Happy Mother's Day to All You Beautiful Volunteers

by Maggie Van Ostrand

My old dog, Cejas, once wrote a column for Coastal Canine Magazine in California. He composed it while I, for obvious reasons, did the typing.

I can't write a tribute to Mother's Day any more heartfelt or true than the one Cejas wrote some years back.

It was true then and it is true now. Rescue Moms are the beautiful angels who find us, in sometimes dangerous, sometimes just plain awful, conditions but who get us out of there, fix our wounds (mental and physical), guard us from further harm, Foster us till our Forever Moms and Dads show up to give them loving homes for always.

Here is how he put it:

Cejas

I Am a Dog:
Thank You Rescue Mothers

by Cejas Van Ostrand

I don't know how old I am. I can't remember my birth mom either. Who cares? Those bad days of hunger, loss of dignity, and being host to a million fleas, ticks, and mange, are long gone.

The good days began when I was rescued from the mean streets of La Colonia El Monte Bonita, a nowhere place that makes a pile of rocks look like a good meal. There's nothing to eat and sometimes no water. Kicking yes, petting no.

A lady took me across the border back to San Diego where she lived and, after three months of loving care, I was blessed to find a life so fantastic that in the South, they call it "living in high cotton."

From the thousands of dogs, cats, and other rescued critters, we thank you for saving us, giving us love and pets and car rides and long walks and soft beds, and finding us loving families to give all our love and devotion to. And there's plenty of it.

We love you. Happy Mother's Day.