This is Digby Pancake. I have been thinking a lot since we left the dog sanctuary last week.
And when I think more about something other than food, well, you know it must be pretty important.
We met many old dogs and we met many people. We had conversations and we shared feelings. We listened to their stories and we laughed and we also cried a little too. When you visit a place as special as that, you feel all the feelings. And that is more than ok.
But since we left, I have been feeling like something was missing. Sure, we loved talking to them while we were there. But did we only need to have one conversation for them to feel better? Didn’t we need to say it more than once that we cared?
We had a good friend lose a loved one last week. The first day when everyone found out, there were lots of words of love and sympathy. But I wondered when the days went on if the love and the sympathy were expressed again. Because you see, when someone goes through a hard time, it doesn’t end with that day. There are more days after that.
Yes, we may think that it is enough to express how we feel one time. But put yourself in someone else’s place. If something happened to you, wouldn’t you need support and love more than once? What you need may change, but don’t think that someone doesn’t need your help. It sure may be hard on us to feel things we necessarily don’t want to. No one wants to experience heartache.
But being there for someone else when they need us is invaluable. You will mean more to them than you will ever know!
So you better believe the folks and the dogs we met at Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary will not only be on our minds from here on out, but we will be checking in on them.
Not just to see what they need, but how they are in the future. Remember your friends, even the old ones.
If your relationship has changed and you are not as close, that is ok. It happens. But when they go thru something sad, please be there for them.
-Digby Pancake
We had a unique privilege that was only made possible by our friends at Good Sam! Good Sam believes in a community built on helping others!
Be Good Do Good is their initiative to give back to communities around the country and lend a helping hand, wherever it’s needed most. We chose Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary for our first Good Sam Giveback!
Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary is a Forever Foster Home based Sanctuary in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, generally housing approximately 120 senior dogs at the Sanctuary and many others in temporary and Forever Foster Homes. While providing lifetime homes for senior dogs, OFSDS strives to raise awareness of the joys and challenges of living with older dogs. They do not focus on the quantity of time that they have left, rather the quality of the life that they can provide them!
So we decided to give the dogs AND the volunteers and staff an ice cream party! Good Sam provided funding for two gorgeous, locally made picnic tables for their event yard, stacks and stacks of gift bags and shirts for the volunteers, dog food, treats, bowls, dog fencing, supplies, and so much more. It was truly a way to giveback to the dogs and people who make a real difference and inspire us all to live each day to the full. Thank you to Good Sam, Camping World and Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary
