Help A Soldier, Save A Dog

When my sister, Connie, and I were children, we did have pets, 2 box turtles, Inky and Blinky (he only had one eye), which we would allow to race down a hallway in our flat, a canary, Billy, who was a great singer and a parakeet, Tippy, who would fly and sometimes land on us.  We had a puppy once, but it didn't get a name because when it began to lick our faces, my dad returned it to the shelter.

I didn't need to worry, because my entire adult life would be filled with dogs.  I married the reincarnation of Saint Francis and our children inherited the gene..."Mom, the dog just followed us home from the beach.  Can we keep it, PLEASE?"  I guess my children knew a pushover when they saw one; I can't bear to see an animal suffer.  Naturally, all of the dogs had to be neutered and given the necessary immunizations and we don't believe in keeping pets outdoors.  Our house must have had a neon sign flashing "FREE ROOM AND BOARD FOR STRAYS.  APPLY WITHIN."  Yes, dog hair became our clothes constant companion.

So, you can understand why I fell in love with this particular charity, Freedom Service Dogs, which rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to be service companions to wounded soldiers.  The dogs who do not make the grade are adopted out to loving families.  It's a win-win situation!