been ill and in declining health for about three years and on Sept. 21, 2007 she passed away. I can not tell you the loss that was to our family. Granny and I were so close. 

I had scheduled a vet appointment weeks before to have the three kittens and our sons dog spayed and neutored. The kittens were around 6 months old now. I decided to go ahead and keep the appointment and juggled it between family and funeral arrangments. That day I received a phone call from the Vet telling me he suspected the kittens had a fatal feline disease called Feline Infectious Peritinitous "FIP". I was devastated by this time I had grown so attached to the kittens. Especially the one named Tiger. It wasn't concrete they had "FIP" but the symptoms pointed very strongly in that favor. With in one week of being home from the Vet we had lost Whiskers. Then a week or so later Powder and then a few days later sweet Tiger. I didn't think I could stand anymore loss.  A day or two after we burried Tiger we found our sons dog dead in the driveway . It seems she broke her chain and was hit by a car.  I was emotionally exhausted . I missed my grandmother something terrible and the house seemed so empty without the kittens. I cried ever time I thought of it all. 

Around Thanksgiving I began to look on the web for rescue groups. I was hoping we could find a Jack Russell puppy to rescue. Most of the rescues wanted as much as a breeder to adopt and we just did not have that kind of money. I had emailed my friend who runs a rescue shelter and told her I was interested in a Jack Russell puppy if she knew of anyone who had one needing a home. With in a few days a lady had contacted her with a 9 month old Jack Russell mix. The owner and I emailed for several weeks. She felt comfortable that ZiZi would have a good home and decided to let us adopt her. She had also agreed to have ZiZi fixed at her expense . ZiZi had surgery and did great. We were supposed to get her around Christmas. Just before we were to get ZiZi her owner had a change of heart. She had realized she was far more attached and just did not want to let her go. There were no hard feelings because it was so very easy for me to understand her love and attachment to ZiZi.

Ahhhhhh... by this time I had just given up on the idea of another pet. When the really unexpected happened. Our friend who had adopted the Jack Russell puppy from us called. Being a widow and having a child with special needs "Toby" was just more than she could handle . She asked if we would want to take him back and care for him. WELL YEA !!!!!!

At that moment I seen the mysterious way God had worked in our life.

We had given the love to three unwanted kittens who only had a short time on this earth. God knew we would give them all the love they needed. 

If I had not made the Vet appointment I would have never known the cause of their death...which would have bothered me greatly.

We were not able to care for "Toby" the Jack Russell puppy. So God provided someone who could .

By ZiZi's owner changing her mind we were able  to take "Toby" and care for him since it was to much for his owner. Plus I think all of the goings on helped me keep my mind off how much I was missing my grandmother.

I can not imagine our home and lives with out Toby. He is so full of energy and keeps us on our toes. I feel he was meant to be a part of our family it just took the hand of God for it to happen. As hard as some of that time in our lives were it was what had to happen for things to fall into place .

Vicki