Gratitude: Strays and Strangers

Strays

From time to time I do foster care for dogs and cats waiting to be adopted. Most of the dogs are strays picked up by Save-A-Pet but sometimes they’re dogs that need to be re-housed. The last time I posted about this I had two puppies that looked just like my Captain Crunch. Both were placed in a relatively short period of time in permanent homes. A few weeks ago I fostered two Wheaton Terriers, a brother and sister pair age 11. These curly balls of sweetness had been together all their lives. They stayed with their human until she passed; enter the pet foster care system.

Emily is a shy girl who stuck very close to her brother. Her age showed so her brother Rolly helped her find the stairs to climb up and helped her find the bed to lay on. It was the sweetest thing to see. While Emily’s age showed it was Rolly’s health that became an issue. Unfortunately he had to be put down but Emily found a home within days, a home three doors down from me. I get to visit with her and check up on her. I also found a friend in that neighbor which doubled the benefit of helping out Emily. This new neighbor friend and I have spent considerable time talking and getting to know one another. She is a very fine person.

Usually when I foster an animal food is provided and then whatever is left over goes back to the company. This time the food was offered to me. I got to keep a full 50 lb bag of Dog Chow.

Strangers

My yard has been neglected. It was in a sad state for quite some time and I’d nearly given up on it. Torrential rain destroyed the flowers I planted and created what I called lake front property in the middle of the burbs. Weeds took over my yard like tyrants, choking out anything the flooding didn’t drown. It was quite sad to look out of my window. Yesterday, just before therapy, a man knocked on my door. I immediately became defensive because it was a complete stranger. I started not to go to the door but I did. Through the glass pain he told me he wanted to mow my lawn and was willing to take food or cash for it. After gathering my best pal Captain Crunch (who bites on command) I opened the door and worked out a deal with the stranger to do my front lawn. The man worked like a horse. I was highly impressed with the job he did for a small amount of cash and a decent amount of food. Come to find out he’d lost his job and just needed to try and stay afloat. He said I blessed him but I believe we blessed each other. My front yard looks great. The weeds of death are gone, the grass is mowed and once again it is beautiful. In his care package I tossed in the postcard “Reaching Out To Life” and thanked him for his hard work. He truly made my day.

If someone came to your door and willing to work for food would you answer the door? If so, do it with caution. What would you put in the care package? I’m going to list some of what was in the care package to give an idea of the kinds of things that might be helpful. I included enough laundry soap for 2 large laundry loads, a brand new pair of socks, a roll of restroom tissue, sample size bottles of shampoo, a can of peaches, a one pound package of Italian Sausage (purchased for $1 at Kroger), a pair of work gloves with leather palms (purchased for $1) a few cold sodas, several non-perishables and of course art.

When creating a care package for the housed or the homeless consider what you would need, this will help you make the best care package within your means.

Austin’s August

Gratitude: Strays and Strangers -Tuesday, July 08, 2008-10:48AM EST