Sept. 1, 2004, the second e-mail newsletter to give family, friends and new supporters of 7 Bells Sanctuary another update on what is going on here.

First of all, our sympathy to Lynn and her family on the loss of Steve, formerly known as Mookie. They made the difficult decision to send him over the Rainbow Bridge as he was racked with pain, unable to get up and down any longer. He had the most wonderful few months. Lynn's daughers were with Steve during last rites so he passed over hearing their voices, feeling their touch and seeing their faces. Lynn's grandson was also there to tell his beloved friend "Good-bye." Greater love this dog did not know. It was my honor and privilege to deliver this dog to Nebraska, to meet the loving family he entered into, and to share their grief during the final weeks leading up to his passing.

We welcome a new foster parent, Margaret. Margaret and Marti, one of our other foster parents, often watch Lil Otto for a few hours. Margaret lives in Lincoln, has a very busy social life, yet welcomes the opportunity to sit back, stay home and hold the little fat German man.

Otto spent two weeks in August staying with Marti in the Community Housing Village in Cole Camp. While there he gained weight, now is 8.3 lbs. He was the hit of the village as the residents gathered at different times to sit and chat. So many wonderful people are rooting for the lil guy. Marti's grandchildren pitched in to walk and feed Otto. We are so very thankful that young people are helping with these old dogs. They truly will grow up to take the place of us old folks and continue our legacy of animal rescue. God bless them.

Some of the dogs were very busy visiting the Good Samaritan Care Center in town the past two months. Bless was dressed in patriotic fabric and made her appearance on the 4th of July. On the 5th, Cammie, now known as Lily Shay and living in Nebraska, made her appearance. Then on the 17th, Miss Maggie took her turn visiting. Lil Otto ended the month July 30 with his first appearance. He is so cute, so small, what a topic of discussion the residents had when they saw him. Some just loved to shake his little paws. All of the dogs love to be petted and fussed over. In August, Lil Otto kept the hallways busy. He visited on the 2nd, 10th and again on the 24th. The residents smile when they see the dogs come in for a visit. Lil Otto now has a little shirt to wear. He is the best dressed dog in the care center.

We also had the help of volunteers Margo and daughter Kathy. Margo helped with designing a flyer to spread the word about our rescue. Kathy helped with some lost/found dogs, and has offered to continue that help as time permits. We could not function without all these wonderful volunteers. We also had a large donation of senior feed from Shirley and was delivered from Kansas City area by Patty. For that we and the dogs are eternally grateful.

Miss Maggie required surgery Aug. 25 to address the wound on her face that never would completely heal. She is recovering very nicely.

We are receiving more and more calls about lost/found dogs and do our best to reunite pets and owners. Please keep encouraging folks to spay/neuter and keep collar ID on pets.

Please keep www.7bellssanctuary.petfinder.com as a quick reference if someone you know is looking for a pet. The City of Cole Camp is also listed on our site, so some of those pets may not be seniors. We also encourage you to reference www.swmok9s.petfinder.com for pets. We all work very hard to find homes for these homeless ones.

Thanks for your continued suppport.