Remember Me Thursday

 As we're sure most of you already know, today is Remember Me Thursday. The Remember Me Thursday website has explained this day with one poignant sentence: "Remember Me Thursday is a global awareness campaign uniting individuals and pet adoption organizations around the world as an unstoppable, integrated voice for orphan pets to live in forever homes, not die waiting for them." Just like most of you, around here we are huge proponents of adopting cats, dogs, and other companion animals from shelters and rescues. That's why our post today is indeed centered around this significant topic.

We decided to find a way to incorporate our usual Thursday blog hop participation into our Remember Me Thursday post. We'll start with a poem for Remember Me Thursday. This poem of course coincides with the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, hosted by Angel Sammy.

The photo prompt our poetic host shared for this week is this fierce one here:

In order to go in line with Remember Me Thursday, I aimed to incorporate the significance of animal adoption into my poem. I even more so wanted to shine a bit of light on the adoption of special needs, or specially abled, animals. So, here is my poem for this Remember Me Thursday:

Pirate

Halloween was coming soon.
That was one reason young Johnny wore his pirate costume.
He also thought the costume made his glaring difference look cool.
He even wore it when he volunteered at the animal shelter after school.

Johnny walked into the shelter as a pirate on that day.
He wouldn't have had it any other way.
The pirate's peg leg hid the fact that his own leg wasn't there.
Try as he might, about the stares and murmurs Johnny really did care.

Johnny enjoyed volunteering at the animal shelter.
There were a great many reasons why he chose to be a shelter helper.
First and foremost, cats and dogs did not judge.
They had nothing to offer but unconditional love.

"Hello, Johnny!" the shelter managed greeted as he walked through the door.
She added, "I have someone I want you to meet on the second floor."
The woman led the boy up the stairs.
He greeted every creature he passed by as they made their way there.

"Here we are," the shelter manager said as she pointed to a large cage.
Johnny peered inside and, with wide eyes, felt immediately engaged.
Around the cage pranced a big cat of orange.
When it saw Johnny, it waltzed right up to the door.

The cat not only had but just one single eye,
But it was also missing a leg, and that's no lie.
"He's just like me!" Johnny proclaimed.
"Well," the boy added, "we're at least almost the same."

Johnny glanced at the sign on the cage door.
He could not help but let out a giddy laugh a bit like a snort.
The name listed on the cage sign was none other than Pirate.
As the boy smiled and laughed, Pirate the cat let out a meow that was far from silent.

Then something moved in the back of the cage.
Behind Pirate the cat sat a little dog who did shake.
"Who's that?" Johnny asked, pointing to the dog.
The shelter manager answered, "That's a shy pup named Frog.
He's quite attached to his friend Pirate here.
Poor Frog is only calm when Pirate is near."

Young Johnny visited with Pirate and Frog for quite some time.
He talked to them and played with them while Pirate proved he was not one bit shy.
Johnny even sat with them long enough that Frog began to come out of his shell.
The dog even came up to Johnny and accepted being held.

When it came time for Johnny to be on his way,
He wanted nothing more than to stay.
He did not want to leave Pirate and Frog behind.
As he left, he felt tears threatening to come to his eyes.

When Johnny arrived home, his mother asked if he had fun at the shelter.
Unable to hold it in, all about Pirate and Frog he did tell her
"It sounds like you're quite fond of the two furry friends," his mother said.
He smiled and continued talking about them as he nodded his head.
"Pirate is just like me, but he's also so brave," Johnny replied.
"And Frog is a sweet little guy, once he no longer feels shy."

The next day, Johnny returned to the animal shelter once more,
Where he ran to play with Pirate and Frog on the second floor.
He he was beyond happy to again visit with the cat and dog.
Equally happy to see him were Pirate and Frog.

"Are these the famous Pirate and Frog?" his mother's voice said.
Approaching, she added, "I'd like to meet your two new friends."
Johnny was half surprised to see his mother there,
But he was so excited to introduce Pirate and Frog that he didn't care.

Pirate walked right up to Johnny's mother, just like that.
She smiled as she petted the friendly cat.
She sat on the floor beside Johnny,
Until even shy Frog approached her, wagging and yawning.

Johnny continued playing with Pirate and Frog, even after his mother ventured off.
He did not leave their side until the time ticked and tocked past 5 o'clock.
With a sigh, Johnny told Pirate and Frog that he had to go,
Of course promising them he would see them tomorrow, that was so.

The shelter manager walked up and said, "Pirate and Frog won't be here tomorrow."
"What? Why? Were they adopted?" he asked with sorrow.
The woman said, "Pirate and Frog are going home with you.
Your mother just made it official for these two."

Johnny could not believe it at first.
Then his mother appeared, tucking the adoption papers in her purse.
"Well, now, shall we get you boys home?" she said with a shrug.
Johnny gave his mother the biggest, grandest hug.

It was not until they arrived home that Johnny had a revelation.
Other children were walking up and down the street with candy buckets and elation.
In his excitement he had nearly forgotten that it was Halloween night itself.
Excited yet uncertain, Johnny felt a bit beside himself.

Already dressed in his pirate costume, Johnny felt an urge to go out in search of treats.
But, he didn't want to leave Pirate and Frog home while he ventured the streets.
As if realizing what was going on in Johnny's mind,
Pirate ran to the door and meowed, asking to go along in kind.
Frog even joined in and picked up Johnny's candy bucket in his mouth.
It would seem that, if he was left behind, the dog would pout.

With the help of his mom, soon both the cat and dog were also pirates.
Their excitement was elevated to the absolute highest.
Pirate the cat owned the name, but now they all looked the part.
When they happily headed out together, they certainly looked quite smart.
Their night was full of treats,
And the fun they had could not be beat.

Johnny believed that Halloween was the best day of his life.
Before he met Pirate and Frog, his loneliness was overwhelming and rife.
Now he had the two best friends a boy could ask for,
And there was nothing in life he would ever need more.

***

Let's give some thanks for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Needless to say, I am beyond grateful for every single kitty, pup, and other furry, feathered, and finned friend who has entered my life. They have all shaped who I am today, and I am beyond thankful for everything they've brought to my life.

My girl Thimble is one of my precious rescue furbabies. She is a sweetheart, she is a cuddle bug, and she makes my life so happy and bright.

We purr, woof, and pray that all animals in shelters will get the chance to brighten their forever family's life. Every single animal deserves this and so much more.

***

We also have for you the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. Ellen of 15andmeowing crafted up the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. My _________ is too _________.

2. I am willing to give up _________ for _________.

3. One random fact about me is _________.

4. _________ makes me unique.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Did you know?

Did you know that the average cost per day of basic pet care is only an approximate $3? That's less than luxuries like fancy drinks from coffee shops.

Did you know that roughly 25% of shelter dogs are purebred? Breeders are not the only source of purebred animals, because both purebreds and amazing mixed breeds can be found at shelters.

Did you know that a vast majority of shelter animals are already spayed or neutered and up-to-date on certain vaccinations prior to adoption? That means you'll pay the adoption fee and thereafter won't need to schedule or pay the typical cost of a spay or neuter or certain vaccinations.

Did you know that animals can make our lives happier and healthier? Science has proven this on multiple occasions.

Some of the above facts are ones you animal lovers out there certainly already know, and some are ones we've already shared in the past. Now we need to spread the word. Shelter animals have so much to gift us. They are special and filled with love. Let's get them out of shelters and into homes.