Kindness Can Be a Little Hairy

Act of kindness for Saturday, absolutely! I have to chalk up two special ones for today. I was going to take some time out to do some things that did not require money. Two reasons: First, it’s going to be an expensive month that we can’t keep up with. Please don’t take that the wrong way; we’re just watching the pennies and nickels being that work is tight for us. Second, it doesn’t always take money to show kindness, as a matter of fact sometimes it’s the ones that are free that can mean the most.

I was trying to multitask while catching up with a friend and doing dishes in the morning and the phone beeped in. I do try not to switch over unless it’s a call I have to take; it isn’t fair to the person that you’re talking to, like they don’t matter. So after the second call from my friend came in I did click over to see what was going on. I wish I could say it was wonderful news but there was a family emergency, and they were leaving town Sunday. She was sharing some updates and information about the Friends of the Frankfort Public Library. When discussing her rapid departure, I asked who would be caring for her pets, cats, dogs, birds and--come to find out--a little hamster. Most were set, but the hamster. I said I would be glad to watch him. She said that was a generous offer, and she would get back to me. I worked at vetenairy offices for years, and I know that over the weekend it can be a loud place, and I couldn’t imagine a hamster in the mix of everything. I should have remembered how crazy it can be here with our tribe! She called back, and we even drove over to pick him up for her. So far so good. Static is doing well and seems to be enjoying being our guest.

The second kind act could have turned into a trip to the emergency room for me.  After dropping off the hamster, we found a couple dogs in the yard, calling them to us, one jumped in my car. I have our border collie-cattle dog, who is an escape artist, so I wanted to save the owners a hefty fine for their lost dogs. I’m pretty confident around unknown animals but am a little more wary with my 5-year-old in tow. He was a champ, running for leashes in the house, while I held one dog and as they were trying to plow into our home to meet our pug, that’s when it got hairy. The older of the two dogs tried to bite me a couple times. I do not blame him. He was older, lost and had no idea who I was.

After much thought about transporting them, I had my son get in the front seat. Strapped in, we were in our subdivision so I wasn’t worried about a crash, but since dog two was still not sold on us, I figured it was the best bet to be farther way from him. Looking for the home was a challenging. I kept passing the home, a corner home, so an easy mistake, right? The owner was wonderful. He didn’t know they had wiggled out of his fence, and he couldn’t say thank you enough.  The sad part of the story is there is a third dog that wasn’t found. An officer came out to make sure they got back OK and to also rally the troops. The cadets of the Frankfort Police Department were out looking for them in the neighborhood. I’m waiting to find out if he was located. 

All in all, the kindness acts consisted of fuzzy sweet and lost pups and a hamster that need a place to hang his hat for a couple of days. Sometimes just stepping in when not asked can make all the difference to someone. Again, we never know what people are going through and how much they can use our help. I also was given a little kindness in return. Besides the smiles and kind words, my friend who I am hamster-sitting for gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers that are so fragrant and brighten up my day every time I see them.