They helped me adopt a positive attitude

There it was, a Mutts comic strip focusing on “Shelter Stories” as it does several times a year. The strips promote adoption of animals from local shelters.  Recently, while reading one of the strips, I said to my husband, “This is telling us it’s time to adopt another cat!”  Lucy had passed away three months earlier.

So we went to the Town of Hempstead animal shelter in Wantagh.  I spotted a young, sad-looking, gray tabby named Cherry. When a staff member put her in my arms and she nestled close to me, we knew she was the one.

It had been years since I had been in this shelter. In 1981, I began rescuing dogs there by taking them out the day they were scheduled to die and bringing them home. I put ads in Newsday, screened potential adopters and found them good homes. It began with a medium, tan terrier mix curled up in his cage.  He responded to my voice, finally stood up, and I coaxed him to approach me. I asked, “Do you want to go for a walk?” So, this animal, who few cared to look at and whose time was almost up, turned out to be one of my best rescues.  Bowie was adopted by a loving family, and I watched him when they needed a dog sitter.  Since then, I’ve rescued and helped get adopted over 100 dogs.  I was always drawn to the trembling, frightened ones.

The League for Animal Protection once asked if I would check on a dog abandoned when his owners moved.  When I arrived, neighbors were outside, and a small, golden Lhasa Apso, not knowing he had been left behind, was aggressively barking at them, defending his master’s property. I introduced myself to the neighbors and asked for a chair and newspaper and to leave me alone with the frightened dog. 

After sitting for over an hour, ignoring the dog, he came out from under a car and lay down next to me.  When the time was right, I got down, talked to him and slowly clipped a leash to his collar.  We walked to my car, I took him home and gave him a much-needed bath.  It didn’t take long to find him a new home.

What drew me to people and animals who just needed someone kind and caring began in 1969 after I gave birth to a severely handicapped son, Allen, who we knew wouldn't live more than a year.  He spent his short life in and out of a hospital, enduring surgeries to correct his defects, and he had a tracheotomy tube inserted.  He required my constant attention.  When he passed, I became depressed.

I found that rescuing dogs and finding them good homes was so rewarding and meaningful that it helped me overcome my depression. I discovered an ability to help others needing loving care.  My empathy for people also helps me relate to animals. 

Once, as a patient at Plainview Hospital, I was reading a book. Across from me was a blind woman who had nothing to do and no visitors. I asked if she would like me to read to her.  She responded with an enthusiastic “yes!”  I did, and we kept each other company for the remainder of our stay. 

We are grateful that cartoonist Patrick McDonnell started Shelter Stories in 1998 and are confident they encourage others to adopt a dog or cat waiting for them in local animal shelters.

Reader Elaine Beckerman lives in Westbury.