Getting Off the Sidelines

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a soft spot for animals, especially dogs and cats.  All of my pets are rescues, and I intend to keep it that way. I’ve always said that someday—the good old undefined someday—I’m going to adopt senior animals and give them a good home for whatever time they have left. 

Now, if you spend any time on Facebook, you’ve probably seen the pictures posted of pathetic dogs (and cats) on death row at some far-away Animal Control.  I see them everyday, posted by multiple friends all over the country, and I always find myself saying “Please let somebody rescue them and give them a home to live out the rest of their lives.”  But what if everyone is looking to somebody, who is the somebody?

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to get off the sidelines and be the somebody.  I was looking at the Anne Arundel County Animal Control Facebook page, and saw this incredibly sad toy poodle. She’d been abandoned twice in two months, first by her previous owner to a family member and then by that family member who called Animal Control to come pick her up.  As if that wasn’t sad enough, she was 14 years old and completely blind, and a dirty stinky overgrown mess.  Her story moved me to tears, and I knew I had to at least go visit her.  Fast forward to the next day and I was the proud owner of Angel, the sweetest little 7-pound bundle of love you’ll ever meet.

Yes, she’s 14 years old and completely blind.  And she only has 3 teeth now, the rest of her teeth were infected and had to be pulled when she was spayed the day after we adopted her. And she’s arthritic, and doesn’t get around that much.  But our whole family loves her, and we’re going to make sure that she’s happy and comfortable for however long she has left. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that everyone needs to go out and rescue a dog. But if there’s something you’ve been wanting to do to help others, something you want to do someday, why couldn’t today be someday?