My Nonprofit Reviews

After a long day of work I was looking forward to going home to relax, but as I drove home a deer jumped out of the woods and ran across the road in front of my car. In that one second when I turned to make sure it made it across the road, I saw that it was a dog, not a deer. I immediately pulled off the road, put my flashers on and jumped out—not sure how I was going to get this dog but I had to try! I called him and he stopped and turned very hesitantly and, oh no, a car was coming. I began waving frantically and prayed the other driver would stop and thinking, “please dog don't run—just stay. A man stopped and saw the dog & put his flashers on too. I called the dog again and he came, the closer he came in the lights, the more of him I could see. I saw blood on his face (how was he hurt? was he friendly? what do I do now?) These were the questions running through my mind. I said another prayer and opened my car door—he jumped in and licked my hand as if to say, thanks. Immediately, I turned and went back to work—you see I work at The Briggs Animal Adoption Center (Briggs), a program of The National Humane Education Society (NHES).
When I arrived at Briggs, I then called the director for help. This was many years ago, and it was my first rescue of an injured animal. We took him to the vet room and help was on the way. We offered him some water and food (he was starving.) As he ate, we noticed he was covered in burrs. Gingerly, I began taking them off and again I was rewarded with a lick and a look of sincere thanks. I took off my Bermuda hoodie sweatshirt and laid it on the blanket. He laid his head on it. We got a trash can full of burrs off that boy and when the vet saw him she determined that he had been shot. She performed surgery and removed BB’s. She even removed one from his eye, which thank god he didn't lose. I picked up that sweatshirt off the floor later and as I looked at the blood stains, I cried that this gentle soul who had known nothing but pain and suffering had shown kindness when he was hurt so badly. I was allowed to name this sweet boy and I named him Bermuda Jake (of course you can figure where Bermuda came from and Jake after one of my sweet dogs at home).
This is the type of care and compassion that is given to every animal that comes to our Briggs. We love them all, though I daresay they teach us all so much more about compassion. Bermuda Jake spent a lot of time with me during his recovery in my office and what a great dog he was. You see that is something else we do at Briggs. We bring dogs to our offices to spend time with us while they are waiting on their forever homes. Bermuda Jake’s picture hangs at my desk. I was lucky enough to have placed him in his new home, and every time I look at that picture I am grateful that I work at a place like Briggs and NHES because it gives me—and all of us here—an opportunity to make a difference in an animal’s life, and we make this difference for thousands more through all of NHES’s programs—Humane Education, Briggs, Peace Plantation, and Spay Today.

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