Smokey was his name. I loved this boy. He was my constant companion when I was growing up. Smokey passed away during the summer of 1986 I was in South Carolina during the time. My dad called and he was crying on the phone. That is how I found out Smokey died. He passed away in his sleep. I took it hard we all did. I still think of this boy and the joy I had with him. The neighbors in  our neighborhood might have been afraid of Smokey cause he was a German Shepherd but to this girl he was my best friend. I even know where he was buried. Fast forward lots of years. The house I grew up in was up for sale and to reminiscence about the past I had to visit the house. Too many memories but when I got outside to the back I remembered where my swing set was and my childhood friend Virginia who lived next door. Yes, I visited Smokey's grave and the other dogs/cats that passed on when I was growing up.

​  I am now a mother to a very active 5 year old. What I was taught as a child about respecting the animals I am now passing on to my son. The joy I get is seeing my son outside playing in the sand with our dogs or my son in the pool playing with Indy or even throwing the Kong to Tuff. Kids should grow up with animals.. Whether it is a dog, cat, horse, snake, goats, chickens, llamas etc. It is about respecting nature, life, and the animals. 

gLawrence and I first met in the spring of 2003 and our friendship grew. Together we shared our dreams and hopes. One day while driving on Stevens Road outside of Somerset we found a dog roaming the street with no hair. I mean absolutely no hair. We got her our new hairless friend and took her to Dr. Schmidt who was my vet. Dr. Schmidt just looked at me and shook his head. Well, Precious was heart worm positive and also had severe mange. We dipped her in Mitaban dip and as time went on we discovered that our hairless dog was actually a Springer Spaniel. She was a beauty. The time came that Dr. Schmidt did the Heart worm treatment. I was expecting a $300 or $400 bill but I ended up with a $47 bill. I was shocked I told Dr. Schmidt that this must be a mistake. I was expecting a bigger bill. He looked at me and said " I have met very few people who would have done what you did. So this is my gift to you. The only thing you are paying for is for the vial of Heart worm Treatment". Now those of us in Atascosa county remember how Dr. Schmidt was. He was awesome and I miss him. I need to look through my pictures and find one of Precious. She was beautiful. A liver and White color. She was one of our original dogs before we started the sanctuary and she died a few years ago. 

Then I got the dare one day from Dr. Schmidt. He tells me I dare you to start a rescue. I looked at him and said "why did you just do that." He just smiled. Well ,Tri-city animal sanctuary was born. There are times though I wonder why in the world did I do this. Then I remember cause it is our mission. Our life. It isn't easy. There are good and bad days. There are days of tears and days of laughter. I tell people I always knew my life was going to the dogs. With that said I live in a kennel; What was I thinking and I say this with a smile. This is our life.