The Adventures of Captain
Jack—Explorator™
Word of the month—Gratitude
The
state of giving or expressing thanks. Being thankful or appreciative of someone
or something.
Quote of the Month
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not;
remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
Recap from Episode
8: Howie suddenly coughed up some water and
started to whine. His eyes looked white and wild. Stephanie, Robert, Penelope,
Allen, Hero, Captain Jack, Sarah, and Amber didn’t know what he was going to do
next. He lay there for the longest time and finally started to wag his tail,
and then he started to pant and smile. If you have never seen a dog smile, you’re
missing a treat. Howie was showing them that he was fine and actually looked
very thankful, although he didn’t try to get up. But they thought he was going
to be fine. All of a sudden, a pelican dropped a fish by his side. None of them were sure what to do next, so they
just sat really still by the dog’s side… .
Episode
9—September 2018
They all thought Howie might get up and try to eat the
fish. Boy, were they ever wrong! Out of the blue, a white-and-gray cat came
streaking by and grabbed the fish. Howie saw that, jumped onto his three legs,
and started to chase the cat. They had barely recovered from being terribly worried
about him and his near-drowning experience. And now here he was running as fast
as he could, chasing the cat.
They had more to fear as the cat ran right out into
the traffic, and they thought Howie was going to chase the cat out into that
traffic. But when the dog saw a big yellow bus approaching, he stopped dead in
his tracks, and that gave them enough time to catch up to him. They put a leash
on him and breathed a huge collective sigh of relief that he was safe and sound
once again. Boy, this dog had used up almost nine lives in the short time he
had been around. Losing his leg, almost drowning, chasing a cat into traffic.
They never knew what would happen next with Howie. They all said a huge thank you to his guardian angel for
keeping him safe. Howie gave that silly grin again, and they all sat by the
side of the road laughing and giving another huge sigh of thanks and relief. It
seemed to them that as long as they had their health and people to care about them,
they had everything they needed and much to be thankful for.
Captain Jack’s life so far had not been that bad. Sure,
the puppy lost his home and original family in a horrible natural catastrophe,
but he gained so much more. He gained a new family, friends, and a safe place
to live. He got a meal every day, got out to be exercised, visited with friends,
and traveled to fun places. What more could he ask of life? Every day was a new
adventure living with his family. They always seemed to have something fun to
do and always welcomed people and animals into their lives. They were very warm
and caring people. They didn’t worry about anything and seemed to always find a
positive solution for any situation that came along. If more people could be
this way, dogs and cats would have much better lives.
Captain Jack’s new family knew the importance of
responsible pet ownership and taking their pets to the veterinarian once a year
to make sure they were healthy. They also spayed and neutered their pets to
help decrease the animal population, hoping that someday there will be no more
homeless pets. They also knew the importance of taking their dogs to an
obedience class so they could learn better manners. They also volunteered at
the local animal shelter once a week. There they walked dogs and took them on
overnight sleepovers to help them get out of the shelter setting.
Captain Jack was very thankful that he didn’t have to
go to an animal shelter. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to have survived
that type of life. It was pretty scary for dogs that lived there with hundreds
of other dogs, some of which were not very nice. There was barking all the time,
and there were many scared and stressed dogs. Sometimes a nice dog came into
the shelter, but within a month of living in those conditions, that dog became
stressed too. Then that dog developed antisocial behaviors that made it hard to
adopt.
Captain Jack was very happy to live with a family that
had such a balanced view of life and looked for ways to help others. They knew
they had much to be thankful for and showed their gratitude in a multitude of ways, such as taking donations to the animal
shelter like blankets, pet food, treats, pet shampoo, clothes detergent, and
bleach. Shelters always have needs for these consumable things, and their
staffs are always very thankful for people who bring donations in to help them
care for the animals.
The last time Captain Jack’s family took a donation to
the shelter, the puppy went on the road trip with them and saw all the shelter
animals. He heard them say there are millions of animals across the country that
are in need of homes. Captain Jack was very, very thankful for his new family
and friends that day and each and every day.
Look
for what happens next in the tenth exciting blog episode about Captain
Jack—Explorator™ in October 2018.
Humane
Education Follow-up Activity:
Create a gratitude journal. For the month of September,
each day list three things that you are thankful for in your life.
Story
Discussion Tips:
1) What
types of things are you thankful for in your life? Can you describe them?
2) What
are some ways you can show your gratitude? Can you tell about a time or times
when you showed your gratitude?
3) How
did Howie express his gratitude for having been saved from nearly drowning?
4) How
did everyone express their gratitude that Howie didn’t follow the cat with the
fish out into the traffic?
©2017
Heddie Wittlin-Leger
Our
Nonprofit of the Month
MidAmerica Rottweiler Rescue (MARR)
MidAmerica
Rottweiler Rescue (MARR) was founded in March 1999. This rescue organization
was formed because we saw a need for a rescue network in Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. While some
of these states have strong and successful rescue groups, there are gaps in
area coverage and some states have no rescues at all. MARR is supported solely
through charitable donations and the fundraising efforts of its members and is
a nonprofit corporation, recognized as a public charity with federal nonprofit
501(c)(3) status. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent
allowable by the federal income tax code. We are always looking for Rottweiler
enthusiasts of all experience levels who are interested in the breed and a
desire to help. There is something for everyone to do!
