This is really what it’s all about

Jennifer Vanderau
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter

(9/2018) It’s heartwarming how many times I experience those powerful moments in life – the one’s where you stop for a second and think, "This is really what it’s all about." I’ve had two such instances recently that I’d like to share.

A few weeks ago, I visited a local radio station that lets me talk about our animals and our shelter and one of the employees came up to me in the hall and said, "Jen, I have to show you a puppy."

Naturally, I agreed.

The puppy I was shown was a husky/border collie mix. At first I said, "Yikes. That must be a lot of energy in one pup." I mean, he would have the endurance of a husky (they’re bred to run a LONG distance) and the stamina and smarts of a border collie. Talk about a combination that could get in a lot of trouble!

She told me he wasn’t too bad until she got down on the floor and really started to play with him and he realized she was one of the humans who would act like a fellow puppy and then he got all kinds of wound up.

I figured it was pretty much par for the course with a puppy, husky and border collie all thrown into one package.

Then she showed me a picture of the granddaughter that he really watched out for. This little girl was a toddler – maybe a year or two old – and you could tell she would wander all around the house and the photos showed the dog following her as she did this.

Now, keep in mind, with the combination of border collie and husky, even as a puppy, this dog was fairly big. He was easily as tall as the baby – his face was in her face when they both stood up.

The lady who was showing me the pictures said, "There’s just something about this dog. It’s like he knows not to play too rough with the baby. He has an understanding of that line he can’t cross."

Then she scrolled to another photo where the baby had a ball in her hands and the pup was right there, but obviously not grabbing it and I’m telling you there was something in the pup’s eyes that said he knew this was a little one and he shouldn’t act all crazy and run the risk of hurting her.

You could actually SEE the dog thinking. It was amazing.

I always find it fascinating when I’m presented with moments where animals prove how caring and solicitous and understanding they can be. It’s really profound to witness a creature that doesn’t share our language but can still show us compassion and consideration.

Powerful.

Shortly after this experience, I met a little boy named Xander. Xander set up a lemonade stand and decided to donate the proceeds to CVAS. We found out about this when he called to ask about bringing in almost $140 that he had made.

We have a lot of kids who want to help our animals and they do so through donations or getting supplies for the shelter instead of birthday presents or having a bake sale or any number of events. A few years ago, we had two wonderful kids go door to door collecting donations for our Christmas Open House in memory of their beloved dog, Bella.

It’s so incredibly heartwarming.

Well, Xander was quite the entrepreneur. He had a special recipe for his lemonade which he thought really helped boost sales (this kid is seriously 10 going on 40) and his sure-fire method to get people to have a cup was to just say hello and ask if they would like some lemonade. "I explained to them that I am not charging for the lemonade, but I was collecting donations for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter," he told me. "Some people gave a lot when they heard that."

Xander particularly loves cats. He had a cat who was his best friend, but unfortunately, River got sick suddenly and passed away. Since then, Xander has worn one of his trademark "cat shirts" every day.

It turns out he and his mom were looking to adopt a cat. When he brought in his lemonade money, he met a few of the felines at the shelter and allowed them to take their time in warming up to him. He said, "Oh, I understand. I know I have to be patient and the cat has to come to me."

His mom explained that this is what Xander does. He doesn’t force himself on cats, even the ones in their neighborhood. He just sits quietly and lets the cats come to him.

He’s like a little, blond Yoda!

Then he met an older cat named Sammy. The two hit it off right away. At one point, Xander picked Sammy up and the cat just snuggled in his lap. Xander and mom shared a knowing look and she said, "That was one of your tests wasn’t it?" and Xander nodded.

It turns out Xander had said to his mom he would know which cat was for him if he could pick him up.

Then Sammy sealed the deal. He glanced up at Xander and licked his cheek. Xander said, "We just received confirmation. Sammy is the one."

That’s a direct quote. I was in the room when it happened. Can you even imagine? He’s 10!

Needless to say, Xander and his mom adopted Sammy and this story has circulated through the staff at the shelter. It seems to have come right when we needed a boost, you know?

I’m always interested to talk to people – either ones who have an animal store to share, like my friend at the radio, or a little boy who took it upon himself to have a lemonade stand to help homeless animals – because I think life really is about those moments when you take a minute to realize, "Wow. That’s neat."

It’s important in our face-paced world of drive-thrus and zapping our food in the microwave and rushing to work to watch for those times in life and enjoy them when they come. It gives all of us – the two-legged and four-legged souls – a second to remember that we’re not really taking this journey alone. 

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Jennifer Vanderau is the Director of Communications for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter in Chambersburg, Pa., and can be reached at cvasoc@innernet.net. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at (717) 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org.