“Hope” in a fur filled world…
April 28, 2008At church this morning with my grandmother, age 84, and my daughter, age 12, I sat between the two of them and listened to a sermon on hope. Hope that each one of us could work as individuals, or as a group, to make the world a better place one problem at a time. I thought about the difference in how each of us interpreted that message – my grandmother focused on hope for the happiness of her family and close friends, my daughter focused on hope of a fun adventurous life ahead, and me – focused on….about 456 things.
I find myself overwhelmed at times with a responsibility to achieve an incredible amount in my life. I’m not sure where it came from although my family is definitely filled with dreamers and high achievers. I worry about the dogs that roam the streets or are abused. I worry about my daughter and her friends and how they will deal with the overwhelming issues that face them as young people in this crazy world. I worry about my family, my boyfriend, my good friends – wanting them all to be happy and fulfilled. I worry about my franchisees doing well and thriving in this time of economic uncertainty. As my good friend Molly told me once, “worry is a debt you may never have to pay”. So why worry?
The problem isn’t necessarily that I worry per say, it’s that my entrepreneurial get it done personality feeds a drive to DO something about it. I can’t just let sleeping dogs lie…I need to find them homes darnit! J All kidding aside, I decided last year to focus on a problem that I have the resources to help solve. I have 160 franchisees and over 80,000 Camp clients nationwide that can help me make sure that our furry canine friends are taken care of. Gandhi once said something to the effect that “a culture is judged by how it treats it’s animals”. So with all the overwhelming responsibilities us Americans face each day in trying to save the world, or at least the dog world that many of you reading this are a part of, I believe we can do it one dog at a time. It’s simple. It’s not expensive and it’s not time consuming. By taking the following 5 steps you can change the way our furry friends live.
1. Don’t buy a dog – EVER. From a pet store, from a breeder, from a newspaper ad. I’ve done it before admittedly, but I won’t ever do it again. There are thousands upon thousands of puppies and dogs that need homes – purebreds even. Go on www.petfinder.com and search any kind or size of dog you can imagine that needs a home! Or just visit your local shelter or rescue. With the internet there is no excuse.
2. Spread the word about overpopulation. Encourage your neighbors, friends, co-workers, team mates, to spay or neuter their animal.
3. Support legislation for mandatory spay/neuter of pets. Many states are considering these laws – just google the info on your local situation and help however you can!
4. Teach kids how to treat animals/dogs humanely. There are wonderful coloring books and resources on the internet – the Humane Society and ASPCA has plenty of options.
5. Don’t travel to countries that treat dogs or other animals without respect. Greece and China are two to avoid, but there are many. Send the government an email explaining why you aren’t coming to visit – and spend your valuable tourism dollars in places that do value animal and human life. All it takes is a simple search on the internet to find out if your destination is one of hell for animals.
My hope….after reflecting on it this morning…is that we at Camp Bow Wow can continue to make a difference one dog at a time. It’s one of many horrible problems we face in this world – but when you look at your best furry friend curled up on the couch next to you tonight, I hope you’ll agree it’s a great one to take on!
Our office at Camp Bow Wow corporate is “dog friendly”. That means that at on any given day there are 10-20 dogs milling around the office! Who knew that dogs would create their own office politics and antics just like us human folk? Fancy wood baby gates are set up at each office entrance to keep our “kids” inside their own space. There are treat jars dispersed throughout the office and lots of dog toys to trip over during a tour of our facilities. Water bowls are placed strategically - and the mailman and fed ex guy ALWAYS have treats in their pockets as they make their way to the front desk! Beau and Jackson have some serious puppy resentment towards each other as they try to get the office dog alpha ranking, Scout - our vicious 3 lb furball - barks to alert the rest of the pack of any human entrants into the space. Buddy has his set up under Greg’s desk and ventures out only to alert Greg to get the heck back to work at his desk when he leaves to attend a meeting! Kaya has her own cube - and Sophie prefers to trail her gal Miranda as she travels from meeting to meeting throughout the office. Jason is our Top Dog of the office and resides at the front desk with his human Connie - we know if vendors are a good addition right away by watching Jason’s reaction! Emmitt and Scarlett - our Training Mgr and VP Ops pups - are always on the lookout for new folks on the second floor to give some serious sniffs to - and Lola is definitely our office athlete jumping the gates like hurdles on an Olympic circuit! She also has an affinity for detecting any “trash treasures” in our office! : ) Quigley, Priscilla and Elvis are our resident furry Guide Dogs helping our franchisees and always have lots of wags for visitors to the second floor!
