Debra, We Hardly Knew You

It seems ironic in this day and age when it is so hard to disappear because we are constantly letting everyone know where we are and what we are doing (Facebook, twitter, foursquare to name a few electronic methods), that a woman could literally live and die in obscurity. But that appears to have been what happened to 48 year old Debra Jurasus-Shriner, whose body was found by local police in Hartford, Connecticut at the end of July. Apparently she had been deceased for three months. Her dog, a Siberian husky, was also found dead nearby.

What is known is that she and her mother, Ann, lived in a small home that they purchased in 1977, presumably on her disability check and her mother's $750/month widow's pension. Jusasus-Shriner's father passed away in 1989. After Jurasus-Shriner's mother died in 2008, she lived with her Husky dog in relative obscurity.

What we do know is that mother and daughter were connected to the outside world through the internet. They lit a virtual candle for Terry Schiavo in 2005 and daughter Debra was a member of the Fans of Barbaro. In a note she posted to the online community, she mentioned she had sent the horse treats. She also penned a poem for Barbaro entitled "The Mighty Barbaro" which included the lines:
"Your entrance in this world was one of sheer determination and will. You made your presence be known..."

Once again we are reminded of the power of animals to connect with those who have chosen to retreat from the world. We can only wish Debra would have made her presence known in the spirit of the horse she so admired.