Not everyone likes dogs. There is a grumpy old man in our neighborhood who doesn’t like dogs. His lawn is immaculate, he is out there with the kitchen scissors trimming his beautiful carpet of green every morning. Every blade of grass is the same length. He freaks out if any dog, person or child walks on his grass – even if by accident.
If he happens to see me with my dogs, I can picture him scurrying away from the window and quickly back to grab his video camera – just in case any of my dogs pee or poo on his precious lawn. Several weeks ago when I walked by, there were two HUGE dumps of fresh poo beside the tree near the curb, right in front of his house. He leaned out his window, “Did your dogs make that of mess, clean it up!” I took a quick glance at the monstrous size portions – honestly, these two dumps were so huge it was enough to fertilize my garden. Was he really so mindless as to think my smallish dogs could produce these horse size deposits? I waved my little doggie bag at him and continued walking with a satisfied smile on my face. Maybe the politcally correct thing to do was to offer to clean up, “Do you have a shovel I can borrow?” Shame to the person who did not pick up after their dog – you make all responsible dog owners look bad! I know this grumpy old man didn’t like dogs. He would never know the joy and unconditional love a dog brings to the household. He would never understand how a dog can enrich and nourish the soul. Or perhaps it is possible he has never given himself a chance to love or to be loved by a dog?
One of the most enjoyable things about organizing this raffle is the interesting emails I receive. This one I found particularly moving. This woman has 2 rescue dogs and she has this story to tell:
“I first heard about Turtle Gardens last year when they picked up all those Sherriff dogs. Since then, I have been following their blogs, etc., and I think they do a marvelous job.
Up until six years ago, I’d never had a dog, never wanted one … didn’t like the smell, the stray fur, etc. But I was outnumbered by my husband and my daughter. I found our beautiful Samson on my work place Classifieds. Samson was 3 1/2 years old at the time, overweight, huge infected hot spots, and he was living in a cat shelter in Maple Ridge. We adopted Samson and today he is an active, very healthy Golden Retriever. I mentioned I was NOT a dog person. When Samson came into our lives, I absolutely fell wholeheartedly in love with him. And then, about a year ago, I heard about a female Golden, same age as Samson, who needed to get out of her home quickly. Maggie had about 3 tumours on her body, including a golf ball-sized one hanging from the side of her mouth. Her tumours were removed by a wonderful vet who did the surgery for free, and then Maggie came home with me. So now I have two beautiful, healthy 9-year-old Goldens who were destined for doggy Heaven.”
Thank-you for opening your heart to these wonderful dogs – in a perfect world, I wish everyone is able to do this. Open your heart to a rescue dog and take a chance.
Back to business regarding the Fundraiser Raffle, we are sold out all the $75 books of 25 tickets! In hindsight, we should’ve allocated more, but this is a huge learning experience for me, Jude and Sara. Our sincere apologies if you were planning to buy this denomination. About 75% of the $5 books are spoken for, and about half of the 3 for $10. This doesn’t mean that all these books have actually ‘sold’ yet. TG supporters will be doing their best to sell. The response has been fantastic considering the raffle tickets aren’t even ready for pick-up until tomorrow afternoon!
So if you are considering to buy or sell tickets, please email me at cyndasgot3@gmail.com

Here’s the radio announcer: Tickets are selling fast! BC Gaming Event #8775. Know your limit, play within it. Ticket purchasers must be 19 and over…..

©Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue Society. Have your pet spayed or neutered today.