My dear, dear friends,
As many of you may know, MY JOHN and Dottie go to Santa Anita each evening to check on the horses at that barn and walk SOPHIE. It is a relaxing ‘family time’ for them. Last night, they were commenting to each other how very special ALL OF YOU are. John was sharing several emails he’d received during the day with Dottie. The tone in all of them was so warm and tender!
The outpouring of love, sympathy, and kindness you have expressed for Cloud Man and My Team is deeply appreciated! THANK YOU!
One exceptional and charming quality I absolutely ADORE about this web-site is the way everyone rallies around to support each other.
You are constantly doing this when you respond to each other in the DIARY…and you have faithfully done this for ME during my entire career. Additionally, you have expressed the same support and love for MY TEAM.
Life, as we all know, can often present many different challenges. The manner in which all of you share thoughts, kindness, support, and encouragement seems to help make some of these situations and handling them simply feel so much ‘better’.
Thinking of you…and sending each of you a very special HIGH HOOF…for being such a DEAR FRIEND…not just to ME and MY TEAM…but to EACH OTHER!
Enjoy your day!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
JAG ~ Zenny & John Henry Live in my Heart / So. CA
Dear Queen Zenyatta aka Horse of The Year ~
Havre de Grace for Horse of the Year
http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/7289294/havre-de-grace-horse-year
eastcoastkid
@Jeanie;
FYI…just sent a donation in Cloud Man’s name to the rescue of his namesake…good luck and love to all
Mary
Jeanie
Germaine,
That is a great idea!
LET’S SAVE LITTLE CLOUD! LIKE GERMAINE SAID, IF WE EACH GIVE $5 TO $10, WE CAN PULL THIS OFF. THAT’S SKIPPING A LATTE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. LET’S DO THIS!
Thank you, Germaine. You can’t imagine how good you will feel when we succeed!
J
sue
@Paula Higgins, I loved your framing story. You are right…the Queen is priceless. Bravo for you and hubby to have this glorious print framed and then hang it in a place of honor in your home.
Don Martello
I lost my TB Willie Whitesocks on August 16th at age twenty-seven, we were together for twenty-five years. My heart goes out to Cloud Man and those who cared for him.
Jeanie
Hi Mary,
Thank you dear. You are the best!
I just thought of that line out of that old movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy, that I love.
MY FATHER THANKS YOU, MY MOTHER THANKS YOU, MY SISTER THANKS YOU, AND I THANK YOU. WELL, LITTLE CLOUD AND HIS MOM THANK YOU TOO!
BLESSINGS,
J
Jo
Continued thoughts for Cloud Man and his very special, caring team. I wish all of you peace and comfort and cannot thank you enough for this site, and the community brought together because of Z. Love and hugs to Z and Team Z, and to everyone here who is experiencing the grief of loss and difficult times. Checking in on Z is always a bright spot in my life.
Candace Jones
I just donated in honor of Dottie and John and Cloud Man. We have time to make this happen everyone!!!
dunie
HIGH HOOF! Hail to THE QUEEN!
Joan Ludlow
Dear Zenyatta, you give us such love, how could we not give it back? I’m glad to give what small support I can to you and your team at this sad time. Cloud Man won’t be forgotten.
Katie
Love you Zenny. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your wonderful, amazing, perfect team!
Suzanne G (IL)
@Jeanie–tried to help ‘Little Cloud’ get off to a good start on the rescue site you posted but did not see a way to say ‘In honor of Cloud Man’. It doesn’t really matter, does it? Thanks, Suzanne G.
ps Really need some more donations rather quickly to help out these horses. Great way to remember Cloud Man, Irrefutable and all the others.
Linda M
Dear Zenny, I decided today that I had to do something that would make me feel good and move onto the path forward. One thing I did was ordered one of your halter tags with “Cloud Man” and the other thing I did was order your Holiday Cards – which are beautiful!! Z Fans – if you have not viewd these yet, here you go: http://www.zazzle.com/zenyatta_holiday_cards-137764449599166208
Alene
Hi Zenny. This is a place to find comfort from you and of course Dottie. I was able to feel better about my situation after telling you. Just think, a humane speaking to a horse. But you`re not just a horse!!! Lots of LOVE, Alene
Yvonne and Maurice
Dearest Zenyatta, family and friends, thank you for being there in the good times as well as the very sad times. May all of your joys be as deep as the ocean and your sorrows be as light as its foam. Love to all. Love you, Angel.
jim mattos
im sad for all connections to cloud man. he was one of my favorites. my heart goes out to ann moss who loves all her babies so much. i pray for all of you.
darlene
Dear Z love ya lots Cloud Man will be missed but he was lucky to have such caring owners who loved him love ya always
Tressia Phoenix, AZ
I just sent money for Little Cloud, sure hope baby and momma gets rescued in time.
PatB from NM
It slams me so hard when a horse (or any animal)is hurt and must be euthanized. I can’t imagine what Team Cloud Man is going through. Thanks, Z, for providing the opportunity for us to find an outlet for our grief and to comfort each other. Love you always, Queen of us all.
Deborah Richman from So. Cal.
Jeanie, I sent in a donation to help rescue little Cloud in honor of Cloud Man. The ache in my heart is eased a tiny bit knowing that we can play a small part in making sure little Cloud is given a chance at life.
@MLV…Thank you for everything you have shared about your extraordinary horse. What a beautiful soul.
@All…Every one of your posts has expressed my own feelings and thoughts so well. Thank you, Z family.
@Dottie, John, and Sophie…knowing that you all take a walk to check the horses at Santa Anita every evening makes me smile. I picture Sophie greeting all her big horse friends :) TOO CUTE!
Abigail from Montreal
Hi sweet Zenny. My message tonight is one that I know you will understand because you are filled with spirit and a large, generous heart.
For Dottie & John, the Mosses, Mike Smith, each of you at Barn 55, DStuart (3 rescue kittens), Sue Frederick (Opie), Sarah (her 19 year-old companion), Harold Moore (his beloved canine), Susie (her American Eskimo dog) and MLV (story of her spirit horse), as well as ALL ZENSTERS:
As many of you know, I too lost a dear friend and partner in September, my beloved Jericho, and I actually wrote about him on THE VAULT shortly thereafter. (For anyone in need of comfort, the link is below.) Jericho had been declared “my Spirit Dog” by two Cree women who remain close friends and they explained to me that we all have an animal spirit that will come to us when we’re ready. Jericho proved to be mine, although we went through some very hard events together. When he died, I felt the same empty void that I know many of you are feeling today or have experienced. In making his final burial arrangements, I came into contact with many fine people who help those of us deal with these losses and who rescue animals — dogs, cats, ferrets, horses, donkeys, ponies, etc. (One rescue even has a green-backed turtle it rescued called — of course! — Mr. T!!!) All of these kind people reiterated, over & over again, that it is important to go through the whole of the grieving process — even if you are grieving for an animal you loved, like Cloud Man, who is not your own. They went on to say that “when my heart was open” Jericho would “bring my next dog to me.” All confessed that this latter was a very spiritual & mystical thing….but, yes, it REALLY did happen that way.
I listened, of course, but really didn’t want to think about another dog. Perhaps forever. “No-one could replace Jericho,” I kept thinking.
Then, 7 days ago, feeling the need for distraction, I opened my Facebook page (something I do rather infrequently, I must say) and there — smack in the middle of the page — was a portrait of a dog. I looked into her eyes & knew she was my dog. Then I shuddered and closed the computer.
In bed that night, I thought about her name: Daisy. A shepherd-husky rescue. I can’t say I loved the name. “This is silly,” I thought. “You aren’t ready for another dog!” In my dreams that night, Jericho came to me. He was holding his forepaw in a bent fashion (Jericho had worn a brace on that leg) and his chest was silver & shining. I couldn’t figure out what he wanted to tell me.
The next day, I went back to FB to look at Daisy & had the same response. Again, I left the page and started cruising around the internet. It came to me that I didn’t know what Jericho meant in Hebrew. I looked it up. Jericho means “fragrance of flowers.” Then it came to me that my Cree friend who had declared Jericho to be my spirit dog was Daisy Bearskin Hirodier. Yup. And then I knew that Jericho was bringing Daisy to me.
I share this story because it’s so reassuring to know that there is, indeed, a circle of life and a spiritual world where our loved ones are always there for us. Daisy would agree. She’s sleeping on the couch behind me as I write this. As would Jericho, my Spirit Dog, who has brought still another gift into my life!
http://thevaulthorseracing.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/this-earth-is-an-inter-species-affair/
Jeanie
Z’isters,
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FOR LITTLE CLOUD, HIS MOTHER AND THE OTHERS. THIS WARMS MY HEART!
@Suzanne G. raised a point that I wanted to respond to. I checked and she is right, there is no way to make a notation on the donation if you don’t use a Pay Pal account.
The best way you can do that is when you receive your thank you email from Marlene, and each of you will get one, please indicate to her in a response that you want your donation to be in loving memory of Cloud Man. She will definitely honor that. You can count on it.
Thank you again for your generosity of spirit and graciousness of heart.
Your humble j
mj
Abigail, you made me cry again! To all of you who have lost your “best friends”, I can’t help but cry with you. I don’t know if it’s the getting older thing or just that I have experienced so many losses myself. It never gets easy, buy they are at peace, in a place we can only imagine and aspire to experience. Blessings and hugs to all. Z, you are the best!
Deborah Richman from So. Cal.
Abigail, what an amazing post. What joy to know that your Spirit Dog, Jerico sent Daisy to you!
Abigail from Montreal
@ Jeanie: Just made a donation in memory of Cloud Man & will send a note that it’s for “Little Cloud” when I hear back from them. On my PayPal, I could NOT leave a note. It just went through BANG!
Fran Doos
Beautiful and such kinds words Z. I think everyone of us tend to believe that your entire team is our family friends too. We are all family! Love you Z! xxoo
Elizabeth in Oregon
I never get tired of seeing the San Gabriel Mts from Santa Anita–my favorite place in the whole world! Condolences to the everyone who loved Cloud Man. It was a sad reminder of the dark side of horse racing.
To Abigail in Montreal – What a wonderful story you wrote about your Jericho and now Daisy. Hope Jericho finds our dear Salukis whom we are still missing after losing 3 in 3 years. Cheers from our 3 aging Saluki girls who still grace our lives! :-)
Elizabeth in Oregon
To anyone in CA: There is a red Saluki male named Quiz who has been missing since last Wednesday in the area of Mojave, CA. He has been sigthed but is too scared to come to anyone so far. His exhausted owner has been camping in the desert where he was last seen but to no avail. Many people are searching for Quiz, but if anyone sees a frightened red Saluki (Sighthound), please contact me at korat19@wavecable.com
I am in Oregon–too far away to help search for him, but I can pass on info. Salukis are so fast that people won’t be able to catch him but might be able to get a glimpse of him. Thank-you!
Molly
@Jeanie ~ Thank you for the wonderful rescue work that you do. I sure hope they can save Little Cloud and the mother. A big high hoof for this project.
sharon in seattle
I sent a donation to Valley View rescue as a small way to honor Cloud Man and the other TBs no longer with us after this last weekend. I urge all Z fans to consider doing the same — it’s so easy and the link is in the 4th post of today’s diary. any amount!