Things that make you feel good

The most gratifying thing I do at the moment is working with the rescue. I love taking a dog from certain death at the pound and working on any issues they might have. When we are done with them they are social, healthy, unable to reproduce, and ready for a home.

There are two dogs that I feel even better about than the others. One is a dog that was on a leash being led into the back room of the pound to be put to sleep when I called about her. She is THE BEST dog. My brother adopted her and thinks she is just the greatest thing ever.

The other dog is Hope. Hope was hit by a car when she was 9 weeks old. Her owner knew she was escaping from her yard but was not worried because she only ever went next door. Seriously? She had the dog for ONE WEEK! How does she know what the dog always does? Anyway, I digress. Hope was picked up by animal control bleeding and in pain. She was taken to a local veterinary clinic and I was called. A worker at the pound was hoping I could find a golden retriever rescue to step in and help this puppy. I found two rescues that might be willing to help. In the meantime, the owner was located and claimed the dog. She could not afford the extensive care this dog would need but refused to let anyone else step in and save her. She said she would rather put Hope down than let a rescue take her. It took me almost three days, but I finally convinced her that no one was trying to steal her dog and it was going to cost more in vet bills than any rescue would get in adoption fees. She made everyone wait several more hours while she got primped and made her way to the vets office. When the papers were signed, I was allowed back to take pictures of Hope for the rescue that was going to foot the bill. This is what I saw:

Hope had a crushed pelvis, two snapped femur heads and her tail had been amputated by the car. She went through two surguries. One to fix the legs and pelvis and one to finish the tail amputation. She had 45 stitches on her back legs and rump.

Soon after her surguries she went to another state where the rescue was located. She was adopted by her foster family and is very happy. I got new pictures of her in my email a few days ago and was stunned. She runs and plays and is a beautiful healthy young dog.

Pay It Forward Update

So this morning when I stopped in to get my morning coffee, I found out something amazing. The pay it forward I started the previous morning was still going. Almost 30 people had continued it after me until the chain was broken. Then the barista told the next customer about it, but that it had broken, he prepaid for not one but 5 drinks.

The girls were both there (it was shift change) and they both thanked me and said that their day yesterday had just been amazing. That the kindness of all the people had made the day just a joy to work. Holly is my age, and she said at first she thought people were just doing it because they felt like they should, but as the day went on and she saw the joy people got from it, it had just made her feel so happy and appreciative to the amazing people she is surrounded by.

I couldn't believe that one simple action had had such an impact on everyone around us. I'm definitely going to continue small acts of kindness. The feeling of happiness is great, and I want more people to feel it too.