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Holiday Issue 2002
Tributes
Mere words of thanks do not begin to say how heartfelt our appreciation is for your kind thoughts... your prayers... and your generosity... bestowed upon TLC this past year. This picture represents just a few of the over 3,000 animals your benevolence has helped this past year. Looking at their faces, just imagine what might have happened to them if it were not for you. For many of them, the outlook would have been very grim indeed, but YOU cared enough to make a difference in their lives.We want to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude on behalf of all the animals your generosity helped this past year, and also to wish you and yours the very best for the Holiday season and New Year!
About 2 years ago TLC was being sued on the grounds of discrimination because we would not place a puppy whose future was to be chained up to a tree in the backyard 24 hours a day. The party claimed we would not adopt the puppy to him because he was single, and our reason for not adopting to him was that we felt he would not be giving the puppy a proper home nor the care it required.
Emmett practiced law out of his office in Elmhurst, Illinois. It was through his friendship with Parnell and Sandi O'Brien that we were first introduced to Emmett, to see if he would be interested in taking the Shelter's case. Parnell had told us that Emmett was always on the side of the underdog, and this was certainly true here.
Emmett was eager to take the Shelter's case, being an animal lover himself, he realized what an injustice this was to all parties involved: the pup, TLC, and animal shelters across the country if the judgement went against the Shelter, this would have set a precident. Luckily the ruling went in favor of the Shelter but the plaintiff was not satisfied and appealed. Once again Emmett took time out from his busy schedule to help TLC and all the animals that were counting on him. Again the ruling went in favor of TLC... Emmett did all of this pro bono!
Although we expressed our deepest gratitude, I wonder if Emmett realized the enormity of what he did not only for animals entrusted to the care of TLC, but to animals everywhere. Emmett was a true champion for the animals... a man we will never forget.
Lisa kindly shared this picture with us of "Chuck" and her daughter Melissa, as you can tell the two of them have become inseparable. The picture is so adorable that we wanted to use it in conjunction with the following story which we hope you will enjoy. I wonder if Lisa chose "Chuck" over all the others because of the sighs of his heart?
"We've been back to this shelter at least five times, it's been weeks now since we started all of this, and all my daughter keeps saying is she wants one puppy size," the woman replied.
"We have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for," said the volunteer.
"No, not this time," the little girl said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?" The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.
But then solemnly the mother said, "you may not be getting any more dogs in, then what?"
"Unfortunately, there's always a supply of homeless animals," the volunteer lamented.
The little girl took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. As if to console her mother the little girl said, "Don't worry, I bet we'll find one this weekend."
Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with their daughter, saying they both felt she was being too particular.
In his frustration the little girl's dad said, "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more."
"we don't want to hear anything more about 'puppy size' either," mom added.
Saturday morning came and the little girl and her parents were the first ones in the shelter. By now she knew her way around, so she ran right to the section that housed smaller dogs.
Tired of the routine, mom and dad sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals.
The little girl walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."
It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the pup and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.
"Mom, dad, this is it, I found the right puppy!" "He's the one I know it!" she shouted with joy.
The mom and dad rushed to see which pup had captured their daughter's heart.
"What? Are you sure? How do you know?" her parents almost asked in unison.
"It's the puppy sighs!" the little girl replied.
"Yes, it's the same size as all the other puppies you held the last few weeks," mom said.
"No not SIZE, SIGHS! When I held him in my arms he sighed," she said.
"So?"
"Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is you told me 'Love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sighs'!"
The mother didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug her child she did a little of both.
"Mom every time you hold me I sigh. When you and daddy come home from work and hug each other you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said.
Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said,"Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart."