Uncommon Heroes

The last few months have been plagued with major life-altering disasters. Houston was hit with a more rain in a day than they usually get in a year. Needless to say people were displaced, lives lost, memories destroyed by the floods. Then Florida was hit. That nasty hurricane destroyed Key West and Puerto Rico. People were left without basic human necessities. No water, no electric, no fuel, no means of communicating with loved ones. FEMA , Red Cross and other agencies were on sight giving aid to those who needed it.

But what happens to the animals that are left behind. I am not sure that I really gave it much thought before hurricane Katrina. While people are trying to escape sometimes they have to sacrifice their pets. It has to be a heart breaking choice for most. I have read of cases where people died trying to save their pets.

When evacuations happen and you are fortunate enough to get your pets, livestock, horses out of the danger it is not always possible to keep them with you. I started noticing in the days before the major hurricanes this year that I saw postings for people offering board horses and rescue groups offering to take in house pets. So add one more thing the stress of the situation. Getting your animals to safety.

These uncommon heroes are offering to care for your animals. But how are they doing all of this? Through the kindness of volunteers donating time, money, hay, or even medicine. The animals are often dropped off and the owners have to go back to take care of their endangered property. Depending on the kindness of strangers is what we do in America.

People like my friend Rick Boyd leap into action when the wildfires were raging and destroying the hills of Northern California. While the severity of the wildfires didn’t make national news immediately the locals were dealing with the air heavy with smoke. Within days entire towns were being burned out. Fires were raging. I watched on the news as people trying to evacuate were trapped by flames jumping across the roads they were trying to drive.Rick joined other volunteers at a campground that opened up for displaced livestock. These volunteers donated hay, tarps, feed and time. Without the kindness of strangers who knows how many horses and livestock would have been lost.

Nineteen days after it started, the Redwood Valley Fire, which killed eight people in Mendocino County and burned through an estimated 36,523 acres, was 100 percent contained, The Redwood Valley Fire is the latest deadly Northern California wildfire to be contained since multiple blazes broke out during a windstorm on Oct. 8, killing at least 42, destroying thousands of homes and prompting about 100,000 people to evacuate according to SFGate.com  The Atlas Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties was 97 percent contained. According to the NY Times the fires burned over 91,000 acres in all 3 counties affected. 71,000 were in Napa and Sonoma. Volunteer fire fighters came in to help from as far away as Salt Lake City Utah.

We never know when we will need to depend on the kindness of strangers, so when an opportunity presents itself be that kindness for a stranger. We are all connected as part of human consciousness. We feel for our brothers and sisters when they suffer from tragedy. We also need to remember that everyone struggles and it is not always apparent. So be aware and open and willing to smile and listen. You never know when you will be called to service.

Follow me on Twitter @cowgirl19114, IG Cowgirl19114 and follow my page on FB Cowgirl19114.