I was in the third grade the first time I saved an animal.  One of my school friends took us to her house during the lunch break and showed us the puppies. Her mother said, “if we can’t find homes for them today I’m going to take them to the pound.”  My tender heart compelled me to immediately phone my mother and launch into a pleading frenzy. I took a very grateful puppy home with me on the school bus that day.

My next opportunity came almost 40 years later. At that time we had 1 dog and 1 cat. One day I went with my husband to Rigby (a small town 12 mile away), to water a garden that he was in charge of. This garden was nestled between a freeway, a highway, and a tire store.  There, in the middle of the pumpkins, was the scrawniest kitten I’d ever seen.  It ran right up to us meowing very hungrily.  I couldn’t see how it would survive if we left it.  It would have to cross a very busy road to get anywhere.  We now had 1 dog and 2 cats.

The family next door went out of town for 2 weeks at Christmas.  “Could we take care of their 3 dogs while they were gone?” Sure.  We showered them with love and attention, maybe a little too much.  When the family returned their small Shitzu would run over to our house every chance he got.  He would bark or scratch to be let in.  How could I say no? Soon he was at our house as much as he was at home.  Then our neighbors started to build a new house.  They were gone a lot and the dogs were neglected.  My tender heart did what it had to.  We now basically had 4 dogs and 2 cats.

The neighbor’s house was finished in a year.  They took their two small dogs with them and left the huge white husky dog in the kennel with the grandparents next door.  It howled hungrily and I would take it water and food. I couldn’t leave him in a pen so filthy.  I dragged over a shovel from home and did what I could.  My kids and I would walk him when the neighbors were gone, the only time he ever got out of his pen.  He’s still there.  My heart hurts for him every time I take my own dog on a walk.  He sees us and starts to howl.

Last spring another neighbor had a family crisis and moved.  They left large opened bags of cat food on the floor and the back window of the house open.  After about a month some very hungry cats found their way down to my house. I bought cheap cat food and left it in the garage where it disappeared. The calico cat was noticeably pregnant. 

I put an ad in the paper, “Free Cats”.  A very nice lady showed up from the next town over and took home the biggest, oldest, tamest cat.  We cried a little, he was such a nice cat, but we were glad he was going to such a great family.  Two days later he was back on our porch.  I guess he was just too old to learn any new tricks. We are giving him a nice retirement home. 

The Calico had five beautiful, calendar-picture-quality kittens. We now had 1 dog, 1 foster dog, and 9 cats.

Has it been a bad thing?  Not necessarily.  My kids have learned compassion and caring. They are more sensitive to other’s needs.  They, too, are tender-hearted.