Busy As A Bee

Semester end is always a crazy time. Today has been pretty busy for a Saturday. So busy, that I'm just now getting around to doing my daily post. We are closing in 5 minutes, so this will be a really short one. No big plans for the weekend. I'm going to walk Bear this afternoon in some unseasonably cool weather. Hopefully, tomorrow will be warmer, as they have predicted. Casey's off tomorrow, so we may run into Nashville to Aquatic Critter to make sure that everything is a go for Celebration Pet Day for the reptile program. Other than that, we'll probably just veg and watch movies again. I'm off at Kindred Spirits on Monday. Mom's got her usual 3 month check-up at the doctors. So, we'll all be going into Nashville and probably have a nice lunch afterwards. It will be weird not working on Monday. I will still be helping to teach obedience with Jennie on Monday, though. That's about it for today. I'll make a longer post on Tuesday. Everyone have a good weekend!!

New Link Here at the Zoo

I'd like to welcome Aidana and Kate from Kender Kennel: A Wholesale Manufacturer of All-Natural Pet Care & Grooming Products to the zoo!

They have a GREAT website and blog and GREAT products! So click the link and hop on over and give them a "look see".

Soggy Friday

It's just pouring in buckets today. I wish it would stop, so Bear and I could go on our nightly walk. It's been pretty quiet today. Finals started, so there is a lot of student panic attacks going on, but nothing we haven't been able to handle. I went home yesterday and did nothing that I had planned on doing. I was really fidgety for some reason. I tried to watch a movie, but the phone kept ringing and interrupting. I finally decided to watch a DVD by my favorite singer, Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues. It's called An Audience With Justin Hayward.

It's an interview interlaced with acoustic performances. There were some really different interview questions for a change, so it was really interesting. There's also a second section of songs recorded acoustically in a studio with some of Justin's personal footage sprikled in for effect. The whole DVD was fabulous really. There's the most wonderful version of Voices In the Sky from the album In Search of the Lost Chord that I have COMPLETELY fallen in love with. I just wish they'd released an audio CD of the whole thing, so I could continue to listen to it in the car. Needless to say, the DVD calmed my jangled nerves. Also, it was quite funny to watch Bear stare at me so intently while I sang to the music. It was almost like it mesmerized him. He was very quiet and still watching between me and the t.v. all evening. He's such an interesting little dog!!

No big plans for tonight. Casey's making what he calls "breakfast for supper" for dinner tonight. We are having waffles with fruit topping, hashbrowns, and country ham. That's what we refer to here in the south as "heart attack on a plate". Now I REALLY hope that the weather clears. I definitely need to get that walk in now! Not much else going on tonight, I don't think. We'll probably watch some movies. Casey's brought home Finding Neverland from work, so that will probably be our choice tonight. I want to leave you all today with a dog thought. It is a quote from Terry Bain's book You Are A Dog, which I HIGHLY recommend. It comes from the dog's point of view, and I think it is a sentiment that all of us animal lovers SHOULD ALWAYS remember:

pg. 147 From the entry Reward

You live to give all of yourself in the service of companionship, in the service of equality and compatibility, of being with your people, of running, alongside or behind or in front, but always with, as if space means nothing.

Ho Hum!

Nothing exciting going on at all today. Much like the weather, the day has been kind of drab. We had a fire drill at work today in the pouring rain. It was much enjoyed by all employees. Today is a study day on campus, so it's practically like a ghost town. I'm having a lot of trouble concentrating today as well. My mind is off to other fabulous places to play actually. I think I'd like to be on beach somewhere basking in the sunshine. I have a cart that I need to get finished, but the spirit refuses to move me.

Not much to do after work today. Hopefully, the rain will let up enough that I can take Bear on his evening walk. I met yet another neighbor and his dog last night. My neighbor's name is Larry. He lives there with his wife. They are a middle aged couple. They have a beautiful yard full of flowers and wonderful landscapping. They have the tiniest speck of a dog named Pepper. Pepper is 1/4 Chihuahua, 1/4 long-haired Dachshund, 1/4 Shih Tzu, and 1/4 Maltese and he's black. He is 4 months old and hysterical to watch. Currently he weighs almost five pounds. He' not long-haired but not smooth coated either. His hair is a little longer than a rough coat though. Pepper is just so comical looking and EXTREMELY friendly. He's also not afraid of ANYTHING. Little dog syndrome you know. Anyway as my neighbor and I became aquainted, Bear became aquainted with Pepper. Bear seems to think that all little animals are his to play with. Just like he thinks that ALL cats are his. Anyway, I was tyring my best to keep Bear from being quite so enthusiastic, since we were all just meeting for the first time. I always enjoy getting to know the neighbors on Bear's usual walking route. These were not new neighbors I met, but I suppose that our timing has been off for the past three summers. We just happened to all be outside at the same time last night. Hopefully, I'll see much more of Pepper and Larry. I'd really love to get pictures to share of Pepper. Such a little comedian!

I'm trying to get the last little details finished on Celebration Pet Day, all the while trying to make myself little, mental notes about new ideas and improvements that can be made for next year. In just a little bit, I'll find out what all Kroger is giving us for supplies. We are still trying to secure the "elusive" drinks. My friend, Elaine, that is helping with all of the food donations has a friend that works at Coca Cola who is getting us a donation form to fill out. It would be really nice to get some drinks from them. I've also got to send out an e-mail to all of our vendors to let them know that we are providing them free lunches. I'm still working out the details of the volunteer schedule and the vendor booth set up. I suppose that I am stressed over everything, because I started having nightmares about it all last night. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

That's about it for me today. I hope everyone has a great afternoon!

Still Fuming All These Hours Later.....

I've been really busy today, but I'm still fuming over the earlier comment that I received. I've decided to send the weblink to American Humane Association and Humane Society of the United States. I also popped into the PayPal account listed and got the e-mail address it was signed up with. It was a Yahoo address, so I'm going to report it to Yahoo as well. I guess, beyond that, there's not much else I can do. If anyone knows of anything else I can do, please let me know.

Been so busy, busy, busy here. It's the end of the semester and finals start on Friday, so it's been crazy! I was doing my daily blog visits and ran across this over on Puptastic. A new movie with Diane Lane and John Cusack called Must Love Dogs. Click here to get the details on the movie. It's based on the novel by Claire Cook. I'm marking this one down on my "must see" list. The dog craze is growing folks! Everyone have a great evening!

Absolutely Infuriated!!!

I opened my e-mail this morning to find that I had received a comment to my blog. I have it set up to notify me by e-mail, so I don't have to go on and off of the blog to read the comments. Anyway, I gleefully opened my comment to find this a comment that was merely a website address. The website address was the entire comment. Two guys are running a voting contest, whether to kill a rabbit and eat it or let it live. I advise ALL of my readers NOT to visit the site to keep the popularity down. I had seen something posted about this that is either the same thing or similar over at Animal Diaries. (StarGazer, do you know if this is the same or different website than what you posted?) Anyway, I CANNOT tell you how much this infuriates me!!! Taking donations to vote whether an animal lives or dies is just plain SICK, in my opinion. It makes my blood BOIL that these people left a comment to try and take advantage of me, because I'm an animal advocate. How dare they try to STEAL money out of my pocket. To me, these people are just a couple of internet theives trying to make a quick buck off of a VERY sensitive issue. I probably shouldn't even have given them the satisfaction of a mention, but I AM SO ANGRY!!! I plan to delete the comment, and probably this post after a few hours....but I HAD to vent!!!

A Highly Recommended Read

I'm back from a rather long and restful weekend. Casey and I had such plans that we wanted to carry out. We wanted to go here, go there, do this, and do that. We found ourselves totally exhausted, when we finally sat down on our first day. We ended up doing nothing! We just sat, like taters, on the couch all weekend! We rented A LOT of movies and ate snacks and gained weight!! All of the dogs were quite proud to have us around. They wasted not a moment of the opportunity laying upon us in various places. Bear looked totally heartbroken, when I went to leave for the kennel yesterday morning. He also did a really good begging act to go back with me after lunch break, which got him a ride in the country! Not a lot going on today. I have a ton of work to do after my short break. Tonight the humane association is meeting to further discuss our Celebration Pet Day. Luckily, a friend and I have a lot of food donations to report. We've gotten nearly everything for hamburgers, hotdogs, popcorn, and snowcones enough to feed 300+ people through donations by some kind folks and wonderful local businesses!

The real point of my post today is to let you all know about a super, dog related read! It's the book You Are A Dog by Terry Bain. I was browsing the pet section at a local bookstore this past weekend, when I saw they had it in stock. Since, Terry is on my blogroll for his You Are A Dog site, I HAD to read it! (Terry's also been nice enough to link to me here at the "Zoo". It is the most FABULOUS read for dog lovers. I found myself laughing hysterically and nearly brought to tears in the span of a couple of minutes. It is such a touching book. You can tell that Terry Bain has an ability to convey the thoughts and musings of dogs. As I would tell my friends, "He's very doggy!" So if the animal lover in you is looking for a great read that will give you warm fuzzies, pick up a copy today. Also, don't forget to visit the You Are A Dog site too! Terry posts some very interesting stuff there. Enjoy!

Squeezing In a Post

I'm swamped at work today. I'm trying to get everything caught up, since I the next 2 days off!! I really wanted to get a good post in today, but alas it is not to be. Casey and I did go out for our mexican food last night. Unfortunately, our favorite mexican restaurant was closed for remodeling, so we hit up the other one across town. We met my friend Jennifer, her husband, 5 kids, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law. We had a great time and great conversation. It was really nice to sit and visit with everyone. When the waiter came out and saw our gigantic table full of people, I thought he was going to pass out! We were suprised that everyone did end up getting what they ordered. After dinner, Casey and I went back home and walked Bear.

I saw yesterday that Pennie tagged me for a meme on her blog. I told her I'd try to do it yesterday but as usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short. Ya'll stand back and get ready for the first meme on the zoo. Here's the topic:

Behold, the Caesar’s Bath meme! List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can’t really understand the fuss over.

1. Hot Tea: All of my friends absolutely swear by it. My thinking, I'm a southern gal. The only tea I drink is iced tea, or as we say down here, "sweet tea". It's the housewine of the south you know.

2. Comics: Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking comics. I just never could get into them. I really don't understand why though.

3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (t.v. show): All of my friends are just addicted to this show. I know it was a hit, but I just never really clicked with it. Most shows that are really top in the ratings, I never watch with the exception of Friends. Beware people!! I am a Friends addict!!

4. Knitting: All of my friends know how and have made some absolutely lovely things. I understand why they love it. My problem is I don't know how. I have trouble sitting down to do tasks like that. I'd much rather be on the move, outside, with a dog, in the sunshine!

5. Ipods: I admit they are cool, but I'm just not into them. I have a hard time using headphones. It's that moving around thing. I always end up hanging myself. Besides, I grew up in the age, where the bigger the speakers were the better. I just get distracted with stuff jammed in my ears.

That's it for my first meme. Anyone up to the task?

I hope that everyone has a great rest of the week and weekend. I'll be back to my usual posting self on Tuesday. Hopefully, I'll have some new pictures and good stories to share!

Be Kind to Your Volunteers!!

What a great morning!! The weather here is just fabulous. I've got to make sure to get out at lunch time and enjoy it. We've got some rain moving in for tomorrow and Friday. Not a lot going on here today. I've got a bunch of work stuff to get done, before I leave for the week tomorrow. Casey and I are planning on going to dinner at the mexican restaurant tonight, El Mexico. We've both been craving it for days.

I wanted to remind everyone that this week is Volunteer Appreciation Week!! If you know someone who volunteers for a shelter, humane association, animal control, or an animal welfare group, be sure to tell them thank you for all of their hard work. Volunteers help animals, because they love them. It's often a hard, nasty, stressful, heart breaking job, and these people do it out of love. Sometimes just a "thanks" or a pat on the back means the world. I'd love to know the number of people that volunteer for animal causes around the country. I bet the numbers are astounding!

Here's one of today's touching Petwarmers stories. You can subscribe to recieve these stories along with other great tips and information by clicking the link. Everyone have a great day!

OUR LITTLE MIRACLE WORKER by Joshua Lohman

It was a normal Saturday at the Lohman house.We awoke early to get ready for our bi-monthly trip to the Los Angeles Children's Hospital where my wife, Jennifer, and our 4 year old Maltese, Chloe, and I would spend several hours visiting and working with children.

Everyone looks forward to Chloe visits. Even the nurses get giddy when she arrives. She is well liked because she is small enough to cuddle right up on the bed with the patients -- kids who are dealing with transplants, cancer, or one of a number of extremely debilitating problems.

At times, we just spend five or ten minutes letting them love "The Chlofe". Other times, we provide pain management. Worst yet are the times when death is imminent and we are just there to soothe or take a mind away from what is at hand, if only for a second.

That day we visited a 13 year old girl who had not eaten or spoken for weeks after coming out of a coma. We arrived in her room to be greeted by her mother and grandmother. The love and concern from these ladies was overwhelming as they pleaded with the child to acknowledge Chloe.

I walked up to the bed to say hello and introduce Chloe to her. As her eyes lit up I knew there was a connection being made.

"You have the most beautiful hair," I told her as Chloe sat quietly on her lap.

"Thank you," she said while softly stroking Chloe's hair.

"Would you like to give Chloe a treat?" I said.

"Yes," she spoke softly.

"How about for every treat you give Chloe, you eat a little of your breakfast?"

"OK," she said.

With that, the nurse ran to get breakfast for the young lady as everyone teared up in the room. As they cried, the nurses said Chloe had done what none of them could do. Chloe and the young lady ate breakfast together and we could not help but feel as though a miracle happened right before our eyes.

Chloe has worked her magic on so many people that she has come to be known for making these types of connections. It's her calling in life and we could not be more proud of our little miracle worker.

-- Joshua Lohman

___________________________________________ Joshua says, "We live in Marina del Rey, California. I am a scrap metal trader and Jennifer is a former model, actress, Miss Oregon Coed USA, Miss Los Angeles County USA and currently a corporate flight attendant for private jet companies. Chloe is our 4 pound Certified Therapy Maltese."

Bear's Weekend Adventure!

Bear's resting at the park. 

Another good close up of Bear. 

A really good close up of Bear 

We just couldn't resist getting a picture of this...it's relevant only to the softball field! 

I had sat down on the picnic table for a break, and Bear had to get up there with me. 

Me, trying to run some of the excess energy out of Bear. (if you look REALLY close, you can see his tongue hanging out!) 

Bear, working on his heeling. 

The Weekend Went By So Fast!

I'm still reeling by how fast the weekend flew by. Saturday after I got off from work, Casey and I did indeed take Bear to the little neighborhood park close by. It was great exercise for him, plus he got new stuff to smell and new trees and poles to, let's say, to leave his mark. Anyway, this little park has a road that loops all the way around it. We walked the loop several times, and then I worked Bear a little on his obedience training. A new environment was really good for distraction. I'll be posting some pictures of the whole experience post haste. Afterwards, we went home and had some yummy leftovers for dinner. My friend that is helping with the food donations for Celebration Pet Day came by and told me that the local Kroger's is wanting to sponsor us. We have to come up with a possible attendance number to give to them, so they can call in their vendors. This is just FABULOUS news!! My friend is doing a GREAT job on the donations. She's also managed to get some hamburger patties donated, along with toppings for the burgers. She also managed to get a gift card from Food Lion donated as well. With her spearheading this part of the project, the humane association is not going to have to spend a lot out of pocket. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

I didn't clean the house on Sunday. It was just too pretty outside. I spent the better part of the day having lunch with Mom and outside with Bear. Yesterday I worked at the kennel all day. It was big dog day at the kennel. No littles around. I bathed a boxer, german shepherd, and a golden retriever. I ran the kennel and trained most of the day, because Jennie is building a house and was actually outside hammering away with the rest of the building crew! Now, that's what I call sweat equity!! Last night's obedience class went well too. It was mostly just informational, because everyone came without their dog. It was really fun though, and I'm so glad that Jennie asked me to help her.

There's not much going on today. I'm furiously trying to get new stuff out into the stacks, so it can be used. It's typical for this time of year. My week will be short, since Casey and I are taking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. We still haven't decided if we are going to Knoxville or just hanging out and doing stuff close to home. We'll see as the end of the week gets closer. I'm gonna run for now. Hope everyone has a great evening!!

Cleaning Tips

My friend Jennifer sent this to me this morning. I just had to share. Click here for some tips on cleaning computer screens and equipment, if you have pets.

Ok, so every now and then you have to clean your computer screen. But, what about the inside of screen, how are you supposed to clean that? Fortunately, there is now a website that does this remotely at no cost to you. First, clean the outside of your screen and then click the link below to clean the inside. CLICK HERE

FINALLY!!!

Another couple of gorgeous trees that I pass coming onto campus. I'm not really sure what these are, but I sure do like them. Anybody know?

What an incredibly beautiful day it has been today!! I just got back from running a few errands, and it was very hard to come back in. It's supposed to be nearly 80 degrees today, so a perfectly pretty spring day. I don't have a whole lot going on today. I've just been trying to get a few work things done.

Last night, I took Bear out for his usual evening walk. I've told you all before that in the spring and summer, the neighbors all watch for us to come by. So, what usually takes me 40 minutes to walk, takes about 2 hours by the time we finish visiting. Bear has such a good nature that everybody just loves him. He's so good with other dogs, cats, and children. As I was on the last part of the walk yesterday, 3 little girls stopped me and asked if they could pet Bear, "the pretty dog". I told them to ask their Mom and Dad, and if it was alright with them, I didn't mind at all. While they ran inside to get their parents, Bear and I went to the end of the street and came back up to head for home. Much to my suprise, they DID indeed ask their parents, and ALL of them were waiting at the end of the driveway for us to come back by. I ended up meeting the wonderful Jones family. Their house and my house back up to each other, and even though we've been neighbors for a few years, we'd never officially met. I don't remember all of the girls' names, but they were absolutely adorable. The middle girl, Madison, wants to be a vet someday. The entire family is full of animal lovers. I learned the story of Trixie, their adopted dog. I also discovered that they love lizards too. I promised to take one of my geckos over for them to look at soon. It's never to early to start teaching good animal education! I invited them all to come out to Celebration Pet Day. Their mother is working an event next weekend, where there will be nearly 100 kids in attendance. She was nice enough to offer to take flyers to hand out for me. They told me that they'd watch for us every day, so they can pet Bear. Bear was just wonderful with the girls. I made him sit, and they all started to pet him. Before I knew it, they were all sitting on the ground with him and what we call here in the south, "wallering" with him. He absolutely loved it. Always the love sponge! I have such great and wonderful suprises sometimes on my walks. I've found that they are great therapy for just relaxation. I talked to Casey a few minutes ago, and since we have enough leftovers to have for dinner, we are going to take Bear out to the local park this afternoon. I can't wait to see what we all get into today.

I have no big plans for this weekend. I really want to clean tomorrow, but I don't know if I'll be able to stand it inside on such a pretty weekend. We'll see. Monday is kennel day, and Monday night is my and Jennie's first night of obedience classes at TSC. I'm really looking forward to being Jennie's assistant. I'm sure I'll have some great stories to post on Tuesday. The coming week will be a short one. Casey and I are both taking some time off from work. We were planning to go to Knoxville to do Bark in the Park, but we are both so exhausted that we've just about decided to stay home and be lazy. Who knows?

Our shelter coordinator sent this to me just a few minutes ago, and I just HAD to share it with you all. It's about time that somebody started taking animal cruelty seriously. I always knew that I liked Georgia!! Everybody have a fabulous weekend!!

Animal abuser gets years behind bars

An Alpharetta man who severely beat a 4-month-old puppy received a 20-year sentence -- five to be served in prison -- and was barred from owning animals during the next two decades, the Fulton County district attorney's office announced Friday. Thomas E. Spencer's sentence in the first felony animal cruelty case in Fulton County history covers the beating and other incidents dating back to 2000 and 2002, authorities said. Spencer, 56 was also ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment. Spencer pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals, terroristic threats, arson, threatening a witness in an official proceeding, driving with a suspended license and possession of cocaine. In December 2000, Alpharetta police found Spencer kneeling on a bed with the German shepherd wedged between his knees, punching the puppy in the head, police said. The puppy's eyes were swollen shut and bleeding. He had been beating it throughout the day and threatening the life of his girlfriend.

-- Staff reports

Great Stories

Another shot of the dogwood tree in my front yard.

I hope that everyone is having a great Friday. Not a whole lot to report today. I came into work late, because I had some pressing errands that needed to be done today. So, I've spent all day catching up on my morning stuff. Campus is pretty quiet around here today. It's beautiful outside, so everyone has disappeared in search of better things. I have a friend that has been helping me get food donations for Celebration Pet Day. She has been a fireball this week. She's managed to get buns, hotdogs, lettuce and other produce for the hamburgers, and she's only just started. She's also snagged us 2 other vendor booths. With the one month kickoff started, that in itself has made me rest a little easier about things. She's also recruited other volunteers to help with set up that morning. The project's really rolling now, and there's no stopping it.

I discovered a really cool mailing list this week. It's called Petwarmers. It's a neat little listserv that sends out really good animal related stories every Wednesday and Friday. So if you are like me, and love a good warm and fuzzy animal story, you just might want to consider joining this list. I'm posting last Wednesday's story below. I hope that you enjoy it too! Everyone have a great evening!!

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN by Kathleene S. Baker

When the time came to give our last gift of "love" to sweet Josey Lane, the pain we felt was excruciating. We had been so privileged to share our lives with such a beautiful, smart, and loving Miniature Schnauzer.

The sun hadn't yet crested the horizon when we made that final drive to the veterinarian. As we drove, I told her over and over how much she was loved. Trying to soothe her, I used words that I knew she understood. I assured her several times that Grandma B. (my mother), Dana (my niece), and Maggie (the dog she grew up with) would soon greet her. And, that they would be her caretakers until we all gathered together again one day.

In the wee morning hours, Josey had been in such distress that my husband, Jerry, actually called and awakened our exceptional veterinarian. Dr. Conway scrambled out of bed and rushed to meet us. The clinic parking lot was vacant and eerie without the usual assortment of cars.

Numb with sadness, I stepped out of the car, and directly at my feet were three burnished copper pennies!I grabbed them up in an instant and clutched them tightly. I knew they were messages from Grandma B., Dana, and Maggie proclaiming they were waiting for Josey. I dropped them into my pocket, aware they were also meant to give me strength in the final moments with Josey.

Immediately upon bringing Josey's ashes home, I gently placed the three coins in her urn. I'm positive they were pennies from the angels that now care for her -- the same angels who helped me endure that final goodbye. I also know that one of those angels was a lovely Black and Silver Schnauzer named Maggie. Since that sorrowful morning, I seem to be caught in a continual cascade of pennies!

Strangely, they aren't usually in the typical locations that coins are found, such as parking lots. One morning, a coin lay at the foot of my chair on the covered patio! With coffee in hand, I had gone outside to enjoy a beautiful sunny morning. The moment I sat down I spied the penny sparkling in sunlight, and a coin had not been there the evening before.

Another unusual "penny event" occurred on a car trip several months after losing Josey. Shiloh, then our only Schnauzer, needed a potty stop. I mentioned to my husband that we had never stopped there before, but that the grass was very nice. He reminded me that we had pulled off there once with Josey and Maggie.

As I walked Shiloh on the leash, there was a waist-high cement wall that I drug (DRAGGED) my hand along. I felt something, lifted my hand, and voila -- two shiny pennies!

Yes, Josey and Maggie HAD been there, and I believe they were setting the record straight. "Gotcha Mom, Dad is right!"

I've usually been in deep thought about Josey when another coin appears, and it has become a beautiful feeling. I know that she is always watching over me, just as I am so often thinking of her. Each and every penny is saved and placed with her ashes.

No doubt, on some occasions, Josey and Maggie conspire together in surprising Mom with another penny. After all, Maggie had placed one at my feet the morning I said goodbye to Josey. Now the two are reunited.

I picture them romping in clover and chasing copper-colored butterflies at Rainbow Bridge, as they playfully plot their next "coin drop."

-- Kathleene S. Baker

___________________________________________ Kathy says, "I was born and raised in the small town of Augusta, Kansas, that is only a few miles outside of Wichita. I married a native Texan in 1977 and was soon transplanted to Dallas. I have two stepchildren and three grandchildren. Pets have always played a huge part in my life, and I can't imagine a home without them. In fact, they were my inspiration to begin writing. I've always felt one mission in my life was to give loving homes to the dear creatures God has provided for us. They are always at our side with their unconditional love."