26 Acts of Kindness - Day 10

Today's Act of Kindness was dedicated to Catherine Hubbard, age 6. Catherine was a mini Andi (think 80s movies) - with a big smile, bright red bob and freckles and she loved the color pink. Catherine was loving and spirited and looked out for her big brother. He could never remember which bus was theirs and little Catherine would help make sure he got on the right bus home every day. He asked his parents who would help him now. 

Catherine LOVED animals. Real animals, stuffed animals, animal figurines, you name it. She began asking for Santa to bring her pets when she was two - and she asked him for a new one every year. She had just learned how to ride a pony this past summer. I have no doubt that a pony or a horse would be on her Christmas list soon. 

And she loved to give animals as gifts too. Her mom laughed as she remembered her giving her little animal figurines for birthdays or Mother's Day, and then insisting that that animal would be happiest in her room, not her mother's. In lieu of flowers her parents asked people to donate to the local animal shelter in her name.

So today it was a no-brainer that Catherine's Act of Kindness should be for animals. I looked up the local animal shelters in our area. There was the county animal shelter and the Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals - a group that rescues animals from "kill" shelters and houses them or places them in foster homes until they can find their forever families. They recently made the news for enlisting local pilots to fly down to California and rescue pets from shelters there (which apparently have a high rate of euthanization) and bring them back here to Oregon.

So I gathered up a few dog toys (that ironically I had been given by the staff at PetCo this week, but my dog doesn't care much for tennis balls) and some cans of dog food. I wrapped it up in a bag, attached my Acts of Kindness card and took it over to OFOSA. They thanked me for the gift - and then I asked them if I could help them. Could I take any if their dogs for a run? Did they need any graphic arts help? They said they were sure there was something I could help with and gave me the information about their next volunteer orientation. I went home later and called up the county shelter too, leaving a message with their volunteer coordinator, telling her I'd love to help them as well.

Doing something good doesn't always mean spending money. Sometimes your time is the most valuable gift of all.

Hopefully I will be of some use to one if these groups and the animals they so lovingly care for, and I hope that Catherine is pleased with my efforts.

"You can tell by the kindness of a dog how a human should be." -Don Van Vliet