A few years ago I discovered the book "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" by Anna Quindlen. One of my favorite quotes from this short inspiring book is:
"All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough."
I think everyone, if they live long enough, begins to evaluate their life. Is it enough that I lived and tried to do my best? Must we be rich or successful to have lived well? What have I done to make the world a better place?
In the summer of 2005 my two elderly dogs died within ten days of each other. I cried every day for one month and then adopted two puppies from a rescue. Both were puppy mill days that had been kept in a trailer with no air conditioner with their siblings and parents. Temperatures that summer reached over 100 degrees on many days. The following year my family adopted another puppy. This one was a kennel release that was being sold at a puppy auction. Luckily, he was purchased by a rescuer to keep him out of the hands of a puppy mill operator. This puppy had a genetic defect which caused the growth plates in his front legs to close prematurely. Had he been purchased by the puppy mill operator, he would have lived his entire life in a wire cage and forced to produce other generations of puppies with the same defect. Four months later my family fostered and ultimately adopted two six year old dogs whose elderly owner had died. They would have been turned over to animal control had a rescue not intervened.
My family's association with animals needing rescue was not yet completed. The first week away at college my daughter called home because she had visited a farm with a friend and discovered that the owners intended to dispose of a mama cat and nine unwanted kittens. Of course, she brought the family to me. My son and I undertook the task of bathing the flea infested family and keeping them safe. The mama cat was scrawny and had a dislocated hip. With the help of a rescue, we had the family fully vetted.
All of these unwanted animals started me on a journey. I soon discovered the world of animal rescue, kill shelters, animal abuse and neglect, volunteer transports, and the unsung heroes who work tirelessly to save society's rejects.
In the summer of 2008 I started a Yahoo group - KY_CENTRAL http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/KY_CENTRAL/ and launched a website KY_CENTRAL http://www.kycentral.org/ to help animals in Kentucky and surrounding states. I eventually started a Facebook page for the website and in February 2010 started a second Yahoo group http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/USA_CENTRAL/ and a second website USA-CENTRAL http://usa-central.org/
We must search deeply into ourselves for the strength to make the changes that need to be made, to love those who need to be loved, and to be a light for those around us who live in darkness. ~Deborah Miller
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