Light A Candle in Loving Memories

Our Mona Love Story began on February 27, 2010. Our daughter and her husband went to the pet shelter to adopt a dog.  Our son-in-law was hoping to adopt a big dog, but when the lady at the shelter brought this tiny dog to them it was love at first sight for our daughter, and this tiny little thing immediately gravitated toward her.  Our daughter immediately told her husband this was the dog she wanted, or there would be no dog at all.  Of course our son-in-law agreed. This tiny Shih Tzu, who they named “Mona”, changed all our lives forever. With her mommy’s love and nurturing, Mona blossomed and was the love of their lives.  Mona was so loving and adorable, and we could not wait to meet our new grand dog.   It was love at first sight for grandma and grandpa too! We loved spending time with our baby girl (we hardly called her Mona), but our daughter and son-in-law had to sneak out of our house since she was so attached to them.  But that didn’t last for long.  Mona loved staying with her grandma and grandpa, and we treasured every moment we had with her. When our daughter asked Mona if she wanted to go to grandma and grandpa, she would get so excited and would run around the whole apartment. Our Mona actually had two homes…one with her mommy and daddy and one with her grandma and grandpa. When Mona stayed with us it was just wonderful.   There were times when Mona liked to sleep in her own bed and did not come to sleep with us.  In the middle of the night my little baby girl would be standing up on my side of the bed asking for a “pick up”, and she made sure I heard her!   I immediately got out of bed and put her between her grandpa and myself.  Mona somehow knew when it was time for me to come home from work.  They would pick me up and Mona would be standing against the dashboard waiting to see her grandma come out.  The whole staff would come out to see Mona and give her hugs.  You just couldn’t help loving her. Taking Mona for a walk was a real adventure.  While the other dogs just walked along, Mona had to smell every bush and examine the bricks on all the houses.  She knew exactly where she wanted to walk and always knew her way back to our house.  You can say Mona actually walked us!  When Mona was home with her mommy and daddy she loved sitting on the park bench and loved all the attention she would get when people came up to pet her.  Mona’s favorite past time was just sitting on her mommy’s lap for hours at a time.  When it was time to go to sleep, Mona couldn’t wait to snuggle against her mommy, and that’s the way it was for almost 14 years. Unfortunately, Mona had many health problems from the start.  She always had to be on prescription dog food and could only have Cheerios once in a while as a treat, but Mona was always happy.  Our daughter and son-in-law made endless visits to the vet and everyone fell in love with Mona. Mona would entertain the other dogs and sit at the reception desk with the staff…she was just so special and everyone loved being around her. Mona’s health problems led to some serious surgeries over the years, but she was such a good little trooper.  With her mommy’s love and nurturing, Mona recovered from all her surgeries and was back to her playful ways.  In 2019 our Mona had a stroke. We were all devastated and didn’t know what the prognosis would be.  Once again, with the care and love she received from her mommy, Mona was back to herself after a little while. Earlier this year, Mona developed a heart murmur and began having seizures. Mona was on a strict regimen of medication and the seizures stopped immediately.  Mona loved her pill pockets so giving her the medication was no problem.  Life went on as usual, and our baby girl rotated between her city life with mommy and daddy and her Long Island life with grandma and grandpa.  Mona’s visits became more precious than ever, and we wanted our baby girl to enjoy every single moment she spent with us. Everything was under control until Mona’s kidneys started to fail. Her mommy gave her fluid treatments every day but our baby girl, who always loved to eat, had lost her appetite for just about everything.  Although we knew the end was near, it was just too unbearable and hard to believe.  Our precious little baby girl had always fought so hard and overcame every health struggle, but this was just too much for our precious little trooper. Last week, with the vet’s permission, we visited our baby girl. We came with dipsy doodles, donuts, munchkins, etc. Our baby girl enjoyed every bite and how wonderful it was to see her so happy!  We took millions of pictures and videos and our baby girl was enjoying herself! The next day Mona’s daddy bought her turkey bacon, french fries and Haagen -Dazs vanilla ice cream for dessert! The picture above was taken after Mona finished her ice cream.   Mona left us on December 7 in her mommy’s arms, her favorite place to be. The entire staff, with tears in their eyes, said goodbye to the little baby girl they knew for so long and had grown to love so much.  Our baby girl, Mona, was the light and love of all our lives.  The light is gone now, but our love for our baby girl will never be gone.

Our Baby Girl Mona Was One of a Kind & Will Be Loved Forever & Always

Grandma & Grandpa

December 7, 2023

“THE LAST BATTLE”

If it should be that I grow frail and weak

And pain should keep me from my sleep,

Then will you do what must be done.

For this –The Last Battle– can’t be won.

You will feel sad I understand,

But don’t let grief then stay your hand.

For on this day,  more than the rest,

Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many years,

What is to come can hold no fear.

You wouldn’t want me to suffer so.

Our Sweet Brynne,

You were only 9 years old and you had a mass on your spleen which was removed.  It was cancer.  You were given only 1-3 months to live.  We had you on special supplements and medication to help fight this disease, but today you lost the battle.  You grew weak this morning and we rushed you to the vets.  There was no hope for you.  You were starting to suffer.  It has been so heartbreaking for us.  You were the sweetest and most loving English Setter.  You were so regal and always smiling.  You loved to hunt in the bushes with your sister Brandee.  You gave us so many wonderful memories that we will forever cherish. You are so deeply missed.  I know in my heart that you are at peace now and meeting up with your soulmate Breeze who passed in 2020.  Breeze was almost 15.  You were so close to her and you used to lick her face and ears to mother her.  Your unconditional love will always be within our hearts and may the memories of your cute ways bring inner peace to us in our days ahead.

We miss you, Sweet Girl,

With love always,

My name is Lonny, and I have been best friends with Tony since 1999. In October
of 2005, Tony received the most precious gift of his life…a sweet baby boy who he
named Jack. On that day, Tony had no idea that Jack would become the most
important thing in his life. Their bond and love for each other just grew as time
went by. It made no difference whether Tony lived in Brooklyn, Queens, Florida or
Connecticut. As long as Jack was with his daddy, he was the happiest little boy.
When they lived in Florida, nothing would make Jack more excited than hearing
the birds chirping or the squirrels running around. Jack would just run around on
the patio in excitement. Jack loved being around family, including his fiancé,
Marsha. I also became like a family member to Jack. I always took care of Jack
when Tony had to work at night or I took care of him in my home when Tony was
away. I just loved being with Jack, and Jack loved being with his Uncle Lonny.
Jack just loved to eat! Tony and I had an app on our phones so we could check on
Jack while we were at work. He loved it when we gave him food from the instant
feeder. Until his last day, Jack still loved his food!
Jack was just such a loving little boy and the best son Tony could ever hope for.
There are no words to describe the grief and sorrow that Tony is feeling. After 17
years of loving his baby boy Jack, the void in Tony’s life can never be filled. I am
just so happy that Tony has such great pictures and memories of Jack, and Tony
will have this forever.

Our Sweet Baby Boy Will Be Loved Forever and Always

Uncle Lonny
July 28, 2022

To our beautiful English Setter Breeze,

You will be so missed.  Your wonderful joys and playing are bringing

so many joyous memories that will follow our grief.

We had 15.9 years with you and with our hearts heavy, we had

to send you to the Heavens today.

How many car rides I took through the countryside 365 days

a year that you just loved so much.  I will always remember the music

playing and your love for going in the car.  I was driving our Miss Daisy.

You have earned your angel wings, sweet Breeze.

You are loved so deeply.

We love you with all of our hearts.

Rest well our precious little girl.

Love,

Carole, Ken, Brynne and Brandee

My Best Friend, You will be missed so much.