How You Can Help!

A television program aired a story of a young boy who was the victim of the holocaust. He'd been in a work camp for several years and somehow managed to survive the horror of his imprisonment. This boy — now in his sixties — was on a quest to find the American GI who had imparted a random act of kindness to him. You see, the soldier had given the boy some food. It might seem insignificant, but to this child, who had seen nothing but cruelty and inhumanity for as long as he could remember, it was a gesture that marked a turning point in his life.

 

When he was liberated from the camp, he was dying. He needed food. As he was hobbling along the road, a young GI jumped down from his tank and offered him some rations. Unbeknownst to the soldier, the boy had lost hope. He was afraid. He didn't beg for food because he couldn't even conceive the idea that someone would give him some. But with this one act of generosity, the soldier rekindled a belief there really was some good in the world. And the boy never forgot it.

 

The boy later came to America, raised a family, became successful and worked hard to repay the kindness he received with kindnesses of his own.

So it is the same with the companion animals in From The Heart’s care. As Mark Twain once said, If you pick up a starving animal and make him prosperous, he will not bite you.”  Every day, our animals — those once abandoned, left to die on the streets, abused, neglected, sick or injured — learn the lessons of kindness and care.  Our volunteers work diligently to make sure each one is given the respect and love it so richly deserves.

These second-hand dogs and cats are so grateful for the chance they have been given, like the boy in the story, they wish to repay that kindness with their love — given freely and unconditionally to their new family.

It does not come cheaply to us — either to our hearts or our pocketbooks.  Each animal placed is spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped, not to mention the extraordinary veterinary care or medications it may need before it is ready for adoption. Each animal tugs at our heartstrings each minute of every day, as we nurse the scared, shy, injured or sick animals, working toward the day they will be wonderful, healthy creatures.

We all have a choice: to create more light or to generate more heat in the world. As Confucius put it over 2500 years ago, "It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness." Small gestures can often generate huge blessings.

We are asking for your help. What act of kindness can you perform? Can you ...

• Volunteer a few hours at the adoption center?
• Share a few dollars to help one of our furkids?
• Donate something from the Wish List?
• Become a foster home?
• Create and chair a fundraiser? 

Do some small thing today, and you will assuredly create great blessings in your life, the life of an animal, and the lives in the new home which will be enriched with ithe animal's love.