Kittens, Photos, and Life Lessons

Yesterday was one of those days—the kind that starts with a kitten rescue and ends with a deep reflection on life, love, and, oddly enough, my dysfunctional garage door.

The Tale of Timber

The morning kicked off with an urgent mission: a tiny kitten, the sole survivor of a litter born along a hunter’s path, needed saving. His mother had vanished, his sibling didn’t make it, and he was left to fend for himself. It’s moments like these that remind me why we need our spay/neuter clinic up and running yesterday.

A first-time mom cat is just winging it....

Cats don’t get a parenting manual. There’s no feline equivalent of Lamaze classes or baby showers. They don’t sit around knitting tiny onesies or setting up registries at Petco. A first-time mom cat is just winging it, and sometimes, that means panic sets in, and kittens get left behind. It’s tragic, it’s preventable, and it’s why we’re here.

Moments after meeting Timber

Thankfully, one of our incredible volunteers, Nancy, stepped up to grab the little guy and bring him to me while I was simultaneously trying to prep for board member photos. Because nothing says “professional” like sprinting out the door with half-done makeup, wild hair, and—gasp—no earrings. Priorities, people.

Lights, Camera, Panic

Once Timber was settled into the incubator, I rushed off for our board member photo session.

Do we smile with teeth or without?

Timber smiles without teeth

If you’ve ever taken professional photos, you know the struggle. Do we smile with teeth or without? Chin up? Chin down? Why does one eye suddenly decide to be three times bigger than the other? And, of course, the sun was not on our side. Shoutout to Vivian, who volunteered to capture our existential crises on film.

Board member photo shoot

Girl Scouts, Big Questions, and the Garage Door Epiphany

After wrangling my own child from school pickup, I took Timber home and then headed off to meet Girl Scout Troop 95004 in Gulf Breeze. These girls are working on their Bronze Award, tackling real-world problems with real-world solutions—something we all could use a refresher on.

Reasons animals end up at the shelter

Which brings me to my garage door...

Our discussion about animal welfare led to a bigger realization: Loving animals doesn’t mean forgetting to love people. It’s easy to get frustrated with humans when we see neglected pets, overflowing shelters, and heartbreaking stories. But most of the time, the issue isn’t cruelty—it’s lack of resources.

Which brings me to my garage door.

No, really.

I have a garage door. It doesn’t open from the outside. I don’t have the funds or know-how to fix it. So, I work around it. I unlock my front door, go through the house, open the garage from the inside, unload groceries, and carry on. It’s not ideal, but it’s fine. I love my house. I make it work.

What if we helped?

Now imagine someone in a similar situation but with a pet. They love their animal, but maybe they can’t afford an expensive vet visit this month. Or maybe they don’t have a car to get to the clinic. Instead of judging them, what if we helped?

Pets don’t need designer beds or gourmet food—they need love, care, and basic medical attention. And sometimes, their people need a little help making that happen. That’s what we’re here for.

Timber snuggled in his incubator

Finding Solutions, Together

So, after a whirlwind of a day—rescuing Timber, embracing my disheveled photo aesthetic, and getting inspired by a group of problem-solving Girl Scouts—I came away with this:

At the end of the day, whether it's a kitten fighting to survive, a family doing their best, or a woman aggressively negotiating with a garage door that refuses to cooperate—we all just need a little help sometimes.

Girl Scout Troop #95004