The Saint of Saving Animals

Having a huge passion for saving animals, I often make trips to the Animal Shelters around the city to spread my joy and spruce up a wayward creature's life. It's just who I am. Often I'll bring in old towels or sheets for the dogs or toilet rolls for the hamsters and mice. I'm just a giver by nature.

Yes, I have had a few 'moments' of regret and accidental bad behaviour but, it was all from the heart. No-one is a saint, although 'in the moment' I thought I was. The Saint of Saving Animals.

There is a big sign on a door that says 'NO ENTRY'. That's my cue to go in and raise the spirits of sleeping dogs and shaved cats. The shelter is rarely guarded by staff and I wanted to prove a point. ANYONE COULD GO INTO A RESTRICTED AREA AND CREATE A BIT OF CHAOS! For me, it was about proving a point. These animals had just had operations of the most personal nature and there was no-one there to hold them, to love them. I felt a surge of animal husbandry coming on. So, I saw this tiny little hamster curled up in a chewed mass of baby wipes. I put my hand into the cage (an aquarium fixed up as a mini-bachelor suite). It all happened like a bolt of lightening from the blue skies above. This little creature of God sunk his teeth into my finger. Pain bolted through me and my reflexes took over. It was like watching a mini-horror movie unfold. My hand came out of the aquarium, my mouth warped into a royal 'O' and the hamster was sent flying into the concrete wall. I actually saw the dwarf hamster hit the wall about 8 feet up and slide down to the cold cement floor. I had murdered the Chinese Dwarf Hamster. I had killed with kindness.

Any minute I would hear the Pet Police running down the hall to see me standing over the 3 ounce body. It was 'almost' the lowest moment of my life. Tears were welling up. It's strange what people do in crisis. Me, well, I cradled the little rodent in my hands and lay him back to rest in his white bed. I fluffed it up a bit and covered him, as if none of this had happened. I would live with the guilt. I would walk away knowing I had sent a tiny creature to it's early grave.

Then, like Baby Jesus had entered the building, the baby wipes vibrated. The small hamster was coming back to life. His head, likely throbbing, popped out from the bedding and his beady eyes sent shivers down my spine. He knew. He knew I was out of bounds. You just get this sixth sense that animals have it all going on upstairs and they KNOW WHAT DARKNESS YOU HAVE FORCED UPON THEM. Yup, that was a bad day! So, the next time I went in to a 'different shelter', I thought I'd get my special needs sister a kitten. Why not? We all need something to care for and to love. She had killed off most of her goldfish and many of her plants, so, I figured, 'cats are pretty independent. What could go wrong?.'

There were only two kittens to choose from. One was an orange male the other a beautiful multi-coloured female. They were siblings. How appropriate that I get a sib for a sib. So, I asked the man in charge if I could fill out a form to purchase the homeless feline. He gave me this eyeroll and said, "take a number!" Apparently six other people wanted this ONE KITTEN.

Okay, that's where my competitive spirit kicks in! I saw the people in the waiting room: one old lady, a young mother with a small child, a father with two teenagers, an older couple... and myself, a 'very ordinary man with little to offer'. It looked like the gig was up and I'd have to go elsewhere but, the keeper of lost animals made an announcement, "I WILL HAVE ALL OF YOU WRITE A 500 WORD ESSAY ON WHY YOU SHOULD GET THE KITTEN." He handed out pen and paper to all of us. He wasn't serious was he? AN ESSAY. I think I laughed out loud because the old woman gave me this , "YOU BETTER BUCKLE UP BOY BECAUSE I'M THE CAT LADY WHO ALWAYS GETS THE PRIZE." So, that was my cue to go to battle.

I simply told the truth. I am a teacher. I have an animal husbandry program at my school for wayward youth. I teach them about responsibility, sharing and humanity by raising 30 rabbits at our independent school. The kitten would be an extension of this RAISED AWARENESS for a young woman with special needs who, not unlike a blind man, needs his beloved pet to get him/her through the day. Yada Yada Yada...yours truly, Mr. Willy Walker.

I smiled at the old tart and gave the teenagers a frowny face as I handed in my piece of work to the Keeper of Pets. He stuffed a donut in his face and said he'd be back after he read them. We were all tense. This was a defining moment. I tried to play the role of the biggest loser, 'what's the pooooooooooint...look at all of you! Sweet children, seniors ...all vying for a little kitten.'

The Shelter Man who thought he was a grade five teacher, came back and revealed his smug answer. "Well, I've read these thoroughly and I have to say that I was very touched by one story." The old gal looked at all of us as if we were on a sinking ship and she had grabbed the brass ring. "Mr. Willy Walker, congratulations, your message to children and those with special needs carries great weight. I know this small kitten will be lucky to be in your care." HA, DING DING DING..we have a winner. The old lady whispered, "GOOD LUCK!" and suddenly she was moving faster than the able-bodied children. OUT THE DOOR IN SIXTY SECONDS.

So, the little kitten is now with my sister. The shelters still receive my attention and I continue to break the rules. But, it's all in the name of love! It's all about making the furry world a better place. And yes, I can sleep at night.

As Bob Barker has said on many occasions: REMEMBER TO GET YOUR PETS SPAYED AND NEUTERED...SEE YOU NEXT TIME!