I'm active in my local Humane Society, and lately, we've been going through some rough times. Challenges have presented themselves at every turn, it seems, and we've been faced with difficult decisions that have often put us at odds with each other. However, the one thing that has kept us united is our love for the animals that have been entrusted to us. Every day, our hearts sing with joy as a cat or dog, kitten or puppy, finds their "forever" home with a loving family or caring individual.
Pat Anderson, a good friend of mine and an excellent quilter, is responsible for off-site (away from the Humane Society Shelter) adoptions, and she regularly sends out an adoption report. While I am always happy to see that adult cats and dogs, and the little kittens and puppies, have been adopted, I do the little "happy cat dance" when Pat reports that one of my foster kittens has gone home with someone that loves them as much as I did . . . .
As Virginia (another devoted animal caretaker) and I discussed over margaritas on Friday, there is no better feeling than to witness the birth of a litter of kittens, to nurture those kittens (through upper respiratory infections, conjunctivitus, and other mysterious illnesses), have them spayed/neutered, and placed at the Shelter for adoptions. We often have to bottle-feed the kittens that come to us without their mother, but that makes the process even that much more rewarding.
But in our devotion to the animals, we often find the ability to overcome the other challenges that face us . . . and that we are emotionally "rescued" from the insignificance of our differences in "putting the animals first". For anyone that has worked in animal welfare - rescue group, humane society or animal control - you will understand this passage very clearly . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment