Em & I's trip to the Animal Shelter

Last year Emily and I took a series of training classes at the Humane Society of Livingston County so that we could become certified volunteers and be able to walk the dogs and play with the cats. It's a great time for just Em and I to spend time together and talk and meet Em on her own turf.  When we drive, it's normally her playing DJ and we both end up singing Taylor Swift songs at the top of our lungs.  We head out there every few weeks to volunteer.  Saturday was a perfect day to go there on the motorcycle, so we did.

Emily loves riding my motorcycle, probably more than any of the kids.  She loves the speed, especially the expressway where we'll get upwards of 75.  We have a great time riding together, she'll point out different things she sees and tell me what she's thinking when we stop at a light.


We go to the shelter and do anything from walk the dogs, take them out and play with them in fenced in areas, do dishes, laundry and general clean-up.  We normally play with 2-3 dogs and a cat or two over the course of an hour or two's visit.  Em has this amazing affinity with the animals, and this deep love and compassion for them.  She sees each animal, no matter how old, how injured or how ugly - she sees them all as beautiful.  She sees animals the way Jesus saw people.  She sees the intrinsic value in each of them where lots of people can't get past the surface.

When we go get a cat to play with, you can see which cats have been played with by the cages that don't have a colored ring on it any longer.  Those cats are normally the mean ones that no one wants to play with, and what was explained to us was that those are the ones that need it most, in order to be socialized for adoption.  Emily will always pick one of those mean ones, wanting each one to get a chance to be played with and feeling like she's giving that one a chance to make it.  I'm the one who ends up paying the price as I take these cats with all of their claws out of their cages into a carrying case.

We ended the trip with a stop at 7-11 to get some slurpees.  What better way to end a perfect day!