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In August 2008 I started a website to help animals in Kentucky. My transformation from animal lover to animal advocate was gradual. My parents and my family have always had dogs, most of them black, the occasional cat, hamsters, and various fish held captive in bowls and tanks. My husband and I continued this tradition. Five years ago our two elderly dogs, Cuttysark and Windsor, died within 10 days of each other. My grief was overwhelming. Wanting something good to result from our loss, we adopted two puppies rescued from a puppy mill in Missouri. Within nine months we adopted another puppy, this one a kennel release, and fostered (then adopted) two dogs from Cincinnati whose elderly owner had died. We subsequently became a foster home for a mama cat and nine kittens that were going to be “disposed of” on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, and moved on to driving legs of volunteer transports taking animals to rescues and forever homes. I joined animal related Yahoo groups and became a cross-poster, begging people to rescue or adopt animals on death row in shelters or abandoned by their “families”. When I realized that there were too many unwanted animals for “me” to save, I started the website hoping to find a broader audience. http://www.kycentral.org/
People who know me will understand this journey was inevitable. As a child I “rescued” worms sizzling in the sun after rainstorms and cried when my cousin Jimmy threatened to kill the ants I had been feeding on the sidewalk. I would catch and release insects in the house to keep them from being killed and when I was 10 years old I brought home my first puppy, Lady. We already had a family dog Inky who was a year older than me, but Lady was the first dog that was “mine”. Lady was my constant companion and my first love. Inky, Lady, and all that have followed exemplify values many humans have forgotten or never learned: loyalty, forgiveness and unconditional love.
People often don't understand why people like me "waste" our time and energy on animals when there are so many other problems in the world. I can only speak for myself. I feel strongly about many issues and problems, and try to make a difference when and where I can. If each of us focused on something that "speaks" to them, the world would be a better place.
"This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." ~George Bernard Shaw
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