…Be ready for the answer.
October 25. My husband and I were watching tv and suddenly there was a commercial for www.MyASPCA.org about homeless pets. In the background they played Sarah McClogland’s song, “In the eyes of the angel.” They showed injured dogs sitting sadly in a crate, they showed pictures of cute kittens and Sarah McClogland asked for donations for homeless pets. Have you ever seen this commercial?
I saw it a few times but before I could even say a word to my husband, he switched the channel. As always, he his the man of the remote control, I am just there to go with his flow. “Why are you changing the channel?”, I asked. “I don’t like this commercial, it always makes me sad.” was his answer. “Switch it back. Changing the channels won’t change the situation at all, so you have to do something about it!”, was my reply. But his answer was, “What can I do?”
And suddenly I was reminded of Darrell Watson from Washington DC who took a sad situation “kids on the street who don’t seem to have a future” and changed it around into a beautiful thing “children making music and finding a place of growth in their marching band.”
I didn’t even have to think about his question twice and immediately I blasted out, “You could go to these animal shelters and do some volunteer work.” And there it was. I felt the goose bumps crawling up my skin when I said those words. Yes, that is what I could do.
Isn’t it amazing how quickly we can get an answer when we ask good questions? It is amazing that I was reminded of Darrell Watson when my husband asked me the question, “What can I do?” Today I went to the animal shelter at the Town & Country Vet Clinic in Marietta, GA to inquire about some volunteer opportunities. “Oh we always need dog walkers. You can come here every night and walk our homeless dogs. We always need help with that”, was their answer. Tonight my husband and I went to the animal shelter and we walked dogs for a couple of hours. I walked Darby, a really cute Boxer mix with lots of energy, Josh, who is supposedly a Doberman mix but I must admit that I don’t see a Doberman in him, and Misty, a cute and kind pit bull female who walks around with an Elizabethan collar and a body wrap since she had already 3 surgeries. One of the care takers told me that someone must have poured lighter fluid over her back and tried to burn her before she was rescued and brought to the shelter.
On our way home my husband was giggely and energetic, “I feel good about the work that we have done tonight. I had so much fun. You want to do it again?” And he just wouldn’t stop talking. But I didn’t feel that excitement and contentment and my answer was, “It wasn’t enough for me. I know I need to do more than just walking a few dogs every other night.” Immediately I felt my brain spinning and the passion boil up in my chest and in an instant I was reminded of Darrell Watson from the Ballou High School Majestic Marching Knights.
