I always had animals in the house growing up. My sisters and I had pet dogs, cats, and hamsters. My mom adopted from the shelters & we had a happy home. Our first dog was bought at a puppy store, and we only had him for a few days. He died of parvovirus. I didn't know then, but now I know that animals at the pet stores are often unhealthy. I think my Mom paid around $300 for this puppy. We named him Chipper. I'll never forget how much Chipper threw-up around the house and how sad my sisters and I were. If I remember right, from that point forward, my mom adopted all of our pets, rather than shopped for them.
Considering growing up around animals, one would assume I was a compassionate animal lover. I wasn't. I was 21 when I moved to Washington D.C. and there were 2 dogs in the house I lived in. Although I thought they were very sweet, I didn't pay much attention to them. I pet them here and there, but I wasn't enamored with them.
It wasn't until I later moved to Las Vegas, alone and a tad melancholy from a number of personal instances, that I opened my eyes. I remember scoping out volunteermatch.org (great site!) for local volunteer opportunities. I recall coming across Best Friends Animal Society. I remember Best Friends sounded familiar and clicked on their message. They had an upcoming, first-ever Super Adoption Event in Vegas that they needed volunteers for. The Super Adoption Event entailed about 12 organizations from Nevada and our close neighbor California grouping together to bring all of their adoptable dogs and cats to Petsmart for one weekend of hope. I signed up.
It was without a doubt, one of the best days of my life. I put a "Best Friends" t-shirt on my back and really felt like I belonged there. I knew right away how passionate I felt about contributing to this great cause. Prior to this event, I knew nothing about inhumane puppy mills, the horror that animals go through so women can wear fur coats, the appalling animal testing labs and the companies like Proctor and Gamble that support them, the poor conditions that farm animals are subjected to, and I knew very little about the works of PETA or Best Friends. I have since educated myself in these subjects and cannot believe I didn't open my eyes sooner. I am forever thankful for this day. About 300 pets found a home that day. Spared from euthanasia, they happily went home to their new loving owners. My duty that day was to walk the dogs for about 5 minutes each and put them back in their wire cages and try to 'market' them to potential adopters. "This one is sooooo sweet; he loves to be pet I've noticed." I would say. "She has only 5 more days if she doesn't get adopted this weekend."
These are the kinds of things I would say to help people find a pet. It was extremely rewarding helping these people find pets, with big smiles on their faces. What was even more rewarding was knowing that these dogs did not have to go back to the shelter, and worse, potentially be put to sleep. I suppose I realized that day that because animals have no voices, because they have no way to defend themselves, because they are so full of love despite their rough pasts, we have to speak on their behalf. We humans have so much power, and we should use this power for the greater good.
Halfway through the first day of the weekend event, I noticed a sweet old Chihuahua mix. I noticed how much I was drawn to him, and how much he was drawn to me. We were somewhat magnetic, him and I. He just stared at me and sniffed my hands when I pet him. He was skinny and fatigued. I tried so hard all day to find him a happy family. I did not want to see this dog lose his life ( He would have been put to sleep the next day, had he not been adopted.) While everyone was touched by him, they didn't want such an old dog. He needed dental work, his breath smelled, and he was needy. He was estimated to be between 8-10 years old. He belonged to the local Lied Animal Shelter, one of the only shelters that euthanizes.
Knowing I was still temporarily staying with my uncle until the end of the month when my apartment was ready, I knew I couldn't bring home a dog. I had only lived in Vegas for about a month, and I wasn't prepared. Besides, my uncle had a cat who was very territorial and would not appreciate a new dog to share the house with.
While telling myself this in my head and convincing myself it wasn't a good time, I continued to try and find him a home while all of the volunteers kept saying "There's just something about you and him; I think you were meant to find each other" or "I think this one is meant to be yours."
I knew deep down they were right, yet I still tried to find him a loving family. I tried to be responsible and listen to my head rather than my heart. However, I'm also intuitive enough to know that God is always watching and he has plans. This was really meant to be. I told myself that I'd adopt him by the end of the day if I hadn't found a family to take him home. I would call my uncle and ask him if it were okay to bring a dog home for 2 weeks until we moved.
A miracle really happened that day: All of the volunteers knew my living situation and that I didn't feel entirely comfortable asking my uncle this request. One of the volunteers knew a local woman who fostered dogs. She ran a pet-watching & fostering service, and she'd be happy to watch the dog for two weeks until I moved.
That's all it took for me to sign the papers. I adopted the old Chihuahua that afternoon and I no longer felt so alone. I picked him up from his loving foster mommy after two weeks, and we were so excited to see one another. I felt like I had a friend and a companion to be with in this big, lonely city. I had someone to take care of besides myself. I had someone else to think about and love. I wasn't needy, but I definitely felt a gap that this sweet dog filled. I saved his life that day. In so many ways, he shined a bright light into my life as well. The picture above was taken by the photographer from the event, and posted on the Best Friends website. It's a great picture, because it captures the positive energy from that day and the great way people feel at these events.
Lied Animal Shelter gave me a volunteer discount ( they wanted so badly for this dog to find a home, so they didn't charge me much.) They typically charge $150-200 for dogs, but I paid $20 that day. I named him Gregors; I loved that name. It was a good ol' British name and Gregor (without the s) means vigilant and watchful. Now that I've had Gregors for over one year, I can attest that he is very vigilant indeed. So the name fits him very well.
It is now Jan 1, 2009. I have since adopted another sweetie named Corbin. His given name was Sean, and he was an emaciated, malnourished little guy that the shelter had only had for one day. He was fresh off the streets and looking for a home. I re-named him & watched him come slowly out of his shell. I'll never forget how much comfort he found in laying in my laundry baskets, on my clothes. He also loved gathering all the clothes he could find off my floor to make himself a bed. Now he has dog beds, so he does this seldomly, but he still loves laying on my clothes. He bonded immediately with Gregors. Gregors is very territorial and protective of me and his home, so he can be very growly to 'guests' but he immediately took to Corbin. It was so much fun seeing Gregors chase Corbin around the apartment and witness him being active again, at his old age.
I met Riley in April 2008; he was not a 'dog' person and especially did not like Chihuahuas. I think for this, among many other reasons, God placed Riley in our lives. We helped him open up to the idea of having dogs and especially small dogs. (He has since adopted 2 little ones of his own, Fiona and Sam.) They are amazing dogs with 2 very different personalities!
Ever since that day that I volunteered for the Super Adoption Event, I have opened my eyes and my heart to the lives of animals. I eat much less meat than I used to, I buy products that are not animal tested, I have helped re-home a dog that was no longer wanted by his owners, I have made a promise to adopt every pet I will ever have in my life, and I help spread the word. God really blessed me that day. My family has opened their eyes too, and I love that we can all help and educate my nephew. He is quite the animal lover, especially to dogs. I really see the importance of having animals in life. There are many long-term benefits of having pets in the home. It's really such a positive experience.
God gave me and Riley a sign at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009. Someone, unknown to us, left a bunny rabbit in a box outside Riley's porch. He is a sweet white bunny with black spots, living in a dirty soiled box with no food or water. There is a water bowl in the box though. It is really unfortunate that someone abandoned him. He was very scared and ran away from us a couple of times, but we caught him and brought him inside. We fed him spinach and gave him water and we are going to take him to the no-kill shelter tomorrow to find a home for him. We wish we could take care of him, but with the dogs and our apartments, it doesn't work out. Someday I'd love to have a rabbit, but now is not the time. I'm so glad that we can keep him safe until he finds a new home.
I am thrilled, inspired, and energized to start this year fresh with a clear vision in this one area of my life. If I can be one small voice for the lives of God's creatures known as animals, I consider this to be such a blessing.
