July 2024

provide veterinary care as required, mostly in the Fairfax clinic and hospital, because that’s where they have the equipment and staff they need. Wentzell also tries to leverage his own contacts in the animal health world and has arranged a discount package with a lab, as well as getting discounts on some medications. In addition, he’s available to talk to adopters after they take their dogs home if they need advice. He finds his work with Lily’s Legacy rewarding, because he can give back to the community and make a difference for animals. He and Goetting have been on the board of the organization since the beginning. “It’s a way that I can have a larger impact by helping steer the policies of the rescue group and optimize the care,” he says. Scooter and Jan Jan Gates, of Napa, discovered Lily’s Legacy 12 years ago, when she wanted to do some hospice work with animals at the end of their lives and started calling local animal shelters to inquire about opportunities. She looked after several dogs in “fospice” care (fospice is a combination of the words foster and hospice), and then looked after a dog for a week while its owner had medical treatment. The man never came out of the hospital, and so she adopted the dog, a dalmatian named Duke who was about 10. He’d only been with his previous owner for four months and settled quite well into a new home—other than being afraid of her partner, Dwight Danniel. “We went through all kinds of shenanigans,” she says, and then Duke decided that Danniel was OK after all, and they developed an extraordinary bond, to the point that she became the odd man out. The first time Duke climbed up on Danniel’s lap, he fell asleep, and Gates took a photograph of them and had a painting done. They had Duke for five-and-a-half years. “He was an amazing dog for us,” she says. “We really just like senior dogs. They seem to have more wisdom, if you will,” Gates says. “Now that we are seniors, their energy level is suitable for us.” She doesn’t think she could handle a pup with high energy and appreciates a wise old dog. “It’s wonderful to know that they’re not going to die in a shelter and that they’ll have a home at the end,” she says. Gates is

A dog’s last will and testament Unknown author imagines Fido’s final wishes If a dog were to leave a will, this is what it might be. “It makes me cry when I read it,” says Alice Mayn. (Author unknown) Before humans die, they write their last will and testament, and give their home and all they have to those they leave behind. If, with my paws, I could do the same, this is what I’d ask. To a poor and lonely stray I’d give: My happy home. My bowl, cozy bed, soft pillows and all my toys. The lap which I loved so much. The hand that stroked my fur and the sweet voice which spoke my name. I’d will to the sad scared shelter dog the place I had in my human’s heart, of which there seemed no bounds. So when I die please do not say, “I will never have a pet again, for the loss and pain is more than I can stand.” Instead go find an unloved dog; one whose life has held no joy or hope and give MY place to him. This is the only thing I can give...the love I left behind.

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