OH GREAT!

Winston Churchill and Rufus

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was a British politician, an officer in the British army, an historian, a writer and an artist. He was also an animal lover.  He shared his life with two poodles, several cats and Charlie, a blue macaw. In true responsible pet parent fashion (he was quite a progressive fellow), Churchill indicated in his will that there "should always be a marmalade cat named Jock in comfortable residence" at Chartwell Manor, where he resided from 1922 to 1965.

Named Greatest Briton of All Times in 2002, thirty-seven years after his passing, Churchill was a visionary and an inspirational leader. "The price of greatness is responsibility", he said in a speech delivered at Harvard on September 6, 1943, while being presented with an honorary degree.

I'm often struck by the applicability of this quote, to the animal rescue movement.  The price of greatness is paid each day by thousands of dedicated volunteers, rescue workers, foster parents, etc...who show up to be "responsible" for the thousands of discarded animals that flow into shelters each day. While they are deserving of the title "GREAT",  these individuals hardly realize it.  For every animal placed in a loving home, there are twenty more still waiting. Each day feels more like a failure than a triumph of a great person.

I've often thought (and Buggy concurs) that there are endless opportunities to be great but often times, being great is only "greatness" when you look back. Being "great" on a day to day basis happens through the act of being responsible and can feel an awful lot like work.

Human beings (Buggy is pointing at you) have a tremendous capacity for greatness. If we could all find it in ourselves to contribute just a little more elbow grease to the positive side of life, the world could become a better place for animals, a little sooner.

Everyone can use a some "greatness" in the bank, for those moments when we look back and ask if our lives had meaning. It's then that we'll see the faces of the ones we saved, the ones we placed, the ones we took home, the ones we loved and the ones who loved us back. It's then that we'll see what was there all along - our very own greatness.

Rebecca & Buggy