It was a while back that I went to our SAF (Shakespeare Animal Fund) mailbox and found a handwritten note in a very old scrawl, accompanied with a $5 bill. As I read the note I discovered the person had sent us a $5 bill because he (at least I feel like it was a “he”) said he had $20 to last two weeks, and no vet would see his ill cat over the weekend without payment. He said he tried everything, and when no one would see his cat, it died Sunday night. His $5 came with a note, God bless you for what you do.
What we do is offer hope to all those people like him, with small amounts of money but big amounts of love for their animals. As the economy remains a challenge we are getting up to 30 calls a day, all needing help in some way.
What we feel so good about is the number we can help. We are giving pet food out at our office (143 Keystone) so those who think they might have to give away a beloved pet in order to get it fed, get to keep their pets. And we are working with people and vets in the area to get as many animals seen and helped as possible.
Please spread the word, and help in any way you can. Animals enrich our lives so very much, and for those who can’t help their suffering pets, the human suffering can be dreadful.
We get lots of happy endings and funny stories as well. Someone wrote the other day that she had a small dog and an elderly large dog. When she decided to install a dog door the large dog refused to go through it. No problem, the small dog went through and actually held it open for the older member of his pack.
Guess that’s called animal ingenuity.
Please send us your stories, we’d love to publish them here. And thanks for continuing to care for animals; their well being is up to us. It was Gadhi who said, ” The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”