Guest GreytMuse Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I hope it is okay to post this in this forum, but this woman's story touched me deeply and I would like her remembered. I don't think she would mind being memorialized alongside our beloved companions. Thank you, Mrs. Turner, for your life's work. You have so many friends waiting at the bridge. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/16/tornado.v...ref=mpstoryview Editor's Note: Wynn Westmoreland, a media coordinator for CNN, offers this personal remembrance of two victims from the weekend's severe weather. ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- I met Bonnie Turner seven years ago when I was looking for a puppy. There was just simply no one better to turn to than the eccentric grandmother who loved animals so much that her 86-acre North Georgia farm was home to donkeys, goats, high-priced show dogs and even a few wayward deer. On Saturday, nothing was left of that bucolic sanctuary after a 130-mph tornado ravaged it. Bonnie died, thrown 50 feet from her home as her husband, Michael, cried out her name, their neighbors Joe and Jamie Wheeler said. Her death has shaken me. Images of the animals that died -- at least 35 dogs and 100 still missing -- make my voice crack when I speak about her. But I want her to be remembered as more than a victim, as probably does the family of the tornado's second victim in Floyd County. Bonnie -- whom everyone called Mrs. Bonnie -- was a retired veterinarian's assistant. Her husband, Michael, who now lies in a hospital in critical condition, built a home for them. Her "Mikey" was a man who knew that something beautiful takes time to build. He spent hours making ornate clocks that decorated their home, and many more helping his wife oblige the physical rigors of taking care of dozens of animals. A band of Chihuahuas and a few of her award-winning American hairless terriers nipped at her ankles as she performed her daily chores. On a cloudless day in April in 2001, I visited Bonnie with a friend. She told us to lie in the grass, and she went inside her house, unleashed about a dozen puppies and watched as they ran out the door toward us. They began licking our ears, noses and toes. I noticed that a small, black-and-brown Chihuahua was trying to get my attention. I had been looking for a white female one, but Mrs. Bonnie would have none of that. "That's your dog, he likes you," she told me. I named the 4-pound Chihuahua Jesse James. During the years since, I often called Bonnie with questions about Jesse or dogs in general and she was always there to help. I wish everyone could have met her and experienced some of the happiness she evoked in so many. She is a soul who will be deeply missed. Bonnie left this quote on her Web site, www.flinthillkennel.com: "Beauty such as this is a gift, and I'm often in awe of this world we've been given." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greybookends Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest minnie Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Becki Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hamiesmom Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Many heartfelt sympathies to Bonnie Turner and her family. Healing prayers going out to her husband who is still in hospital. Run free to all the angels who went to the bridge after the storm and we are hopeful that the others will be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carla Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 :f_pink :f_pink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KahluasMagic Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Quote Lynn Missing Pepper,Magic,Kahlua, Hobbit Ziggy Jasper and Bella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Quote Patti-Mommy of Lady Sophia 7-28-92 - 8-3-04... LaceyLaine 8-2-94-12-5-07... Flash Gordon 7-14-99 - 8-29-09... BrookLynne...Pavé Maria... and 18 Bridge Kids. WATCHING OVER US~SOPHIA~QUEENIE~LACEY LAINE~ CODY ANGELO~FLASH GORDON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAVED2 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 :f_pink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VelvetEars Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I can picture her lying on the grass in heaven, being licked and loved by all the dogs who wait patiently for their guardians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenners Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 How lucky our animal friends across the Bridge are, to have her there to love them Jennifer Quote Jennie with her hedgehogs and Guinea pigs, and remembering Luna, Queen of the Piggies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Very sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vahoundlover Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Very sad Sending prayers her husband recovers. I bet Bonnie is playing with all of our Angels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snowy8 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gideon Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hopefully tending to those souls still in need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest argolola Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Sending prayers for her family. How sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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