"I’ve thought a lot about that day in mid-September when the medical staff came asking for my help with two animals that had just been brought in. Whether it was a miracle or just another day at Animal Friends, I’m still not quite sure. I’m starting to think they are simply one in the same.
They looked like two sheep that hadn’t been sheared in years. At closer look, I realized they were dogs. Layers upon layers of matted, dirty, stinking fur entombed them from the tops of their heads to the tips of their tails.
Walking was painful. Turning their heads impossible. To ease them from their obvious discomfort one of our vet techs carefully injected them with a twilight sedation to calm them.And, then we went to work. For five hours we clipped and trimmed and shaved and cut. Around their muzzles. Under their bellies. Even in between the pads of their paws.
When all was said and done, 32 pounds of urine and feces infested fur lay piled on the floor. And from it two young Old English Sheepdogs emerged. As they lay on the floor – freshly shorn and looking angelic – they became our Michael and Gabriel.
The next day, I saw them out on a walk. I just stopped and stared … and cried. Such beautiful, silly creatures had emerged from a cocoon of filth and neglect. One of them – I don’t know which one – walked up to me and simply leaned his body into mine.
With big, soulful eyes, he looked up at me and I am certain he was saying thank you.It is because of that one look that I will be here tomorrow and the next day and the next ... ready for that opportunity to change another life."
They looked like two sheep that hadn’t been sheared in years. At closer look, I realized they were dogs. Layers upon layers of matted, dirty, stinking fur entombed them from the tops of their heads to the tips of their tails.
Walking was painful. Turning their heads impossible. To ease them from their obvious discomfort one of our vet techs carefully injected them with a twilight sedation to calm them.And, then we went to work. For five hours we clipped and trimmed and shaved and cut. Around their muzzles. Under their bellies. Even in between the pads of their paws.
When all was said and done, 32 pounds of urine and feces infested fur lay piled on the floor. And from it two young Old English Sheepdogs emerged. As they lay on the floor – freshly shorn and looking angelic – they became our Michael and Gabriel.
The next day, I saw them out on a walk. I just stopped and stared … and cried. Such beautiful, silly creatures had emerged from a cocoon of filth and neglect. One of them – I don’t know which one – walked up to me and simply leaned his body into mine.
With big, soulful eyes, he looked up at me and I am certain he was saying thank you.It is because of that one look that I will be here tomorrow and the next day and the next ... ready for that opportunity to change another life."
Animal Friends is blessed. Our staff and volunteers are simply amazing. Becki is just one example. It is because of them that we are able to make such a difference and to be able to do what we do.
And it is because of you, too. Your generosity makes transformations like Michael and Gabriel’s possible. And now, through our 31 Days of Compassion, your gift can go even further.
Give now (before May 31) and an anonymous donor will match your gift 50 cents on the dollar up to $40,000. Every donation – regardless of the size – matters.
Click here to give generously.
And it is because of you, too. Your generosity makes transformations like Michael and Gabriel’s possible. And now, through our 31 Days of Compassion, your gift can go even further.
Give now (before May 31) and an anonymous donor will match your gift 50 cents on the dollar up to $40,000. Every donation – regardless of the size – matters.
Click here to give generously.
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