Sunday, December 7, 2008

Finding Lucky Spot a Home


We are unsure of Lucky's breed...my husband (Tony) thinks he is some sort of bird dog. Tony found Lucky on a job site. He was being hunted by a very aggressive Coyote. The owners of the property didn't want him and Tony was afraid for the dog's safety so he brought him into the neighborhood to find him a home. He was taken to the Flannagan house, where he was named "Lucky" by the adults and "Spot" by Mister Tray whose picture is above. So we call him "Lucky Spot". Unfortunately, they have decided that they are housing too many animals and have asked us to find Lucky Spot a new home.





Lucky is very smart, but still has a lot of puppy in her. We think she could be trained with a little patience and a lot of love. She is great with the other dogs. See picture of Lucky pestering "Trouble" below. She has also been trained to leave our cats alone. At first she thought they wanted to play with her, but they let her know that they didn't find her amusing.


If anyone is interested in taking Lucky Spot please email me. I have a short window of time before my husband becomes attached and then we will be housing five dogs and three cats.


Friday, December 5, 2008

Homeless

Someone sent me this email. It made me cry it was so sweet.
......

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.'

The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.
I a m a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally. Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.
We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me, I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible 'dirty body' smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was 'smiling' His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, 'Good day' as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, 'Coffee is all Miss' because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).
Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.
I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, 'Thank you.'
I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, 'I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope.'
Note: The only thing I would point out is that her act not only gives him hope, but gives her hope also....and I'm feeling very hopeful today because of this story! Thank you to the person who sent it to me and the one who wrote it.
I have also enclosed a link to an article that is talks about happiness being contagious. It seemed appropriate.
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