Celebrating the Season

This holiday season has been incredibly busy for me. On Thursday, I graduated from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. It was my first trip to the city, and was 27 degrees when I landed. Not much fun for a beach baby, but walking across the stage and hearing my name called followed by "Magna Cum Laude" made it worth the trip. An old friend of mine, Harry, joined me in PA for my two days to keep me company. It was nice to see that we could spend a couple of days together and not kill each other since he's from the north and used to the cold and I couldn't stop complaining about it. I even tried ice skating, but that lasted only about 15 minutes. I fell really hard, and some little kid came flying by laughing at me. I crawled off the ice, pulled out my cell phone, and called the hotel shuttle to pick me up and take me back to safety.

Graduation culminates the end of two and a half years of very hard work. I've had funny looks when I told people I went back to school, after all, I already have an associates and bachelors degrees, why did I need another bachelor degree? The rescue quickly outgrew the little knowledge I had received through the first two educational endeavors. I was so unprepared for our growth and the responsibilities that followed. The degree program is specialized for animal welfare workers to turn them into better leaders. It was such an eye opener and has really made a huge difference in my vision for our organization.

The last week saw several adoptions for our pets, and I couldn't be happier, except if some had been the ones I'm fostering. I will have another full house this Christmas, but at least it is a warm, safe place for them then where they had been. I'm keeping faith that we'll get some of them in homes soon. They are all such great dogs, if only someone would give them a chance.

Last night, two CPR supporters treated me to a fantastic evening at the Savannah Theater's A Christmas Tradition. As two of the performers, they took the opportunity to make sure I had a good time, setting me up to be a part of one of the audience participation skits. I couldn't stop smiling. It's hard to be alone this time of year, but Josh and Shannon made me feel like such a part of their world even if just for one evening. During the announcements, they had a special message read to me in front of the audience, that I was the prime example of what this season means. It brought tears to my eyes and filled my heart.

We don't get a lot of thank yous in our work, and most people don't understand that we aren't paid to do these jobs. It is our satisfaction when all the work we put into an animal results in a fabulous adoption. In fact, I had an email while I was in PA in which a person inquiring about our organization wrote that he assumed we are "taking the donations and feeding them to the Exec. Board" and "just a group for socialite status." It really upset me, so much so that I had to send it on to my second in command to attend to as I was too emotional about it to respond. I work a full time job and some smaller contract projects to make it paycheck to paycheck and pay for some of the rescue's expenses. I don't make much as I took a pay cut to be able to work from home and have more time interacting with the dogs so they will be better pets when they are adopted. No one on our board gets paid for their work, we all do it out of our love for homeless pets. And as far as "socialite status," I'm anything but. I bought my first black dress this year in order to attend an awards recognition out in Dallas. I am not a socialite, I don't even have time for a social life. Being in rescue does not give any of us special status. We're most all of middle class stature, just regular people who prefer jeans and flip flops. In fact, if you saw me on the street, you would never even notice me unless I was wearing one of our CPR shirts. Is it really that far-fetched to think that people who are doing something good are doing it because it makes them feel good, not because they are gaining anything?

Ok, so time to get off my soap box and get back on topic. This is a season of giving to others and sharing our gifts with those less fortunate. Thank you to everyone who gave to our Home 4 the Holidays supply drive. It is greatly appreciated.