Today’s story falls into the making life more tender category. It could aptly be described as making life more tolerable, even, for a young mother dog and her eight puppies.
I’m spending the weekend in Oklahoma with family. My niece Ashley, her husband Jon, and my sister Debbie have such tender hearts, especially toward children and animals. They quite literally have a miniature zoo of rescue animals sharing space with them.
Today I met Ashley’s newest additions, a sweet momma dog she calls Eve, and her eight pups. Eve had been passed from owner to owner, without finding a forever home. Her last home didn’t provide a safe and secure environment for the good natured girl, who was discovered to be expecting her first litter of puppies.
Ashley couldn’t leave Eve to give birth in a cold, drafty barn, or worse, outside with no shelter at all. She agreed to foster Eve and provide a warm, loving home for the momma dog and the pups, once they were born. Shortly after joining their family, Eve delivered eight adorable puppies.
I watched the happy brood today, and the care Ashley and Debbie have taken in setting up a nursery in their home office. One could do a quick count of animals and consider these two compassionate ladies a bit daft for taking on more animals and more responsibilities. But I only have to look into Eve’s big brown eyes, and smile over the clumsy antics of three week old healthy, chubby pups, to know that what Debbie and Ashley are doing is making life more tender, at a high level.
Anthony Douglas Williams said, “Be kind to every kind, not just to mankind.” Showing kindness to animals is an act on the level of the heart and soul. He, or she, who is kind to animals has a greater capacity for showing kindness to others.
For Eve, and Sally, Peewee, Jack, Lydia, Edward, Emily, Charlie and Todd, this kindness of being welcomed into a loving home has meant life. For without help, these gentle souls surely would not have thrived, or even survived.
Well done, Ashley and Debbie, Jon, Ethan and Kaleb. Watching you making life a little more tender inspires me. Eve and her puppies will all be spayed and neutered, at the appropriate time, and available for adoption. If you feel inspired as well, and desire to share your life with one of these sweethearts, please send me a message and I will connect you to the proper person to make it so.
