Blog it! Susie is leaving us.....

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog. As some already know, Susie Kaznowitz, our volunteer and development coordinator, is leaving us in a few weeks. The reasons are written in the space time fabric of the universe and if you are intuitive enough to read it….it is there for all to see. For those of you who are space time fabrically challenged, I will say only that she is moving on to ever changing adventures and higher levels of growth on her journey. She will be sorely missed.

 Reasons Susie will be sorely missed:

1. When people use the expression, “So and so is a breath of fresh air,” they are talking about someone like Susie. When she walks into a room, the ether literally changes. Sometimes we used her as air freshener…..but we couldn’t find the ‘silent’ button, so that was short lived.

2. Susie is a straight shooter. If you want a completely honest and unbiased opinion – ask Susie. And she has them aplenty. But I’ve found, in coming to know Susie, that her opinion was always in line with how a decision affected the animals. For example, “Do we choose Sun Chips or pound cake to put in the vending machine this month?” Easy……what does Patricia like? Pound cake. As I said, always on the side of the animals…..

3. Susie is a team player. And what’s more, she is a versatile player. Just tell her what hat to put on and what position to play today, and our little chameleon is on it! From getting sponsors for fundraisers to planning birthday parties to constructing our website to managing all volunteers to helping in other departments when shorthanded……I could go on and on. Her excitement in answering the phone to make an appointment for the vet clinic is simply an inspiration in and of itself.

4. Susie’s laugh is contagious. Laughter is, indeed, the best medicine. And when Susie laughs from the deepest recesses of her soul (which is every time she laughs), I can see that even Michelle cannot stop the corners of her mouth from turning upward.

5. Her compassion is intertwined with the rarest commodity on the market: common sense. People are so worried about being politically correct, that their compassion at times seems more like a half- hearted attempt at being pathetically sympathetic. Susie hits you hard with a soft heart. THAT is compassion.

6. Susie is geographically challenged. And it makes us laugh.

7. Susie loves to color outside the lines. Not everyone appreciates this, and to these people I can only say, “Your world of black and white must be a dull one.” Here is her latest project:

8. And lastly, Susie fills her days with a colorful passion that must make passionless people simply green with envy. She LIVES. She LOVES. She RESCUES. And she has colored the lines of the St. Tammany Humane Society with a spirit that we should all strive to possess.

This is why we salute Susie, why she will be sorely missed, and we wish the world luck in dealing with her when she is in a bad mood.

STHS Staff