I arrived at the shelter today with a guest volunteer, Jenn, who wanted to see what the shelter was really like. She had adopted 4 cats over the past 5 years (one passed away and the other was adopted by her brother).Each cat came from this shelter.
The chat was lively on the way to the shelter, but disturbingly quiet on the way back. I knew what she was thinking: It's overwhelming and it hurts.
Jenn is a volunteer driver for the rescue - an insanely important volunteer job, albeit unglamorous. I hope after she went to the shelter today, she'll realize how important EVERY volunteer job is when it comes to rescuing these cats.
We rescued these two little guys (pictured above) + one for a new foster Mom. I brought the threesome home to The Land of Dirty Underwear until the new foster Mom was off work. Oh, how I *LOVE* to deliver kittens to a new foster Mom! It's better than Christmas! When we met at the Tim Horton's parking lot (where else?) her excitement was contagious. She didn't mind the add-on black and white kitten (thank you! thank you!) and was beside herself with getting them home and playing with these little guys. The weird part was - she had purchased THREE food dishes when she thought she was only getting two kittens! (*goosebumps*)
If this foster Mom hadn't stepped up to the plate and offered to help these three kittens - they would be dead this morning. Such a sobering thought.
I found myself smiling all the way back home.
Yesterday, was the annual general meeting for our rescue. I'm always taken back by these events due to the diversity of the people in attendance. I'm not talking about racial diversity. I'm talking about people in general from ALL walks of life, education levels, incomes, religions and different pasts, presents and futures coming together for ONE common cause. We spent a few hours on a beautiful Sunday afternoon together and talked about rescue. Our Rescue.
I'm not really sure where I'm going with this blog post tonight. Every once in a while, I become very aware of how different we all are. The uncommon ways we live our lives. How dissimilar our personalities are; the way we communicate with each other. I work with people in the rescue who are as young as 18 years old to retirement years.
I'm doing a crummy job expressing myself tonight. I keep pushing the delete button. I think I'll just use the title of this blog post to say it all for me....and I'm so grateful for all of you.
3 comments:
Tim Hortons- oh boy. When I was on 'vacation' in Buffalo, NY, I saw a commercial I couldn't forget- it was a man on vacation somewhere and this woman notices he's from Canada, not because he had a Canadian flag on his backpack, but because he had a Tim Hortons thermos.
There is no greater service in life.. than to save life.
I was a driver for TCR (on hiatus right now) and it's one of the behind-the -scenes but very important parts of rescue. Cats have to be rescued, moved, & taken to vet appointments. It was a privilege to pick up each cat and take them where they needed to be, soothe worried foster parents, deliver for fosters who don't have cars. Kudos to the drivers!
Update on Chase - I also volunteer for the group which took in Chase.Over the weekend she was on display in PJ's - everyone who read her sad story was moved. She was the star of the show - so affectionate & friendly, rolling like a ball on her back for more pets. Even her tail is fat, but who cares, you chose an amazing cat worth rescuing & she'll go to a loving home for keeps.
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