Play Misty for me

I've written here before about Journey's End Animal Sanctuary, an animal shelter in DeLand that provides long-term care for all manner of animals who have been let down by their humans. My parents and sister and I chose not to exchange gifts this Christmas and to donate the money instead to Journey's End. Mom and Dad took their donation along with Jenny's the weekend before Christmas, but that's when Annabelle and I were back in Kentucky. Today is our last day in Florida, so we made a quick visit this afternoon to drop off our donation.

We saw only a few of the many animals who live at the shelter, but we got to give out plenty of ear scratches. One cat, Misty, took a particular liking to Mike. Each time he tried to stop petting her, she reached out and grabbed at his hand with her paw. Mom got choked up, and I thought it was because of all the sad stories. She told me though when we got home that it was Misty's sad story in particular and her reaction to Mike that got her: Misty's former owner was a young man who was murdered several years ago. There was nobody to take in Misty or her co-cat Buster, so they went to live at the shelter. Mike took this picture of Misty with his cell phone:



I'm thankful that there are people like Mrs. Thuot out there who do so much for helpless animals!