"The psychological and moral comfort of a presence at once humble and understanding--this is the greatest benefit that the dog has bestowed upon man." --Percy Bysshe Shelley
Our pup that we adopted nearly three weeks ago came from a home with two other dogs--one of whom had already been adopted by the time we were there and the other, a small cattle dog named Ticket. I met Ticket briefly at the pound. He had a lot of words, as is to be expected of anyone--or any pup--who has been cooped up for as long as he had been.
We weren't in a position to adopt the two dogs. Really, the idea never even crossed our minds. However, knowing that Ticket was a sibling of sorts to our new little girl, I felt emotionally invested in him, too. His sister got to go to a nice, loving new home. Ticket deserved the same.
When I checked Ticket's Petfinder ad on Friday to see if he had found a new home yet, there was an "URGENT" note attached to his description. It said that, because of his intake date, his name was near the top of the euthanasia list. I know, sadly, that there are thousands and thousands of pets out there who never get to go to new home--but it just seems so very wrong that they have to die because of it.
I posted a write-up about Ticket on Facebook, Twitter, the intranet at my workplace, and on Yelp. Several people responded, and a few others helped spread the word. When I checked his listing again this evening, I was delighted to see that Ticket had gone to a wonderful foster home and that he was making great strides in his new, less stressful living situation.
So, what I am most grateful for today is that there are caring souls out there who open their hearts and homes to provide foster care to pets in need of an honest-to-goodness second chance at a happy life.
_________________________________________________________________________ © 2009 Good Karma Housekeeping. Making the space--mentally and physically--for disadvantaged pets live happily ever after.
