Sweet gifts for friends

I first met Roosevelt when he was only two hours old. He didn't yet have a name, just a team of people trying to help him and his mom live.

Mom had a C-section in the late afternoon, so she and her one surviving kitten needed a spare room at someone's house to spend the night for some much-needed TLC. This is where my bathroom came into play. I picked these guys up and off we went.

Mom was so sweet. She would wobble over to me when I would come in and lie at my feet. We had some nice chats on the bathroom floor that night. She was so tired that I syringe-fed her a few times. Who could blame her? She had been through a lot in the last 24 hours. She was appreciative of everything. Baby nursed off and on through the night; getting colostrum (a mother’s first milk that contains antibodies and extra protein) in those first few hours is so important.

When I went in there at 6:30 in the morning, something didn't feel right. There was no outward sign of a problem, but something wasn't right. Shortly after arriving at the Best Friends clinic, Mom started crashing. The vets and techs jumped into action and were able to stabilize her, but unfortunately an hour later she started having seizures and they couldn't be stopped. She was just too exhausted; her little body couldn’t take any more. With loving new friends around her promising to help her baby, she crossed.

We had decided that mom and baby needed strong names. Mom fought so hard to stay with her baby, and baby was going to need more strength to keep going without her. So mom became Eleanor and baby was named Roosevelt. I think that mom gave what strength she had left to her son so he could keep going.

• Making gifts for friends
• Easy gifts for friends
• Make gifts for friends