b'Marsha had been up for 48 hours straight, staying in theroom with Don to make sure he was comfortable. She satdown in a chair and nodded off for just a moment. Suddenly Hello,Holistic Donte let out a wail unlike shed ever heard before. I knew.That was the moment that Don had passed, Marsha said. I PetCare!took some comfort knowing that he was out of pain. But,now I had a grieving dog.Donte was never the same after Don died. He was disin- Throughout all life stages, we incorporate the best of terested in everything, including swimming in the pool with conventional Western medicine and integrative veterinary Marsha. During one of their quiet moments together, she therapies under one roof, including:hugged and spoke to Donte. She promised him that she had .Acupuncture.Chinese herbal medicine.Nutraceuticalsto do something for other dogs to keep his legacy going. And .Laser therapy.Physicial therapy with our state-of-the-artthatwasthemomentDontesDenwasconceived,said underwater treadmillMarsha. I told Donte he would be famous. Be happy. be healthy. be well.But, Donte would never see Marshas dream become real-ity. He developed cancer and died just three months after Don Dr. Mondscheinhad passed. Marsha believes that the stress of never leaving &his pupDonssideforalmosttwoyearsthroughouthisillness, and the subsequent grief of his passing was just toomuch for Donte.The grief from losing the two biggest loves of her lifemanifested itself in other ways with Marsha. It was her mem-ory of the love she received from both Don and Donte thatpulled her forward. She focused on her promise to Donte, andfulfilling the plans she and Don had made to build a sanctu- 3400 N. Florida Ave., Tampaary for dogs. With her realtor, they saw hundreds of proper- 813.533.7363|@TheHeightsVetties, but there was always something wrong.While looking for property on her own, Marsha foundherself driving down a gravel road in a rural part of ManateeCounty. Actually, I was lost, she said. And I had no ideahow Id gotten there. When she turned around to go back,she noticed a mailbox on the side of the road with a sign thatreadPropertyForSale.Insidethemailboxwasaflyerattached to a CD.ShewatchedtheCD,andknewshehadfoundtheperfect piece of property for Dontes Den. The realtor want-ed to meet me there, but I said no. I didnt want to be disap-pointed. Just make the offer, said Marsha. I could see Donterunningontheproperty.Ididntneedtoseeanything more.Negotiationswentbackandforth,andthepropertyowner declined Marshas offers. I found out that he had adog, and wanted to speak with him. But, the realtor thoughtthat wasnt a good idea, said Marsha. She was determined,and met with the owner, anyway, to explain her vision for theproperty. He listened. Then, we talked about his dog. Andthen he told me that if I didnt go back on my word, we hada deal. Within 30 days, they closed on the 50-acre property,and the gentleman moved to Tennessee with his family.Looking over the property gave Marsha a feeling of seren-ity. There was this beauty all around me. Pastures and wet-land, said Marsha. And, I thought how this man, before me,had set forth a piece of property, never knowing why, ready-ing it for its next life. And Donte led me here.Continued on the following page gwww.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 35'