In Loving Memory, I Gave....Can You?

I made my annual donation to The Humane Society a couple days ago! It was small, but I have to believe that it helped. If you have an extra $5, $10 whatever you can spare, please donate something. If you don't have money, but can offer your time to one of your local shelters, then please do that! If you can't do that, then please when you talk to your friends, encourage them, and encourage them to encourage others to adopt a pet from a shelter instead of buying. Encourage them to volunteer. Maybe they don't know they can. Maybe they just never thought about it. Maybe YOU can be the one that makes them think about it. And who knows how many times that may get paid forward?

Just because a dog costs $2,000 and has "papers" and is a perfect specimen of his or her breed, DOES NOT mean that it is any better than the dog that just, well, IS. The dog that was born by chance.

I'll never forget my childhood dog, Lady. She was a mixed-breed-free-giveaway dog about the size of a German shephard. And I will spare you the details, but when I was attacked, she came to my rescue. She took a kicking that would have been mine. She knew I was in danger and she didn't care if it hurt her, she was going to save me. And she did. She let my attacker have it; taking a good kicking on my behalf.

She was THE BEST dog that ever exsisted. When it was time to make that choice to end her life (she had cancer), our family gathered together, the vet came to my mom's and gave her the peace that she deserved. It was our final gift to her. To release her from pain.

A stone still lies on the ground over her resting place that says "Lady, Our Protector", and I hope it is there always. She was just a mutt. She had no pedigree, no special training, she was just loved. And in return she loved back. She gave back loyalty, protection, companionship, you name it. She gave it all to us, and never asked for anything more than to be fed. But of course, we loved her, babied her, played with her. She was AMAZING. And she will NEVER be forgotten.

I remember once when my sister was babysitting for my toddler cousin and he headed for the street. BEFORE we could yell "Come back!" or run to catch him ourselves, Lady ran to him, grabbed the back of his diaper with her teeth and tugged him backwards! We never taught her that. She just knew. She just knew a lot of things.

So please, give it a shot. You might find your own "Lady" at a shelter. Be the voice to speak for those that can't this year. Give something of yourself to an animal that didn't ask to be here.

In Loving Memory of:
Lady, Our Protector
1982-1996