Save our little family
Donation protected
Please stand by Mokie and me.
Hello. My name is Antoine Bouvier. I am a 67 year old senior who lives alone with “Mokie”, my little terrier/poodle type dog in a small house on the outskirts of a remote pulp and paper town in Northern Canada.
Last winter, I slipped with my walker in -40C temperatures and froze the tip of one finger and part of my right ear.
Truth is, if my neighbour hadn’t found me, death had been only minutes away.
They told me at the hospital that they might be forced to put me in an old folks home if I can't take care of myself. Mokie would not be allowed to live with me anymore.
I looked the busy bodies in the eye and said, "Not going to happen."
I thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was some way I could generate the funds I need to end the ruining of our little family?”
Let me confess, I was mad, sick to my heart and broken. How had a life of hard work ended up like this? Many elders feel the same way.
One night, I sat contentedly watching Mokie snoozing placidly on my lap, his little body convulsing gently as I watched him having a happy dream of chasing evil squirrels or one of the Red Crossbeaks that seem to make a career of staying just out of his reach making his life miserable.
I thought of what a great gift this little dog has been in my life. His antics have blessed me with so many good belly laughs.
There was just no way I can afford to move to a larger centre where they would have old folks’ homes that allowed pets. How could I go on without these many blissful experiences?
As Mokie fought his little dream battles, I fought back the tears that burned like hot wax at the ends of my eyes. “Please, God, bring me a solution that wouldn’t cost much yet would keep us together.”
I picked up Mokie slowly so as to not wake him and laid him gently on a corner of my bed which is designated the “Mokie bed”. I slipped into bed myself and quickly forgot about my little prayer to a Higher Power of my understanding as I soaked up the beautiful gentleness of the moment and the gentle breathing of my little man.
Mokie had taught me that the only real happiness was being in the present. Nothing matters except each other’s company, a dry roof, a warm bed, grub in the fridge and squirrels in the trees.
Surely, somehow, there had to be some way of keeping our happy little family together.
About 7 years ago, I gave my heart to this scruffy little rescue dog. He never broke it, he always has my back, he would charge hell with a leaky pail for me, he doesn't judge me and he taught me to love unconditionally. There had to be some way of keeping us together.
The internet never crossed my mind as a way of overcoming our problem.
By the time I was able to leave the hospital, it was springtime so I could safely spend one last summer in my own little rented house with my little dog. The neighbours had been so kind as to keep Mokie till I returned home. I was much more concerned about Mokie than about myself.
Slowly but surely, my neighbour started talking of ways that money could be gotten on the internet. For some reason he didn’t push the issue. He knew:
· That surely pride would stand in my way of adopting a happy solution that would require asking for help.
· That I would never agree to anything without thoroughly understand what was going on.
· That I certainly didn’t have time to wait and wait for any money that was due me.
After much pleading to Social Services, I was allowed to stay with my little buddy one more winter. That winter has come and is almost gone.
Truly, it is darkest before the dawn. The Social Services have started to call. When will I be willing to move?
Never!
Usually, I wouldn't care about the move. Home has always been where I hung my hat. As a matter of fact, I am grateful for these people and services like homes for the elderly, but this new living formula does not include the best friend I have ever had.
Before long, Social Services will be knocking on my door to force me into a room in an old folks' home "for my own good".
They tell me Mokie will be well taken care of. The truth is that nobody wants to adopt an old dog like him with medical issues and the odd unintentional piddle on the floor.
The only place where he will be "well cared for" is the local shelter. It is the only one around for 100 miles.
It is a kill shelter.
I had to find a solution!
My neighbour and I brainstormed what it would take to make Mokey’s and my lives easier and safer together and which would satisfy any requirements of the Social Services to allow us to finish our lives together.
Are you beginning to see that solutions were starting to show themselves, that even this old goat can adopt and change?
$1000 would buy a second hand, 4 wheeled electric scooter I had seen in the paper. A phone call was all it took to get a kind hearted family on the other side of town to hold it for me. It had kept their dad happy and mobile for years until he had passed on.
They had taken an old 4 wheeled electric skooter, had added a tiny cab, an electric heater, doors and a windshield wiper.
Although it will look like Mokie and I are riding around in a cartoon, it will keep the weather out, 4 wheels give it a lot of stability, it has a heater for the winter, a windshield wiper for the summer and a little shelf behind the seat from where Mokie can rest his head on my shoulder and keep a sharp eye out ahead for Jurassic squirrels. (You never know when one might turn up!!)
This vehicle would be enough to convince Social Services to get off my case, that Mokie and I could safely take care of ourselves including ordinary chores such as grocery shopping and doctor and vet appointments so that they wouldn't have to do what is "best for me".
I must confess, I had a tough time agreeing to let my neighbour help me set this campaign up for us, but I finally relented. What finally won the day was when my neighbour said, "Think of Mokie."
That man does know how to cut to the quick!
The idea that I could stay with my little buddy was the final deciding factor. Pride be damned. The electric scooter will furnish all the safe, winterized transportation we need. It will guarantee that Mokie and I can safely and comfortably stay in our cozy little home for years to come or until one of us crosses the Great Rainbow Bridge.
Please press on the "Donate Now” button and make a big difference in our lives.
Our need is getting desperate, as I might not be able to hold off Social Services till spring. If I can, I might still have the summer with Mokie.
Without your help, it will for sure be our last.
Save the Antoine and Mokie team.
P.S. Would $1 be too much to ask for? Click on the "Donate Now" button at the top of this page.
P.P.S. Please share my link to your Facebook followers.
Apparently that’s important.
Thank you!
Hello. My name is Antoine Bouvier. I am a 67 year old senior who lives alone with “Mokie”, my little terrier/poodle type dog in a small house on the outskirts of a remote pulp and paper town in Northern Canada.
Last winter, I slipped with my walker in -40C temperatures and froze the tip of one finger and part of my right ear.
Truth is, if my neighbour hadn’t found me, death had been only minutes away.
They told me at the hospital that they might be forced to put me in an old folks home if I can't take care of myself. Mokie would not be allowed to live with me anymore.
I looked the busy bodies in the eye and said, "Not going to happen."
I thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was some way I could generate the funds I need to end the ruining of our little family?”
Let me confess, I was mad, sick to my heart and broken. How had a life of hard work ended up like this? Many elders feel the same way.
One night, I sat contentedly watching Mokie snoozing placidly on my lap, his little body convulsing gently as I watched him having a happy dream of chasing evil squirrels or one of the Red Crossbeaks that seem to make a career of staying just out of his reach making his life miserable.
I thought of what a great gift this little dog has been in my life. His antics have blessed me with so many good belly laughs.
There was just no way I can afford to move to a larger centre where they would have old folks’ homes that allowed pets. How could I go on without these many blissful experiences?
As Mokie fought his little dream battles, I fought back the tears that burned like hot wax at the ends of my eyes. “Please, God, bring me a solution that wouldn’t cost much yet would keep us together.”
I picked up Mokie slowly so as to not wake him and laid him gently on a corner of my bed which is designated the “Mokie bed”. I slipped into bed myself and quickly forgot about my little prayer to a Higher Power of my understanding as I soaked up the beautiful gentleness of the moment and the gentle breathing of my little man.
Mokie had taught me that the only real happiness was being in the present. Nothing matters except each other’s company, a dry roof, a warm bed, grub in the fridge and squirrels in the trees.
Surely, somehow, there had to be some way of keeping our happy little family together.
About 7 years ago, I gave my heart to this scruffy little rescue dog. He never broke it, he always has my back, he would charge hell with a leaky pail for me, he doesn't judge me and he taught me to love unconditionally. There had to be some way of keeping us together.
The internet never crossed my mind as a way of overcoming our problem.
By the time I was able to leave the hospital, it was springtime so I could safely spend one last summer in my own little rented house with my little dog. The neighbours had been so kind as to keep Mokie till I returned home. I was much more concerned about Mokie than about myself.
Slowly but surely, my neighbour started talking of ways that money could be gotten on the internet. For some reason he didn’t push the issue. He knew:
· That surely pride would stand in my way of adopting a happy solution that would require asking for help.
· That I would never agree to anything without thoroughly understand what was going on.
· That I certainly didn’t have time to wait and wait for any money that was due me.
After much pleading to Social Services, I was allowed to stay with my little buddy one more winter. That winter has come and is almost gone.
Truly, it is darkest before the dawn. The Social Services have started to call. When will I be willing to move?
Never!
Usually, I wouldn't care about the move. Home has always been where I hung my hat. As a matter of fact, I am grateful for these people and services like homes for the elderly, but this new living formula does not include the best friend I have ever had.
Before long, Social Services will be knocking on my door to force me into a room in an old folks' home "for my own good".
They tell me Mokie will be well taken care of. The truth is that nobody wants to adopt an old dog like him with medical issues and the odd unintentional piddle on the floor.
The only place where he will be "well cared for" is the local shelter. It is the only one around for 100 miles.
It is a kill shelter.
I had to find a solution!
My neighbour and I brainstormed what it would take to make Mokey’s and my lives easier and safer together and which would satisfy any requirements of the Social Services to allow us to finish our lives together.
Are you beginning to see that solutions were starting to show themselves, that even this old goat can adopt and change?
$1000 would buy a second hand, 4 wheeled electric scooter I had seen in the paper. A phone call was all it took to get a kind hearted family on the other side of town to hold it for me. It had kept their dad happy and mobile for years until he had passed on.
They had taken an old 4 wheeled electric skooter, had added a tiny cab, an electric heater, doors and a windshield wiper.
Although it will look like Mokie and I are riding around in a cartoon, it will keep the weather out, 4 wheels give it a lot of stability, it has a heater for the winter, a windshield wiper for the summer and a little shelf behind the seat from where Mokie can rest his head on my shoulder and keep a sharp eye out ahead for Jurassic squirrels. (You never know when one might turn up!!)
This vehicle would be enough to convince Social Services to get off my case, that Mokie and I could safely take care of ourselves including ordinary chores such as grocery shopping and doctor and vet appointments so that they wouldn't have to do what is "best for me".
I must confess, I had a tough time agreeing to let my neighbour help me set this campaign up for us, but I finally relented. What finally won the day was when my neighbour said, "Think of Mokie."
That man does know how to cut to the quick!
The idea that I could stay with my little buddy was the final deciding factor. Pride be damned. The electric scooter will furnish all the safe, winterized transportation we need. It will guarantee that Mokie and I can safely and comfortably stay in our cozy little home for years to come or until one of us crosses the Great Rainbow Bridge.
Please press on the "Donate Now” button and make a big difference in our lives.
Our need is getting desperate, as I might not be able to hold off Social Services till spring. If I can, I might still have the summer with Mokie.
Without your help, it will for sure be our last.
Save the Antoine and Mokie team.
P.S. Would $1 be too much to ask for? Click on the "Donate Now" button at the top of this page.
P.P.S. Please share my link to your Facebook followers.
Apparently that’s important.
Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Octavien Remillard
Organizer
Dryden, ON
Octavien Remillard
Beneficiary