Page 40 - Oasis in the Sky

Triggering Events
Although biopolar illness is a genetic disease, unusual stress can trigger the
onset. In 1994, three stressful events in my life came one after another and served
as the triggering trilogy that brought on my first severe episode of bipolar illness.

Written in November, 1994

Trilogy

The first incident in my trilogy of misfortunes occurred on September 13,
1994, when my 9-year-old border collie, Lady, and her 12-week-old firstborn
granddaughter, Silva, were stolen from the ranch where I lived and worked.
Lady was a “working dog” bred to work sheep and goats; and in nine years
Lady had never run away. I was home practically unconscious with a bad case
of flu. The cattle were around the house that day, and with Silva in tow, Lady
had no reason to leave the enclosed area around the house. As further evidence
that Lady and Silva were stolen, the chain to the back gate onto the property
had been cut.
To the immense detriment to my personal life and health and my law prac-
tice, I spent countless hours chasing down false leads—telephone calls from
people who meant well, but who wouldn’t know the difference between a pit
bull and a miniature poodle, much less the discernable distinctions between bor-
der collies, collies, and shelties. I was even forced to play games with scam
artists who prey on other people’s loss, like ambulance chasing attorneys; how-
ever, in this instance, the scam is the return of the dogs, not the promise of mon-
etary remuneration for my loss.
In addition to the time spent on this search, I spent more than $500 on color
reward posters, lost and found ads, flyers, letters, and color photos to more than
200 veterinarians and vet clinics in Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe counties. I of-
fered a $2,000 reward for the return of my dogs. An elementary school and a
high school took on the search as a school project, and even the City Public
Service meter readers were engaged. With all this concerted effort, there was not
one viable clue as to their whereabouts. They simply vanished.
Lady was my pride and joy and had been with me since 1985 when I was
struggling through law school, so destitute that I slept on the floor and rode a bi-
cycle and then a motorcycle to school. My mother, who is in a nursing home is
my only relative in Texas, and Lady was the only “grandchild” she ever ex-
pected to see from me. Lady and Silva were the most precious things in my life.
Whoever took them, took my joy, my magic—a crime far greater in magnitude
and impact than the simple theft of two dogs. No other personal loss has ever
affected me so grievously and so profoundly. I was devastated.
The second event in the trilogy happened eleven days later in September

26
Oasis in the Sky
Oasis in the Sky