The beloved member of our family, Spotted Calamity Jane, the oldest of our two Dalmatians had to be put down on February 17. It was the hardest decision I personally ever had to make, knowing when it was time to put her out of too much pain. The tears continue to flow and I know will for a long time. She had survived breast cancer at the age of 4 and continued to live a happy life loving her runs on the beach. 2 1/2 years ago she was diagnosed with renal failure, something that is irreversible but we continued to give her a low protein diet and top notch vet care and monitoring that included some acupuncture. It came to a point where we knew the pain was outweighing the good quality of life and the end was not far away and it was time to end the suffering. For 13 years she brought us joy and laughter and unconditional love. She was the leader and companion to our other 8 year old Dalmatian Kiva, who is deaf and followed Cally everywhere watching everything that she did. Watching the two of them running and playing on the beach in the water and sand are memories I will always carry. So we decided to have Cally cremated so we could spread her ashes out on the beach that she loved so much.

Then we were faced with another heart break. Seventeen days later we were told that her ashes had been lost and it floored us. It sent me curled up in a bed crying for a whole day. Family members and friends were outraged as our hearts once again tried to overcome the loss. We were told to get an attorney and sue for compensation. In quietness I walked through the trails in the woods near our house and thought what good could come from all of this. The vet of course refunded our money and offered to buy a memorial stone or something for us. I told him we would think about things. Then I decided that her life and the joy that she brought us should go to something positive and that I did not want to go through the stress and negativity of a law suit and staring at a meaningless stone memorial would not make it any better. That wouldn't change anything. So I suggested to the vet and the cremation services company, to donate money to my favorite charity, Indie Music For Life, that works with independent singer songwriters and comedians to raise money for cancer research and educational awareness programs on the benefits of music and laughter as therapy to cancer patients. This turned the tragedy into a positive. We have the great memories of her life with us and the knowledge that even in her death she has brought more good to the world. Cally is the beautiful dark colored Dalmatian on the left in this picture. Her spots continued to grow and grow which made her look like a black Dalmatian with white spots. We called her "our little negative" for those of you in the photography field that understand reverse imaging. She was a rare jewel and always a positive in our lives.