"A dog is like an eternal Peter Pan, a child who never grows old and who,
therefore, is always available to love and be loved"
~Aaron Katcher (B 1932) Educator and Psychiatrist


                           Others Waiting to be Adopted

Break out the confetti and the noisemakers.....we have no "exotic" pets looking for homes at
the moment!

But we can tell you a story about a brave little boy and his effort on behalf of a  hamster
named Daisy.

This happened in 1989 before we had our shelter built. One of our
members had a pet supply store at the time. One day a little guy of
perhaps 12 years old came in carrying a tiny cage with a cute little buff
and cream colored hamster in it. She was wide awake and walking
around.

The boy was very nervous as he approached the counter, placed the cage on it and said
"Please take Daisy and find her a good home." The cashier started to explain that the store
didn't take in animals but that they would be happy to put his name and phone number on
their bulletin board.

But she was only partly into her speech when he pushed the cage forward and said "No,
please! You HAVE to take her. Please" There was something in his manner that told the
clerk this was no ordinary event and she could see tears welling up in the boys eyes. So
she agreed and started to ask if he'd like to be notified when Daisy was placed but the boy
had already turned and was hurrying out of the store.

Daisy's cage stayed on a shelf behind the counter that afternoon and, like all hamsters, she
was happy to have her peace and quiet during the day and she curled into a ball and slept.
But later, as closing time drew near, she roused herself and came over to the side of the
cage and put her little feet up and watched the cashier. When the woman turned around
she saw for the first time what had prompted that boy to find a safe place for his Daisy.

Her little feet were horribly burned. Some of the tiny toes were completely gone and there
was black, charred skin on both of her front feet. It appeared that someone had held a
lighter or match to them, perhaps when she came to the side of the cage as she was doing
now. Had some monster in human skin been annoyed when she made noise at night? We
never will know.

So Daisy began a course of having her injures treated and never once did she offer any
resistance or show any aggression. She had obviously been handled a lot and was as
sweet and trusting a little personality as you could ever hope to find. She healed quickly and
lived out her life a queen of that establishment. No one ever found out who the boy was but
it's almost a sure bet that he grew up to be a very special man. He was willing to part with
his pet, whom he obviously cared for very much, to see that she found a safe place to live.