Jayadeva's Brooklyn: Dogs, Babies and Love in Sunset Park

Blog Relaunch!

Ok, so I still miss and pine for Jaya all the time, but a new baby has arrived and I've found I love her a whole lot too! So, in the spirit of life moves on and to honor Jaya, I'm relaunching this blog as Galayna and my adventures in Brooklyn, with emphasis on the lovely doggies we meet everyday.

More to come soon, I hope! (I've found babies are a bit more work than dogs.)

Rest in Peace our Beloved Jaya

On Friday, February 27, 2009 at approximately 1:15pm, Jayadeva died at Animal Kind Animal
Hospital in Brooklyn.   She had just turned 15 on February 14th and we were so incredibly
lucky to have her in our lives  for that long.  If anyone with a geriatric dog would like to write
re: end of life  decisions, please feel free.  It was painful and difficult, but we knew we were
doing right by our girl.   Her passing was filled with intense love and as much comfort as
possible in her condition.

I found the following comforting and helpful resource online here:
http://www.chai-online.org/en/companion/health/caring_dog_geriatric.htm


When do I know it is time to say goodbye?

Pets offer companionship, emotional intimacy, and feelings of well being
to their guardians. This makes the reality of advanced age, and ultimately
death, difficult to accept. Guardians must ensure a happy, pleasurable,
and dignified quality of life to their pet. When that quality of life
cannot be maintained, alternatives need to be considered.

A decision about euthanasia is difficult to make. Euthanasia is a humane
course of action in cases where the prognosis is hopeless or where the
continued life of the dog would be painful or undignified. Please talk to
your veterinarian about all options available to you, to help you make
informed decisions.

In 2006, Rabbi Yona Metzger, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, issued a
issued a ruling, a Psak Halacha, stating that on the basis of the Jewish
mandate to prevent cruelty to animals, tsa'ar ba'alei hayim, a suffering
animal should be allowed to end its life in a dignified manner.
"Compassion is inherent in our people, a characteristic of the sons of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; therefore, pity any suffering creature and
relieve it of its suffering in a quick manner, by euthanizing it so that
it will feel no further pain."

6/15 Green - 11/16

Pictures from late Fall at our Community Garden

Colorful watering cans

and a very pretty pond.

Dan is a composting member of 6/15 Green, the Community Garden on 6th Ave at 15th Street

and is pretty handy with a pitchfork!

Something for Nothing - Freebies in Brooklyn

For those of us with accumulated clutter, or those who need a little more in their lives, there are two great resources:

To check out what's free in Sunset Park, try clicking this link for Brooklyn FreeCycle @ Yahoo Groups. Of course, this is a Brooklyn-wide service; I just keep a link for Sunset Park offers, for obvious reasons. However, if the offer is good enough, I'll certainly consider traveling a little. I also gave away a bunch of stuff when we moved into our apartment: used cowboy boots, hanging closet organizers, hangers, moving boxes, etc.

Also, Craig's List has free listings where you can search exclusively for freebies in your neighborhood. Click here for for Sunset Park freebies.

I also just got an email alerting me to a Free Cycle Swap Meet. The details are as follows:

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle at the Freecycle™ New York City
Back-to-School FreeMeet: it's not just for students!

Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008
Time: 11am - 4pm
Location: Behind the Old Stone House, (5th Ave b/t 3rd & 4th Sts), Park Slope, Brooklyn
You will find the FreeMeet between the Old Stone House and the basketball court.

MORE INFO: www.RecycleThisNYC.org/freemeet

Bring unwanted clothing, housewares and other reusable items to share* or simply bring a tote bag to fill.
Leftovers will be donated or recycled to every extent possible.  As the name suggests, the Freecycle NYC FreeMeet is FREE!

Directions:
Subway F/R train to Fourth Ave, R to Union St, 
or B63 Bus to 3rd St & 5th Ave

*please bring portable items only and log on to www.Freecycle.org to give away furniture and other heavy stuff.

Got WIRE HANGERS? Bring 'em to the FreeMeet so we can hang clothes and recycle the hangers afterwards.
Bring used BRITA FILTERS to donate to the Take Back the Filter campaign.
To get your own alerts about these meet-ups, CLICK HERE: Free Meet Alerts

Picture from the Free Meets website...

2nd Annual Take Your (Doggy) Daughter to Work Day

Jaya at the office, originally uploaded by maggie1000.

This time, Dan took our love to his new job at Schmatic. Thank you again "Maggie1000" for taking this awesome shot. I'm glad it wasn't Dan getting some shut-eye under his desk ;)

Summer Streets: August 23rd, 2008

Dan and I wanted to experience NYC's Summer Streets before it ended. We walked up and down Park Avenue and it was quiet and peaceful and we met Teddy and Kathy!