Spotlight on Kindness

School shootings, dead children, Russia probes, Neanderthal legislation, lack of common sense legislation. It’s too much. I don’t want to think any more about murdered children. Let’s go positive.

We have a Boston Terrier with epilepsy. Mimi has a severe seizure disorder. She is medicated four times a day, taking a total of fifteen or so pills daily. Her bouts of seizures, which are severe, cycle every three to five weeks, with five to ten seizures wracking her brain and her body over two to four days. We love Mimi and we have adjusted to her disorder.

Mimi is a rescue dog. Two families with small children were overwhelmed by the disorder. We were Mimi’s last hope.  Mimi is the sweetest, most affectionate dog you can imagine. She sweetly gazes into our eyes, sleeps on our laps, wags her tail constantly, doesn’t mind cuddling and is our grandchild substitute. We couldn’t love her more. We feel more protective of her because of her special needs.

Mimi is black with a white belly, and a whites vertical stripe between her eyes. At night, when she goes into the back yard, she disappears into the night.  One night, a couple of months ago, during the frigid weather we suffered through, Mimi wanted to go outside after dark into our fenced yard to do her business. After several minutes, she failed to fling herself on the back door, her way of knocking.

We went out to find her and she was gone. Unbeknownst to us, our fence in the back corner of the yard behind the trees had a hole in it, and Mimi must have gone through the hole and disappeared. It was around 10:00 pm, pitch black, and freezing. Little 20 pound Mimi would not survive the elements for a whole night. We were devastated and searched the neighborhood. I drove the streets around our house and found nothing. She has a tag with the vet’s number and is chipped, but our concern was more immediate. She could not survive the night outside. The night was frigid.

My husband took his car out again and, miraculously, he found Mimi. Mimi was on a neighbor boy’s leash being walked by him down the street, hoping Mimi’s owner would see her. Mimi had gone through the fence and ended up in his yard on a busy street. This boy was probably a teen. He explained to my husband that when Mimi appeared in his yard, he brought her inside to warm her. After she warmed up, he took a leash from one of his pets and walked Mimi outside.

I do not know that I would have the presence of mind to bring a strange dog in from the cold. I am so grateful to this boy who took action, which saved our Mimi. The boy did the kind, caring thing and affirmed my faith in the goodness of people. Most people are kind and caring. We must remember that in times like these.