Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    Have you ever played this game? The one where you list all the things you would do if you won the lottery? I was thinking about this last night as I fell asleep, and of course the first thing my tired mind told me is that this is a silly game since I don’t buy lottery tickets!  But “what if” – what if somebody handed you a million dollars, or more, what would you do with it?
    I’ve heard people talk about mansions, yachts, maybe buying a big farm, or maybe diamonds dripping from their ears and necks, I’ve listened to dreams about Corvettes and all the other fancy cars you could own. I’ve also enjoyed hearing the dreams of college educations for all the kids, fancy weddings for the daughters, maybe a maid, housekeeper and cook for the tired working mother.
    Me, my dreams are relatively simple, and it would not take me long to burn my way through a million dollars or more. The first 10 percent goes to the church, then I would pay off my personal bills as I feel that’s a real responsibility we have, to be honorable in closing out our debt as soon as we can, and then of course there would be an endowment for the animal shelter. Not so much money that nobody would ever have to host another fund raiser, because I believe that fund raisers are vital not only to raise funds but to raise awareness of the plight of our homeless animals, but enough money so that those who work so hard to save these animals would not have to lose sleep wondering where the next mortgage payment was going to come from or how we would ever afford the oil bill this month, or next.
    Now this is assuming that my loving husband agrees with all this, I’m sure he has a few dreams of his own, like a big huge RV and some leisure time to do a little traveling, but after Church and Shelter, I would hope to be able to help local campaigns. The new Church on the Hill, the new digital mammography machine that the hospital needs, the Adopt-a-Block program, all of those and more until it was all gone.
    Now we all know that I am not going to win the lottery (remember, I don’t buy tickets), and we know that if I did, I’d need millions to do everything I wanted to do, not just one or two million but multiple millions, so short of becoming an instant millionaire, I have to continue to focus on the reality of life.
    Reality is that there is something to be said about programs that are built of the dreams of many, not just the desires of a few.  Reality is that there is real joy in being one of hundreds who give a dollar or two to help a cause that is near and dear to your heart. If someone walked up to the Houlton Humane Society 26 years ago and said “here, I want to give you all the money you need to save all the animals in the area and never have to worry again,” thousands of people would have been denied the joy of working together to save just one more life, just one more little sick kitten, just one more injured dog.
    If 26 years ago I went to my first meeting and there was no need to be met, I would have walked out feeling pretty empty and useless. But there were needs, multiple needs, and oh how wonderful it feels to know that in some small way you helped, just a little.
    Those needs continue every single day. Today it might be finding a home for Sable, a beautiful nine-year-old boxer who has been left homeless due to a tragic illness in the family. Tomorrow it might be helping the local bunny rescue pay for the surgery needed to save a badly injured rabbit. Next week we could probably use some help with the fuel oil bill, and on it goes. Each and every day a need and each and every day an opportunity for one individual, or many, to share in that glorious feeling of knowing they did something to help. Maybe you will be one of those people. Maybe you will give a new home to Sable, or donate a dollar to help pay the oil bill. Maybe this is the day you deny yourself that one designer cup of coffee and donate just that much to your favorite cause.
    You don’t have to win the lottery. You can simply show up at our next yard sale, which will be this weekend as a matter of fact.  We had to postpone last week’s sale due to weather but we hope to set up this Friday and Saturday right at the shelter so join us for some exciting bargains! Dozens of people donated their gently used items so that you would have a wide variety to choose from. Come visit with us, tour the facility, make a purchase.
    The way I feel is, Houlton Humane already won the lottery. The day you wrote your first donation check, the day you contributed to the building fund, the day you came to one of our suppers or walked in one of our walks, the day you brought the kids to the park for some fun and games, we won the lottery each and every one of those days, because you are our million dollar friends. Thank you so much for continuing to support and remember the work of Houlton Humane!