It was years ago, and I was living in a small town in Georgia, having just scored my first job after college. I had decided to celebrate my plunge into the “real world” with a new apartment, a new (used) car and, of course, a dog.
My parents raised my four siblings and me with a healthy respect for animals. We saved baby squirrels after they fell out of trees, and dogs and cats always had a place in our home. Frosty was a beautiful Siamese cat, and Morris was a tabby cat rescued from a mall parking lot when I was 14. Mom was particularly enamored with purebred Shih Tzus and Lhasa Apsos. I remember accompanying my dad to the local pet store to choose one of each as a special gift for her birthday one year.
Anyway, back to my story: As a three-day weekend approached, I decided that the extra day would come in handy in adjusting a pet to a new home. I did not automatically head to the pet store; the closest one was an hour away, after all. I felt it was my civic duty to at least check out the animals available at the local animal shelter I passed on my way to work every day.
So, there she was, in the fourth kennel on the right. A brown and white, short-haired Heinz 57 dog that wasn’t much to look at, and yet her big brown eyes caught mine. I leaned down to take a closer look, and she strained toward the kennel door and kissed me on the end of my nose. While I found this display of affection touching, she was not at all what I had envisioned taking home with me. Where was the striking long hair with a ponytail on top of the head and the cute pug nose? No, she would not do at all.
I turned my back on Winfrey and drove the hour to the closest pet store I could find. And there she was — the dog of my dreams. A 4-month-old, purebred fluff ball, complete with pug nose, and a barrette in her hair. The owner of the store let her out of the cage, and she darted around the store like the beautiful top of a dandelion, as we laughed at her antics. I had already named her “Chelsea” when something in my heart urged me to ask the owner of the store, “What will become of her if I decide not to take her”? She gleefully explained that the pup was so cute, she did not expect her to stay long at the store, but that if she did, she had a permanent home with the owners of the store. I thought about Winfrey’s large brown eyes peering from the kennel, and the gentle kiss she had planted on my face, and I began the hour’s drive back to the local animal shelter.
That defining moment in my life was 12 years ago. Since then, I married, changed careers and adopted another pet into our family. I look at Winfrey now and wonder how the first time I saw her, I could have possibly missed just how beautiful, wise and loving a soul she is. The time she spent as a homeless animal seems to have instilled in her the most intense loyalty and devotion to the person who first left her and then rescued her. She has affected my life so deeply and demonstrated such unconditional love that I have come to believe that it was I who was rescued, instead of her.
Moore Humane Society has so many loving souls waiting to rescue you. There is Blackie, a solid black kitty with the most amazing eyes; Dyna, a hound mix, who is smarter and funnier than a lot of people I know; and many more. You can be rescued at Moore Humane Society every day of the week from 12 noon until 5 p.m., with extended hours till 6 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
If you are not in need of being rescued, then count your blessings and find a way to share some of your good fortune. Moore Humane Society is a nonprofit agency and is completely dependent upon the generosity of the citizens in this community. Donations of food, blankets and funding for vaccines and spay/neuter surgeries are all appreciated. And if you really want to give back (and receive at the same time), come spend an afternoon with our residents and be the center of attention.
Our volunteer program is just getting under way. Call 947-2631 for more information.
