One Person – One Thing Can Make a Difference

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Today, I am sharing a poem adapted from a 16-page essay by Loren Eiseley called The Star Thrower.

The first time I read this poem, I was touched, inspired and reminded that in the hustle and bustle of everyday life we sometimes forget that even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference.

I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I do and that you will take a moment and know even though the task may seem large one person doing one thing can mean so much.

The Starfish

An old man was walking down the beach just before dawn.

In the distance he saw a young man picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea.

As the old man approached the young man, he asked; “Why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?”

The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.

“But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish”, exclaimed the old man. “How can your efforts make any difference?”

The young man looked down at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to safety in the sea he said;

“It makes a difference to this one!”

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Josie’s Going Home! Of All the Joints…The Conclusion

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

Josie waiting for her dad

Today concludes the story of Josie the black Lab.  If you missed Parts one through four you can read them here Why Mine, It’s a Girl, Well, Hello, Josie and Finally, Some News. 

And, now, Of All the Joints in All the World…The Conclusion…

The male voice on the other end of the phone told me he thought I had found his dog.  Cautiously, I replied “Well, I do have a dog here.”  “Is it a black Lab?” the caller asked.  “Yes” I said still trying to be sure he was the rightful owner.  “What’s her name?” I continued.  “Oh, her name is Jo-Jo” he answered.  There was a long silence on my part and the caller must have sensed my uneasiness with the name Jo-Jo because he then added “Her name is Josie, but we call her Jo-Jo.”   I felt elation mixed with a touch of sadness as I realized this was Josie’s owner.  “Yes, I have Josie” I said “I’m so happy you called!”  

During my conversation with Josie’s owner I learned Josie had been with him since she was a puppy.  He did live in the neighborhood we had canvassed twice.  I told him we had hung posters there, but he said he had not seen them.  “I had just about given up hope of finding her” he said.  I asked when he could come to take Josie home and he told me he would leave his home just as soon as possible.  After giving him directions, I went to share the good news with Josie.

As she was every morning since showing up in our yard, Josie was happy to see me, getting up slowly to greet me with her tail wagging.  “You’re going home today” I said as I patted her head and hooked the leash on her collar.  I took her out of the fenced yard and onto our porch where I told Josie how much I loved having her with us, how she would be missed and how happy I was she was going home (actually, I was a little sad).  Side by side we sat and waited for her owner to arrive.

It wasn’t long before an old pickup truck pulled into our driveway.  “Look, Josie” I said as I led her to the steps of the front porch.  The minute Josie saw the pickup truck her tail began to wag vigorously and she made a beeline to the truck.  When the door opened and her daddy stepped out, Josie picked up her pace and began her growl talk.  Josie’s owner introduced himself as he knelt beside her.  Josie began to nuzzle him, roll around in the grass and talk to him.  “Where have you been?  I had just about given up hope of finding you” he said to Josie as he patted her head and played with her.  Seeing the two of them together was a beautiful sight.

My husband told the owner we had gone to his neighborhood twice, but the only person who recalled seeing anyone with a Lab was a smaller Lab who was not very well-behaved.  “Oh, that’s Lulu,” the owner laughed, “She’s my two-year old black Lab and Josie’s pal.”  We told him about the little Lab we had seen taunting the German Shepherds earlier that morning.  “Yep, that’s Lulu,” he said, “She’s always getting into trouble and escaping the fenced yard.  The neighbors either love her or hate her.” 

Seems Lulu is a rambunctious and mischievous escape artist (like most two-year-olds), able to jump or dig her way out of the fenced backyard.  Josie’s owner seemed to think Lulu had somehow managed to free not only herself but Josie as well and the young Lab had led Josie astray taking her on an adventure.  When Lulu was ready to go home, Josie, due to her age, was unable to keep up so little Lulu left her behind and Josie was unable to get home on her own.  Josie had been missing for 12 days!

I mentioned to Josie’s daddy that she had not eaten anything in the last 24 hours though we had tried to get her to.  He said Lulu had stopped eating too and he hoped reuniting them would fix the problem.  After snapping a few photos of the happy reunion it was time for Josie to go home. 

Her owner lowered the tailgate of his pickup and without hesitation Josie made a big leap into the back needing just a little help from her dad to get all the way in.  My husband and I said our goodbyes to Josie and her dad promised he would bring her by for a visit sometime.  “Keep my number in case she goes missing again” I told him.  He laughed and said he would.  If dogs can smile, Josie was smiling from ear to ear as we waved goodbye and she headed home. 

I’ll be honest, we miss Josie; miss her a lot.  She was a most welcomed guest in our home but we are so happy her owner was found and he was someone who truly cared about and loved her.  

Have a good life, sweet Josie and don’t let little Lulu take you on any adventures too far from home. 

Josie’s so happy to be going home!!!

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Finally, Some News…Of All the Joints…Part Four

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

Today is Part Four of a five-part series of posts on Josie the black Lab.  If you missed Parts one through three you can read them here Part One, Part Two, Part Three.    Now, Of All the Joints in All the World…Part Four…

Tuesday morning, my husband and I went out and hung our brightly colored “Found Black Lab” posters in strategic locations around our area.  I called the vet’s office and learned there had been no response to the email they had sent to the owner the previous day.  Frustrated, I asked the vet’s office if they would give me all the information they had on Josie’s care, which they did willingly.  Josie had been a patient at the clinic since she was a puppy.  Knowing Josie was well cared for made me even more frustrated thinking and wondering how someone could just abandon her.  Was it due to her age?  Had they moved and left her?  Had she run off and could not be found before they moved?  A million what if’s ran through my head.

During the morning’s conversation with the vet, I managed to get the street name where the owner lived (had lived) though the vet’s office would not give me a specific address or a name.  My husband immediately went to the neighborhood and talked to anyone who was out and about.  One person said he knew of someone who had a black Lab that was ill-behaved and quite obnoxious.  Since this person had just seen that Lab the night before we knew it wasn’t Josie.  My husband hung signs at the entrance and exit of the neighborhood where hopefully they would be seen if the owner still lived there.

While my husband was out searching for the owner, I took Josie on her daily walk around our neighborhood.  I loved walking with Josie; she was well-behaved on the leash walking right by my side, she did not try to chase squirrels or spend her walking time sniffing and peeing on anything she could find unlike my dog.  She walked at a slower pace, which was perfect for just walking and relaxing.

As Josie and I made our way down and out of the cul-de-sac my plan was to walk all the way to our neighborhood’s entrance and then home.  Josie, however, had another idea.  As we approached my driveway and with no prompting from me, Josie made a left turn and took us “home.”  If I hadn’t fallen in love with Josie before that moment I certainly did when she made that turn.  I knew I had to find her owner or a new family soon before I would not be able to let her leave without a lot of heartache on my part.

My facebook friends had been wonderful in sharing Josie’s picture and contacting anyone they knew with rescue groups trying to help find Josie a new home.  When I had just about given up on finding her owner, Wednesday morning rolled around.

When Wednesday arrived, I walked Josie and then my husband I headed back to the owner’s neighborhood.  Again, we questioned anyone outside about an old black Lab but learned nothing.  On our way out of the neighborhood, we noticed a woman attempting to walk two large German Shepherds.  The Shepherds were pulling and jerking her about thanks to a small black Lab desperate to play with them.

As my husband asked the woman if she knew of anyone with an older black lab (she didn’t), I watched quite amused as the small Lab jumped towards the two German Shepherds.  When the Shepherds ran towards the little lab, she would roll around in the grass just out of their reach and then leap towards them again.   The lab was still entertaining itself with the Shepherds as we drove away.

When we returned home, I decided to call Animal Control in a last-ditch effort to find the owner.  The animal control officer I spoke with was very helpful and asked me to give her Josie’s vet’s name, phone number and her rabies I.D. number.  She said she would check for any prior warnings or nuisance reports on Josie and call the vet and get the owner’s name and complete address and send an officer to their house if it came to that.  The officer promised to call me back before noon.  Ten minutes later my phone rang.

The animal control officer called to tell me she had located and contacted Josie’s owner.   She went on to say they had a LOST report filed on April 21st; eight days before Josie found her way to our house!   Unfortunately, they had no record of my FOUND report I had filed just two days earlier even though I had given it to the person on the phone and filled out the form on-line.  The officer asked if it was okay to give the owner my contact information and I told her it most certainly was.  A half hour later my phone rang again.

When I answered the call, a male voice on the other end said “Hi, I think you found my dog.”

Will Josie go home?  How did she end up here?  Did the little Lab playing with the German Shepherds have a role in Josie’s disappearance?  Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion.

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