He had spent his 4 years as a breeder dog, then found his way to a Missouri shelter as a result of the Dept. of Ag shutting down the large-scale breeding operation he had been a part of. He went to a foster home for a short time, but they didn't have the Cairn or PM experience to work with him and he was shipped back to the shelter where he had run out of time. CP agreed to take this boy and the shelter offered, in gratitude for our help, to transport him to our vet. All was set and he was transported today.

TRADEGY CAN STRIKE IN AN INSTANT! And it did ... The shelter had allowed him to be transported without using a crate. The person transporting was not experienced with transporting and especially not PM kids. They were in our vet's parking lot, he had made it to freedom and the loving arms of Col. Potter ... and then the car door was opened ... AND HE WAS GONE! He ran across a busy highway and disappeared on the other side. Unfortunately, there was fencing on the other side of the highway which kept him trapped on the highway side of the fencing. He hid there in the tall, dead grass and debris along the highway. Volunteers started searching immediately. This little boy got spooked when a volunteer got near him and took off back across the highway ... he was hit and killed immediately.

We can no longer help this little boy, but we can learn from him and always remember his lesson so that he did not die invain. There are reasons Col. Potter requires all furkids be transported in a crate and not taken out. There are reasons we require all doors and windows be tightly closed in a vehicle if there is an emergency and a furkid has to be removed from their crate. There are reasons a recently released PM kid should never be allowed out on a leash in an unfenced area. There are reasons Col. Potter preaches this. And what happened today is the reason we will continue to preach this. When you transport for CP or transport your own furkids, remember what happened today. Remember a handsome, young little boy that will never know having his own family and a happily ever after. Remember all it would have taken to keep him safe ...

PLEASE LIGHT YOUR CANDLES for #3890 Hopkins, a 4 year old, grey brindle, male who will now only know freedom at the Rainbow Bridge. Run free and safe little man. You are loved and we will never forget you ...

I will never know what I did to deserve such an awful life full of abuse and neglect.
My life had become so sad and lonely it was like living in an endless, dark tunnel.
I remember looking up one day and seeing a bright light shining at the end of the tunnel.
The light was so bright I thought that God must have send an angel to finally end my suffering.

God did send an angel, he sent you.
The bright light I had seen was your smiling face.
You promised me that my days of neglect and abuse were over.
My battered body and broken spirit hardly dared to believe it was true.

You opened your heart and your home and gave me more love and comfort and safety than I had every known before.
You gave me the softest bed my tired, aching bones had ever felt
And more toys and attention that I had ever dreamed existed.

I no longer cringed when a hand was raised near me, because your
Hands had only kindness and treats to offer me.
I no longer feared the sound of feet approaching, because your feet
had never kicked me, they had only taken me on wonderful adventures
to exciting new places.

Although "quantity" of time can be measured in days and weeks,
There is no way to measure the "quality" of time.
So there is no way to really measure just how deeply your love and devotion affected my life.
But sometimes, even love and devotion and all the medical attention in
The world can't heal a body that has been battered and broken for so long.

So please do not be sad that I am gone.
You performed a miracle in what little time we had together.
You made my spirits soar and helped my soul find peace and contentment.
From the day I met you I never suffered again, not even at the end.

Just knowing that my memory would live in your heart forever gave me
The strength to let go and find my way to the Rainbow Bridge.

So go forward from today with only happy memories of me in your heart
And let them give you the strength to keep on lighting up sad, lost lives.
Remember I will live forever in your heart and in the stars up above and
My star will shine brighter with every life that's touched by your love.