Last weekend, Chris and I attended the viewing of ‘An American Opera – The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever’, a documentary by Tom McPhee about the pet rescue tribulations of Hurricane Katrina. While I knew that the situation there had been seriously tragic and devastating, and that it prompted many things to change in the way we conduct emergency rescue and such, I had no idea it was as incomprehensible as we learned from the performance. It was a devastating film to watch and surfaced many different feelings, including hate, anger, sadness, and a little bit of joy.
It made me think about the dog community, and how lucky we are to be a part of it. I love dog people. We all just seem to have a really cool way of being somewhat aloof to the little things in life. It could possibly be due to the fact that our dogs have destroyed so many things that if we tried to keep track every time they chewed a sock, we’d go crazy, but that’s beside the point. What I really love about true and blue dog people is that they are always there for you, even if they don’t know you, and that they will always step up to the plate when you need something. For the past few years, we have been raising money for various different local animal organizations, and for the past 5 months, we have turned that drive and passion into our own non-profit. Fundraising is a huge part of what we do, and this can become repetitive for the people and businesses we solicit. It can get timing on us as well, knowing the effect we are having on people. Every time we are looking for donations or support, however, different people come forward with whatever they have to offer. All of those little things add up, and that is how we are able to successfully come together and make a difference. Dog people know how bad the many situations are surrounding dog welfare, and they are willing to put in whatever they’ve got to help the cause, even if it isn’t a lot. They just get it. We know how seriously bad the conditions are for some of the world’s animals, and we come to realize that the things that are stressing us out in our own lives really aren’t that important when you measure them up. I know that the more I learn about some of the situations going on in the world with homeless, abused, etc. pets, I realize to take things a little lighter, because they really aren’t as bad as they could be.
This was the case during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There were many people who put their own lives on hold and really stepped it up to use their voice in place of the thousands of displaced dogs. They stood up to the government organizations that wanted to shut down their rescue operations, and they treated the situation as if they were rescuing humans-as they should have. They had nothing on their mind but rescuing those dogs, and I thought that it was a pretty bold and touching operation. This was a fine example of dog people being dog people. It was a pretty amazing story. Although I would not advise everyone to watch it (some of the scenes are still haunting me), it was a very amazing tale of travesty, rescue, and learning. It was also a great display of the two groups of people in the world, the group that still feels that dogs are disposable, and one that does not.
I have seen the many ways that dog people are amazing, and I hope you know that you are just that. Don’t ever think that you don’t have anything to offer, because even the littlest amount adds up into larger amounts. Don’t feel ashamed if you can only donate $5 at your shelter’s bake sale, or that you can only volunteer once or twice a year. Don’t ever feel like it’s not even worth it unless you can contribute more. Being on the other side of things, I am just as grateful for a $5 donation as I am for a $100 donation. Just the fact that you are willing to support a group shows that you genuinely care about the cause and solution. We didn’t get this far by one or two people’s large donations; it’s a group effort and will continue to be so until we reach a day where there are no more homeless pets.
It made me think about the dog community, and how lucky we are to be a part of it. I love dog people. We all just seem to have a really cool way of being somewhat aloof to the little things in life. It could possibly be due to the fact that our dogs have destroyed so many things that if we tried to keep track every time they chewed a sock, we’d go crazy, but that’s beside the point. What I really love about true and blue dog people is that they are always there for you, even if they don’t know you, and that they will always step up to the plate when you need something. For the past few years, we have been raising money for various different local animal organizations, and for the past 5 months, we have turned that drive and passion into our own non-profit. Fundraising is a huge part of what we do, and this can become repetitive for the people and businesses we solicit. It can get timing on us as well, knowing the effect we are having on people. Every time we are looking for donations or support, however, different people come forward with whatever they have to offer. All of those little things add up, and that is how we are able to successfully come together and make a difference. Dog people know how bad the many situations are surrounding dog welfare, and they are willing to put in whatever they’ve got to help the cause, even if it isn’t a lot. They just get it. We know how seriously bad the conditions are for some of the world’s animals, and we come to realize that the things that are stressing us out in our own lives really aren’t that important when you measure them up. I know that the more I learn about some of the situations going on in the world with homeless, abused, etc. pets, I realize to take things a little lighter, because they really aren’t as bad as they could be.
This was the case during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There were many people who put their own lives on hold and really stepped it up to use their voice in place of the thousands of displaced dogs. They stood up to the government organizations that wanted to shut down their rescue operations, and they treated the situation as if they were rescuing humans-as they should have. They had nothing on their mind but rescuing those dogs, and I thought that it was a pretty bold and touching operation. This was a fine example of dog people being dog people. It was a pretty amazing story. Although I would not advise everyone to watch it (some of the scenes are still haunting me), it was a very amazing tale of travesty, rescue, and learning. It was also a great display of the two groups of people in the world, the group that still feels that dogs are disposable, and one that does not.
I have seen the many ways that dog people are amazing, and I hope you know that you are just that. Don’t ever think that you don’t have anything to offer, because even the littlest amount adds up into larger amounts. Don’t feel ashamed if you can only donate $5 at your shelter’s bake sale, or that you can only volunteer once or twice a year. Don’t ever feel like it’s not even worth it unless you can contribute more. Being on the other side of things, I am just as grateful for a $5 donation as I am for a $100 donation. Just the fact that you are willing to support a group shows that you genuinely care about the cause and solution. We didn’t get this far by one or two people’s large donations; it’s a group effort and will continue to be so until we reach a day where there are no more homeless pets.
No comments:
Post a Comment