Feeling Lucky – March Sanctuary Update

With all of the uncertainty, disruption, and hardship of the coronavirus and its impact on our lives, it’s only natural to let our perspectives be dominated by everything that has gone wrong or could still go wrong. And let’s be honest, alot has gone wrong, and a whole lot more could still go wrong. But I think that it’s no accident that every religious and cultural school of thought has a prominent tradition of gratitude and recognizing your blessings. When things are moving in a bad direction and threatening to go off the rails, that’s when it is most necessary to take a look at everything that shines a little light into our lives. It’s been a rough month at the sanctuary, but we are still feeling very lucky. And here’s why.

A Place to Call Home
As we are all instructed to stay in our homes as much as possible, for who knows how long, know that it is a blessing to have a home to stay in. And not just a dwelling place, but the people, furry friends, and memories that make four walls and a roof into a safe harbor to ride out the storm. That not only applies to all of us, but to the cats and dogs in our care as well. Our Companions has built a place here that is not just a space for homeless cats and dogs to be indoors while they wait for a real home, but a place that is comfortable, warm, and soft, with all of theirs needs, both physical and mental, catered to in a way that it can truly be their home. An unfortunate number of people and pets are not so lucky. So while you’re stuck inside, desperately missing that pizza and a movie night with friends, remember to say a quick thank you for what you have. I see it in the eyes of dogs and cats that they do that every day.

You!!!
It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make at Our Companions to ask so many of you to stay away and not come spread your generosity and love with the dogs and cats here who so need and appreciate it. But even at this difficult time, your support for the work we do here has been overwhelming. We’ve had volunteers come and take dogs out for trips, so as to limit exposure to the staff. We’ve had people come to the cats during hours when no staff is on to help out. And even those of you at higher risk who can’t come at all have been flooding us with well wishes and positive thoughts. As the staff here continues to go above and beyond to maintain the highest standards of care for the animals, your moral support makes a huge difference. We are so lucky to have the best volunteers in the world by our side.

As we went through March, with usually fun landmarks like daylight savings, St. Patrick’s Day, and the first day of spring being swept away in a torrent of bad news, we’ve done our best to always remember how lucky we are to do what we do, in the place we get to do it, and with the people we get to do it with. I hope I’ve been able to reflect a little bit of light from the sanctuary into whatever darkness you may be feeling right now. And as always, thank you so much for all you do!!

Not surprisingly, it was another slow month for adoptions, but at least the one cat adoption that did happen had a fun twist. Calvin went home with our very own evening shift dog and cat specialist, Lucas!! At last check, he is settling in well with Lucas’s other feline friend, Marvin. That made some room for our newest guest, Clawdia. Then, we had the unexpected addition of two more cats, Cornbread and Skip.

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