In Memory of Karen Oszustowicz

Dear Family and Friends,

On October 6, 2011, my mom, Karen Oszustowicz, passed away from fallopian tube cancer. When she passed away she was surrounded by not only her husband and children, but also her dogs and cats. They sat and watched her pass away knowing that she would be without pain and sickness soon.

My mom loved animals and provided a forever home for many animals who were lost, abused and never loved. For those she could not bring into her home she gave what she could to help them. My mom never saw herself as helping these "angels", rather she believed they aided and enriched her life. She especially believed that her cat, Bluto, helped her through very sick and dark days while battling cancer. Bluto would never leave her side while she was going through treatment or recovering from surgery. When she would be napping and had a bad dream he would put his paw on her and tap her until she woke up. Bluto would even provide her food by bringing her things he killed. As my mom grew sicker this summer, Bluto become much more attentive to her needs. If she needed something he would meow as loud as he could to get someone's attention and right before she took her last breath, he rubbed his face on her hand telling her he loved her and that he would be OK when she passed.

My mom believed that animals were angels and she believed that animals need to be loved, protected from abuse and given a chance to live life. An organization that she loved was Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a no kill animal sanctuary. They helped many of the abused dogs from the horrors of Michael Vick’s dog fighting business and they find forever homes for hard to place animals. My mom always wanted to visit Best Friends, but she never felt well enough to go.

I hope you will consider donating to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Memory of Karen Oszustowicz and I hope you will take a moment to learn more about this wonderful organization.

Thank you and lots of love,

The Oszustowicz Family (two legged and four legged)