A Higher Purpose

I am on a community email list of animal lovers - where people post questions about vets and trainers, send out notices of lost pets and found pets, etc.  In recent months, several people have posted asking for help and advice for rehoming a pet and I have been surprised and disappointed at the reaction they have received.  These folks have been bashed for wanting to find a new home for an animal, pressured into finding a way to keep their animal, accused of not being loving guardians, etc.

It makes me sad that even though people are animal advocates, they don't fully understand that animals have a higher purpose.  Animals come into our lives to be our teachers - that they have a special purpose to fulfill, to assist us in learning and growing as human beings.  Sometimes their work is done in a short period of time and they can then move on and help someone else.  I can think of countless examples of how a "re-homed" animal made a remarkable difference in the lives of their new family.

I think about all the wonderful animals I have had over the years . . . from my childhood dog, Clancy to my current dog Kino.  If Clancy or Kino's families had been shamed into keeping them, I would have never experienced the joy or the lessons that I received from both of them.  I believe they were both meant to be in my life . . . and even though they didn't start their lives out with me, they left an imprint on me during the time they were with me. (and I have a feeling Kino's imprint is going to be pretty big by the time we reach the end of our journey)

Just a week or so ago, a had a session with a client and her foster dog Spanky.  Originally she was going to keep him but she had come to the difficult decision that she needed to find another home for him - primarily because he was fighting with and hurting her other dog.  She wanted me to explain to Spanky what was going on so he wasn't confused about what was happening.  She wanted him to know he was still very loved and that she wanted to find a home for him where he could be the only dog.

Spanky told me he was OK with finding another home because he knew there was someone else he was supposed to help.  He said while he would always love his foster mom, he also knew he had a purpose to fulfill in another humans life.

Just recently I wrote about a little darling named Corgi who had to be re-homed because of the health issues of a family member . . . and in her new home, she helped give a recently retired man a sense of purpose and a renewed interest in life.  If Corgi's mom hadn't re-homed her, Corgi wouldn't have been able to help that man so much.

I am writing this in the hopes that we can begin to trust that everything happens for a reason.  Maybe we can put our judgement down and have a little more compassion for folks who are forced to re-home a pet.  It is not an easy decision to come to.   Maybe there is a higher purpose at work and where the animal ends up is exactly where they are meant to be.