The Adventures of Captain
Jack—Explorator™
November 2018—Episode 11
Word
of the month—Dedication
Hard work and an unremitting
devotion to the things you want to see happen.
Quote
of the Month
“We all have dreams. But
in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of
determination, self-discipline, and effort.”
―Jesse Owens
Recap from Episode 10: The ambulance was driven by Captain Jack’s dad. He and
his partner got out and had a special face mask for dogs. They were giving CPR
to the old dog and had the oxygen mask on him. It turned out they were prepared
for any problem, whether the individual having it was a human or an animal.
Captain Jack breathed a sigh of relief. They looked over at Captain Jack with
worry and relief on their faces all at the same time. Due to Captain Jack’s
backpack at the scene and his barking at the neighbor’s home, they realized
that Captain Jack had given the gift of his time to get help for the old guy. They
had given the old dog the gift of life through their actions. As Captain Jack
watched them carefully lift the dog onto a gurney, he realized that no act of
kindness—no matter how small—was wasted. Each positive action to help another
living thing has a ripple effect that makes life better in an exponential
amount yet to be measured.
Episode 11—November 2018
In Captain
Jack’s heart, he knew he needed to find out if his mother and family had
survived the storm. He remembered the horrible storm, the cardboard box, and lots
of water. He also remembered being scared, but he couldn’t remember much more. Even
though he had a great life and wonderful friends and family, it haunted him day
and night that he didn’t know what happened to his canine family. It wasn’t
that he lost sleep or anything like that. But still it was on his mind a
lot.
Captain
Jack realized there was nothing he could do about the past, but he was dedicated to finding out the answers to his
questions in the future. He knew he needed to form a plan and see if he could
convince at least Penelope and Allen to be advocates for him to convince their
parents that a trip to find his long lost family could be in their future. Having
such an idea is one thing, but being dedicated
to seeing it through to reality is quite a different thing. Captain Jack
realized it would take a good bit of work and an investment of time. His plan
could even involve some money, which of course Captain Jack didn’t have. That
meant the puppy would definitely need the support of his friends and
family.
Here was
his initial plan. He wanted you to read it and let him know what you think. First
he’ll come up with an idea to raise some money to help cover some of the costs.
He will have to convince Penelope and Allen to help him do that. Then they will
need to decide on the best time of year to plan for travel when they won’t run
into horrible weather that could cause problems. Next they’ll need to look at a
map and plan a route to travel. Finally they’ll make the trip to find Captain
Jack’s canine mother and family. They will need to stay dedicated to the plan in order to succeed, but these four steps
will make all the difference. It always helped to have a plan.
Captain
Jack really didn’t know where to start. But one thing he remembered was that
one day before the storm, he noticed a flag flying on a pole. The flag had a
white background with a crimson cross of St. Andrew that crossed the flag
diagonally from corner to corner.
The
puppy heard someone say one time that the official state gemstone was a Star
Blue Quartz, but he didn’t know what that was.
His former
owner used to go hunting for wild turkey and said that the Eastern Wild Turkey
was a sought-after prize to hunt. Since Captain Jack didn’t like guns, he never
went hunting with her.
Captain
Jack never understood what this fact meant, but he learned before the storm
that the official state mascot and butterfly
was the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
It made
the puppy feel good that some of these memories were coming back. Maybe his
memories would help him find where he came from. He didn’t remember the weather
ever getting cold where he lived before the storm, but then he was a very young
pup. He might not have remembered if it had been cold there.
Look for what happens next in the 12th exciting blog episode
about Captain Jack—Explorator™ in December 2018. The upcoming December episode
will recap all the episodes from 2018.
Humane Education Point:
Each person or pet may process the loss of a home, a family,
or a human or pet family member in very different ways. The processes of grief
and loss take time. Grief and loss can cause some to forget certain memories,
which may return later.
Humane Education Follow-up Activities:
From the clues given in
the story, can you guess which state Captain Jack was trying to identify
because it was where he lived before the big storm? Write down your guess or
guesses.
Go to your local public
library. Ask the librarian to help you find lists of state gemstones, mascots,
and butterflies. Also ask for help to find pictures of state flags. See if you
can figure out the state that Captain Jack has identified with the help of all his
returning memories.
You may want to ask an
adult to search for each of the hints from the story in a web search. See if
you two can discover the state that Captain Jack has identified through his
memories.
Compare the state you
identified with your written guesses. Did you guess correctly?
Read a poem about the
Rainbow Bridge. Write your feelings about the death of a loved one or of a
loved pet. If you feel comfortable doing so, share your feelings with someone
you trust. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your feelings, think about ways
you can share your feelings with others. Then make a dedicated effort to help someone who has lost a loved one or a
loved pet.
The Association for Pet
Loss and Bereavement is “a nonprofit association of concerned volunteers who
are experienced and knowledgeable in the tender subject of pet death.” Their
website is aplb.org and can provide you with some helpful information and
ideas.
The Pet Loss Support Page
is on the web at pet-loss.net. It can provide tips for coping with pet loss,
support groups, counselors, hot lines, handouts, and more.
Story Discussion Tips:
1) Do
you know anyone who is an orphan, whether it be a two- or four-footed friend or
family member?
2) What
are some ways you can be a friend to that orphaned person or pet?
3) Have
you ever lost anyone you loved whether this was a two-footed, four-footed,
furry, or feathered friend or family member? What is one good thing you
remember about this person or pet?
4) How
did you feel after your loss? Did your feelings change over time? What memories
help you feel better about your loss?
5) People
suffer losses every day. It’s how each person deals with each loss and the
support he or she receives that can help to make the difference. Dealing with
grief and loss takes time. What kinds of support did you receive after your
loss? How did that support help you deal with your grief and loss?
©2017
Heddie Wittlin-Leger
Our Nonprofit of the Month
SAFPAW
“SAFPAW continues our groundbreaking spay/neuter work. Since
our founding in 1998, we have fixed and vaccinated more than 10,000 dogs and
cats in Davidson County, Tennessee, and that number continues to grow. Since
2001 we have focused solely on pets belonging to folks who are homeless or housed
but live at or below the poverty level.
Our Mission
“The Southern Alliance for People and Animal Welfare [SAFPAW]
is a non-profit organization serving Davidson County, Tennessee, by improving
the quality of life for people and pets in need.
SAFPAW provides pet food, supplies, and veterinary care
free of charge to pet owners who are homeless or living at or below the poverty
level. Through our weekly Spay/Neuter Transport, animals are spayed or
neutered, fully vaccinated, dewormed, and treated for fleas & ticks. And
they get their nails trimmed.
“Our Homeless Outreach Program provides food, temporary
shelter, and other basic needs to the friends we serve. We also assist those
looking to secure more permanent housing by helping with transportation,
acquiring necessary IDs [such as a Social Security card, state ID or driver’s
license, birth certificate, etc.], helping them through the application
process—and everything in-between—including move-in day!
“And through our new transitional post-recovery house for
women, we are able to bring a few of our most vulnerable neighbors indoors and
help 160 homeless pets find permanent indoor homes each year through our pet
foster program.
“SAFPAW is able to make a tremendous positive impact in
the lives of people and pets, but only with the help of our generous and
compassionate community. Swing by our Facebook page and ‘Like’ us to stay up-to-date
on all of the amazing work we do every day. Don’t forget to make a donation so
that we can all continue to build a stronger and healthier community.”
What We Believe
When our efforts result in an animal being fixed and
fully vetted, that pet sees benefits. What about the intangible rewards you may
not see? The important work we do extends far beyond that dog or cat. Our
entire community benefits in the following ways:
•Reduced dog/cat impounding at local animal shelters and
animal control facilities.
•Reduced dog/cat euthanasia at local animal shelters and
animal control facilities.
•Reduction in the number of stray dogs/cats throughout
Davidson and surrounding counties.
•Reduced costs for providing animal control services in
the areas we serve.
•Healthier pets, especially in the areas of poverty that
we serve.
•Reduced threat of rabies to humans and pets.
•Fewer dog bites and attacks.
“SAFPAW is a most wonderful organization and Laurie, the
founder, is one of the most kind and compassionate people you could ever meet.
After all, someone who cares enough to help make a difference in the life of a
person or animals has to be an amazing person—and she is!”
—Ms. Perian Walker
What We Achieve in
a Typical Year
•3120 hours of street outreach to homeless pets and their
owners
•250 emergency camping supplies distributed to save lives
•8320 pounds of kibble delivered to hungry pets
•Over 20,000 miles of transport to and from local
services
•600 spays and neuters
•200 essential vaccinations
•And we help 160 homeless pets find a permanent indoor
home through our foster program at our new transitional post-recovery house for
women—Perian’s Place
