Ray’s Birthday!

Ray’s birthday has already been noted (from his perspective) in comments against the Nov 20 Post however, for the benefit of us mere humans:

His day started off with his standard morning routines, but things soon changed for him when Carol started baking cookies! These were destined for the Oakville & Milton Humane Society (OMHS), as a treat for the dogs there, but both Ray and I were invited to sample them as soon as they had cooled off. His reaction was an overwhelming approval, mine was rather more restrained. They were a little “bland”, but Ray’s opinion was obviously more valid than mine!

We have always taken Ray to the OMHS on his birthday. This is not only to celebrate his birthday with his friends (human) there, but Carol typically conjures up something in the form of treats for the current residents. The day was therefore typical of his past 2 birthdays. He was spoiled by the staff, but that was expected!

This year was a little different in that the OMHS was being rather creative with a fundraiser. They were selling light bulbs for the imminent Christmas tree. Red bulbs to celebrate a current pet, and white bulbs to memorialize a pet from the past. For me, that meant Ray (Red), and Skeeta, Scooter, Friday, Robinson and Brewster Bun (White x 5)! Carol bought bulbs also for her past dogs.

I also took the opportunity (as I did last year) to make a personal donation to assist with their operations.

While they obviously appreciated our support, the highlight of the day was clearly Ray.

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We saw a show of tears as Ray’s box of cookies was received by the staff. The photo above was on the top of the box with a note commemorating his birthday, and thanking them for all they did for him (and still do for every other animal that comes into their care).

While we excitedly celebrated Ray’s birthday, we also celebrated the OMHS and the incredible work that they do with predominantly volunteer labor; corporate and private donations, and numerous appeals for supplies throughout the year.

Perhaps you could check in with your local shelter and see if you can help them out with some of their current needs?

23 thoughts on “Ray’s Birthday!”

  3. What a wonderful post!! Happy belated birthday to the handsome Ray!! I love what you did to show your appreciation to a wonderful group of people in your local humane society:) A “thank you for all that you do” goes a long way and should be expressed more often. Blessings to you and yours!

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    • Thx Daisy. I love my “old” shelter as well. Thy were very good to me (and still are to so many other dogs) and my Dad says that the fact that they are still interested in me after nearly 3 years, is a testament to their dedication. Woof! Ray. 🙂

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  5. Yay, I think you are brave to go back to the shelter. Don’t you ever worry you will get left there again? Mom said she will think about what we can do for our local shelter. It is supposed to be a no-kill shelter, then it came out that this person’s dog was being held there because he bit someone, and on the day the owner came to get him, someone put the dog to sleep (killed him!) by mistake. That’s when Mom stopped giving, along with a note why.

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    • Many shelters claim “no kill” but it is not technically true. It means that they will do everything possible to make a dog adoptable and into a home however, some dogs are simply too much of a liability and (sadly) have to be euthanized. Ray has some very dear human friends there so he loves to visit them on a regular basis. 🙂

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  7. This is a busy time for shelters. I live north of Philadelphia and one shelter had a plea on the news for people to come forward to adopt or foster large breed dogs. They were overwhelmed. That had to euthanize 22 that day. They panned the shelter kennel and the dogs were beautiful. They weren’t all pitbulls either. They were beautiful dogs of many and mixed breeds. If I had room and less cats, I’d be on my way down there. I love to hear Ray’s happy ending stories. It gives me hope.

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