Dog Day Afternoon

I was just supposed to help sell baked goods and walk the dogs once in a while if they got a little restless. I had no idea that I'd get choked up watching parents and their kids open their arms and home to a new lovable, furry member of the family.

Today's Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue event reminded me of the love I have for my own little rescue dog and the passion I feel about the subject of shelter dog adoption over breeding. I can't begin to tell you how frustrated and angry I feel whenever someone tells me they bought a dog or cat from a pet store or breeder, or even bred their own dog. There are so many wonderful dogs out there, many even pure-breds, who were abandoned or returned because people underestimated the time and love involved in adding a pet to the family. And these shelter dogs and cats have SO much love to offer. They inexplicably seem to understand that you're saving them and are forever grateful in everything they do.

I was just a volunteer today and the person who coordinated the event has put so much energy and time into supporting her passion. I guess part of me is a little envious. I've always said that I wanted to do something to make a difference in the lives of animals, dogs especially. I give to a lot of really good organizations that affect change and help find forever homes for dogs and cats.

And I did make a deliberate decision nearly five years ago to stop eating animal flesh because I read and viewed things that enabled me to see animals differently than I ever had before - as living, thinking and feeling beings, like you and me...and like my dog. And if the thought of seeing my dog on a menu bothered me so much, why shouldn't seeing a pig or a chicken or cow being treated like an object and not a living being make me feel the same way? I could no longer could see any of them as part of my lunch. And though I've taken baby steps to get to the point I'm at currently, I know that I still have a long way to go. But, I'm moving in the right direction because it's something I really do feel passionate about. Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that.

This Friday, I felt a renewed passion - not just about that life decision made nearly five years ago, but about the prospect of exploring how I can really make a difference in the lives of dogs like my little Dexter. I'm not sure what that will mean but I know how I felt Friday witnessing the change happening right in front of me. And now, I need to figure out what I can do to feel it again.