Something I learned while working my first Adoption Day at A HOPE: The right time and the right people always come along.
I’m a pretty new volunteer with the organization. I’ve only been in the game for about 3 months. In that time, I’ve seen sick kittens struggling just to keep breathing, I’ve seen people abandon needy animals on our doorstep, I’ve heard horror stories about malnourished and confused mama cats in the shelter eating their own babies. When I caught a glimpse behind the curtain of cute photos, what I saw wasn’t always easy to stomach.
But my whole perspective changed after I saw Adoption Day in all its glory.
Gmail being fitted for his adoption bowtie.
If you keep up with our Facebook page, you’ll probably remember a particular batch of kittens named after gas stations. Those kittens were dumped in a box at a gas station and essentially left to die. But the right person came along, rescued them, and kept them alive. Eventually, those kittens found their way to us.
Just a few short weeks later, I was measuring most of those babies for bowties and watching the joy in their new families’ eyes as they snuggled them and brought them home forever.
A few of the gas station babies with their new families.
Witnessing kittens that were once on death’s doorstep begin their new joyful, heartache-free lives...all I can say is there’s nothing like it.
That same day, a beautiful little Siamese named Gall was supposed to go home with her new family, too. We waited…and waited...and waited...and her adopter never showed up. They didn’t call or email to let us know they weren’t coming. Again, I was disheartened to see how careless people can be. Careless toward these animals and careless toward the volunteers who give their free time to get these animals ready for adoption.
I was reminded a couple of days later, when I saw a photo of Gall in her beaming new mommy’s arms, that the right time and the right people ALWAYS come along. Even when it feels like all hope is lost, the greatest joys are right around the corner. Adoption Day comes for everyone eventually, so to speak.
Gall with her new mom.
The animals we meet go through some of the hardest times you’ve ever seen, often when they’re SO young and truly helpless. We see them suffer, we see them get healthier and stronger one step at a time, we see them work their little tails off to survive even though they have no idea what tomorrow will bring, and then we see them move on to beautiful lives where we know they’ll be loved and cherished forever.
I witnessed so many of these stories in a single Adoption Day, and I can say with absolute confidence that there’s a very good reason this organization has hope right in its name.
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