Tilly's Gift

My precious pup Tilly died in my arms today. We took her up to our cottage where she loved the lake and to visit with the neighbours, never thinking we would come home without her. Yes she was 12 and yes she had slowed down in the past year or so and yes we had her on some medication to kickstart a waning appetite of late.
But she left us too soon.
I watched her laboured breathing slow and her heartbeat stop as I stroked her beautiful head on my lap.
She loved the back seat of the car. We took her everywhere with us. She knew we were going somewhere and she knew she was with us. Tilly had been with us and part of us since a few months after we married in 1999. A gift to my son Calvin, then 10, Tilly was his best little buddy during an important chapter of his growth and maturity into adulthood. It broke my heart but I was filled with pride as he lifted her lifeless body out of the back seat of the Santa Fe and insisted on carrying her into the Lynden Animal Clinic.
I will cherish every moment of her short life from the time Pam Jamieson of the Hamilton SPCA brought a tiny puppy with one blue eye and one brown eye, into the CHCH News at Noon set, to the moment my wonderful Dave brought her home inside his leather jacket, to Calvin's first moments meeting her...to our last good-bye...so many wonderful memories of a loving and gentle soul in between with wisdom beyond most people's understanding of "man's best friends".
I am so glad I played with her, ran with her, cuddled her, kissed her head, buried my face in her fur and told her over and over that she was the best dog in the whole wide world.
Everyone who met her loved her. Tilly touched many hearts with her gentle nature and engaging personality. She has left a giant paw print on this corner of the world.
We stroked her and told her how much we loved her then pulled ourselves away knowing her spirit had left us in that back seat...the back seat where she felt comfortable, where she was with us and where she chose to spare us the difficult decision of how and when to end her pain down the road.
Tilly, I know you are running with the wind again. I will always love you, my precious puppy...

Imagine…a truly United Way!


John Lennon would be proud. As the Hamilton Spectator reported, the community of Burlington and Greater Hamilton United Way 2011 Campaign celebrated raising more than $6.9 million dollars, revealed at the Bulldogs Game (which they won over the St. John’s Ice Caps!) Friday night at Copps Coliseum. Through the efforts of thousands of volunteers and thanks to the generosity and compassion of our citizens, this United Way has raised $248 million since its beginning 84 years ago. No other charitable organization anywhere consistently raises millions of dollars every year.
One comment I’ve heard over and over during my term as Hamilton Campaign Chair is, “I had no idea that was a United Way funded agency”. That has been “Big Brothers and Big Sisters”, “Kiwanis Boys and Girls Clubs”, the “V.O.N.”, “Meals on Wheels”, and the list is 133 names long. By sharing the stories of just who the United Way is and the people it touches, we rely on media organizations like the Hamilton Spectator to open eyes and hearts to the good work…the essential work… its 73 agencies do everyday, year after year.
These are, to use an expression we hear all too often theses days, tough economic times. As our tax dollars fall short of meeting demand for essential services, the United Way Campaign must compete with multiple fund raising efforts…all with needs just as pressing.
But what if we could work in partnership, to keep people out of food banks, out of shelters, out of hospital emergency rooms, out of acute care beds, out of the correctional system, and happy, healthy and productive in their own homes. That figure works out to one in 3 of us. Think of the dollars we could save and re-channel collectively, preventively.
No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man… imagine all the people sharing all the world. Like John Lennon said, you may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one. My deepest gratitude is to everyone, every individual donor, every corporate and community leader who joined our cause. My dream is to open the eyes and hearts of those who have yet to see the incredible difference they can make. I hope someday you'll join us and our community can live as one.
Connie Smith,
Hamilton Chair,
2011 United Way Campaign
Burlington and Greater Hamilton