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| Beverly and friend |
Beverly Olsen is a writer on Skirt's online magazine and a volunteer at a no-kill shelter, Our Pal's Place, in Marietta, Georgia. I've borrowed her post from Skirt and reprinted it here.
Hank, a grand old dog that could use a home, speaks in her post. Beware there is talk about putting dogs down, but good news on changes in the law.
My name is Hank. I’m an overweight, middle-aged guy; but, the ladies say I have soulful eyes. I want to tell you about my current home. The house I live in at the moment is an old ranch that’s not in the best shape. I don’t mind, though because my space is under a great air conditioner and I have a comfortable bed. I get fed twice a day and get to go outside four times a day. It’s a pretty good set-up. The people who care for me are great! They really care about me and the others who live here. Our medical needs are taken care of and we are well fed. This place is meant to be a way- station, a layover, on the way to a new life for each of us.
The director of the facility where I live gives her heart and soul to this place everyday. It’s something called a 501-3C, which means that none of the great volunteers that work here make any money. They care for us because they love us. The director is the kindest, hardest working woman that I have ever known. She literally saved my life more than once! She saves multiple lives every month.
I asked a friend of mine to write this for me. Times have been tough this year since all the home foreclosures and we are busting at the seams here at
Our Pal’s Place. The house is an old 1950’s ranch that could really use an “extreme home makeover.” It needs new plumbing, wiring and HVAC (whatever that is-my benefactor told me to put that in here). Last year there was a plumbing leak that got alot of the support beams wet and pretty well rusted out the central A/C. We stay cool with small window air conditioners. They are duct taped into the old windows which themselves are falling apart.
Now I’m not complaining because if I wasn’t here, I would be dead. That’s right DRT (Dead Right There). I would have met my fate with the gas chamber about 3 years ago. I know what you’re thinking, “What gas chambers? The United States doesn’t use gas chambers for execution. That was the Nazis in Germany.”
Well, guess what my kind have been murdered in your state for years in this brutal fashion. This year something wonderful happened. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has announced that he has signed HB 788 into law! This means by January 1, 2011, no county or city in the state can use carbon monoxide gas chambers to kill shelter animals.
Yep, I’m a dog or canine citizen as I prefer to be called. Here’s my latest photo!
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Hank
I want to personally invite you to come visit me. I won’t lie, I am asking for your help. My dream is to raise enough money to build a new facility, so that we can save even more lives and expand our education program. We are in a great location and have enough land to expand. We need someone who has the financial resources to donate or to help in a major fundraising effort. If my little story has sparked your interest, please contact my human friend Beverly Olsen at beverlyo@bellsouth.net. Thanks, Hank
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