Community Pride

I have written a few times about the community where I live. How it is pretty tight knit. How it is filled with amazing people with incredibly diverse talents, a wealth of knowledge, and good hearts. Today I want to share a story about this.

Recently, there was a very bad story down here. It is about how someone allegedly (don't want to be accused of liable, so I am saying allegedly) beat his dog so badly it was within an hour or less of death. The accused's side of the story is that it's a misunderstanding, how he fell on the dog and didn't realize how badly the dog was injured. My personal feelings aside, this is how the story goes.

The reports said that someone anonymously called in the situation to the police. The police responded very quickly to the scene, arrested the alleged attacker, and called a local veterinarian in the wee hours of the night. The police transported the victim to the vet, who stabilized him. The dog was then transported to an emergency trauma vet in Miami for further treatment.

As of right now, the dog (named Bubba) is expected to survive. He is still receiving care, but expected to be returned to the Florida Keys, fostered, and then will be adopted out to a loving home; someone deserving of the unconditional love and loyalty that companion animals provide.

But it doesn't end there. No, not at all. There's been an outpouring of donations for the care of Bubba. This morning when I read my local newspaper, the front page had a beautiful story about the Boys and Girls Club here having bake sales today, with the money raised going towards the vet bills for Bubba! My heart soared as I read this. The children of the Boys and Girls Club have done charity work before, and will do so again in the future I'm pretty sure of it. But, right now the important thing for me is to get out there and support these children with good hearts, smart minds, and good mentors around them. I'm heading out to the bake sale here on Big Pine Key to drop some money off in their donation can. I'm not interested in any baked goods being vegan and all, but that's not what its about. This is about the community where I live, and am a part of. I'm going out to support the residents of my community, who support the caregivers and all responders who helped Bubba, which in the end supports Bubba himself, who is also a member of my community.

"One Human Family" is the official philosophy of Key West, but really for me it represents the Florida Keys' as a whole. It means that we are not separate, but all connected. I extend this philosophy to animals, nature, and really the Universe as a whole. This includes Bubba, and my community knows this too. The proof is in the outpouring from everyone in my community, from police, to doctors, caregivers, a foster home, children and everyone looking out for Bubba in any way, even including prayers and hope.

I love my Florida Keys community, and am proud to be here. I have to go now... gotta get over to the bake sale and make a contribution.