Barbaro Has Surgery After 'Complications'

Breitbart (AP) ^ | 7/9/2006 | Staff

[STARWISE]

All God's creatures ... big and small. Barbaro's grit, courage and spirited nature have inspired many prayers for recovery, and rightly so. Ever had a pet you loved, who crawled inside your heart and added so much richness and delight to your life? If not, then you'll never understand why animal lovers wince when any one of them hurts or suffers, as we do for this great horse, Barbaro. Prayers for his recovery.

Genesis

God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

[onyx]

How beautiful. Thanks.

[Wolfstar]

Some humans have the capacity to expand their ability to love beyond our own kind. Some don't. I pity those who don't, because they are missing something that enriches the soul.

All Things Bright and Beautiful
By Cecil F. Alexander, pub.1848

Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flow’r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

[Veto!]

Adding prayers to St. Francis to help this gallant animal heal. Barbaro is certainly a masterpiece of the Creator's art: beautiful, spirited, magnificent in every way. May he have a long and happy life.

[beyond the sea]

... very sweet and beautiful.

[onyx]

ALL of my grandchildren except the 3 year old, can recite that by heart. We teach them young. :)

[Wolfstar]

... very sweet and beautiful.

Seems to me the world humanity has built is a tough, hard, cold place under the best of circumstances. Animals can help us through in so many ways. If nothing else, they can help us see beyond human vanity and human construct, and maybe glimpse a little bit of what heaven might be like.

[onedoug]

Please see #21.

Though perhaps a short one that the animal might not suffer.

Sheesh.

[Wolfstar]

ALL of my grandchildren except the 3 year old, can recite that by heart. We teach them young.

Smile...it's a hymn written for children and has stood the test of time for 158 years. So your grandkids are being taught very well.

[STARWISE]

Aaah .. just beautiful, Wolfie. It's true about the unenlightened and enlightened hearts and souls. We reside in different galaxies.

[Wolfstar]

Please see #21.

Onedoug, I don't mean to argue with you. You're entitled to your feelings and point of view. I was considering quoting the teachings of Jesus about the birds of the air and the lillies of the field, but you indicate in your #21 that you're not a Christian, so I won't try to force my point of view on you.

So what I'll say instead is that I believe the world is more -- and much greater -- than the sum total of humanity and human achievement. Some of us look at the stars and wonder. Some of us never look at the stars at all. Some of us find great warmth and love in the soft pat of a kitten, the closeness of a devoted dog, and the gentle nuzzle of a horse than most human beings ever extend to us. Some of us never get it.

It's OK that you don't share my point of view. I just resent the tendency of folks who share yours to insinuate that those of us who love animals enough to care about a case like Barbaro's are lacking in an ability to care about our own kind. The two kinds of love are not incompatible.

[Wolfstar]

We reside in different galaxies.

We do, indeed.

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

Well, if we're posting favorite horse/animal quotes:

"Where in the world can man find nobility without pride,
friendship without envy,
or beauty without vanity?

Here, where grace is laced with muscle,
and strength by gentleness confined.

He serves without servility,
has fought without enmity,
There is nothing so powerful,
nothing less violent,
nothing as quick,
nothing more patient.

The world's past has been borne on his back.
We are his heirs;
he is our inheritance.

The horse."

--Ronald Duncan in Ode to the Horse

My favorite since childhood, still can't speak it out loud without choking up.

[Wolfstar]

Thanks. I had not come across that poem before. It's beautiful.

[Wolfstar]

Onedoug, here's a case in point in which a little girl's love for her dog -- and the dog's love for her -- helped her beat cancer. Now, in a sad twist of fate, the dog has the identical cancer the child had, but the family is doing all they can to save the animal. (This is an excerpt; click link embedded in title to read entire piece.)

Girl and pet dog share same cancer ordeal
By CHARLOTTE GILL, Daily Mail
20:00pm 10th July 2006

When little Emily Kearney was diagnosed with cancer, her parents decided to get her the dog she had always wanted to help her through.

They heard about Casper, an adorable Yorkshire terrier who needed rehoming, and immediately fell in love with him.

When six-year-old Emily came home after five months of intensive chemotherapy for Burkitt's lymphoma, the two became inseparable and Casper gave her the strength to beat the disease.

Now six years on, in an extraordinarily cruel coincidence, Casper has been diagnosed with the same cancer that Emily had.

Mrs Kearney, a classroom support assistant, and her husband, a painter and decorator, both work for the Tyne and Wear Autistic Society.

They heard about Casper through a kennel in Hartlepool. His owner's personal circumstances had changed and he needed a new home.

He arrived two weeks after Emily came home and the pair hit it off from the start.

Casper, now ten, was diagnosed with lymphoma two weeks ago after Mrs Kearney noticed a lump on his neck.

They have been told his prognosis is good.

He goes to Roker Park Veterinary Practice once a week, where a drip is put in his paw and he is given intravenous chemotherapy treatment and has tablets every other day.

"I'm an only child so he's my brother and I'm his sister," Emily said. "He's been heaven sent. It was great when we got him. He made me so happy. He helped me to recover.

"I was heartbroken when he got ill. I make sure I give him lots of attention and cuddles. I feel like it's going to be all right."

Emily and Caspar:

[Rte66]

Awww. I'm thinking of Alfred Wight, aka James Herriot, now - and perhaps Doc R is channeling a bit of his old-time country vet persona for Bobby.

[beyond the sea]

That's great.

[apackof2]

Ok you two are gonna make me cry!

Prayers for Barbaro from an lover of all things bright and beautiful

[Rte66]

Each and every Barbaro fan on this thread owes it to themselves to read at least one James Herriot book, if you haven't already. I just *assumed* most animal-lovers probably have in their lifetime.

Knowing what *assuming* does to people, let me recommend "All Creatures Great and Small" for a start. Although dogs and cats make up the bulk of the animals, the vet's stories will ring true with just about everyone, IMHO.

http://www.jamesherriot.org/works.php

[AnAmericanMother]

Here's another vet you should read . . .

He's a little closer to home - he's now a prof. at the Vet. school over at UGA. His first job as a vet was as the first vet ever in a remote rural Alabama county. He's funny as all get out, and he has an ear for dialogue and an eye for the Southern "character".