Its never the turbulence

I love going to the feed store in Middleton. Its a pretty drive from my dooryard to Charlie's parking lot. Its the best place around here to buy birdseed, rawhides and of course all things for the garden. Its full of unexpected treasures ..... from rubber boots to organic fertilizers to fencing hardware and beyond.
Its long on substance and short on style .... an old fashioned warehouse with wooden floors where customers get the same great service whether they are filling the back of a three ton or buying a little bag of fencing staples.
Yesterday, on my way to the feed store, I saw Groucho and his mom on main street. Groucho who? Go to my friend Janice's blog, the The Splorin Wolfies , to read the Very Happy Tail of his journey from the Yarmouth SPCA to the great life he has now.
He was prancing along as if he owned the world ... and it was just a joy to see him living such a good life. Since Groucho was adopted , his human "aunt" has adopted a lovely dog (from CAPS) .... which just reinforces my belief that in the domino theory of pet adoption. Every adopted pet is an ambassador who has the potential to awaken family, friends, neighbours and coworkers to the special joys and satisfactions of pet adoption.
So what happens when these newly awakened people are moved by compassion to check out the NS Petfinder listings? Tonight there are 65 dogs listed. Does that give anyone outside the animal rescue community a true sense of the scope of the homeless pet problem? Of course not.
Nor does it offer potential first time adopters any real sense of the wide variety of wonderful pets that are actually available ( and before the keyboards catch on fire, yes I do realize that some groups ARE listing all their adoptables.)
Years ago, when I was first posted to the cooking school, it was a big change to have to remember that my students didn't have the experience that I did. If I wanted them to become good cooks .. I had to remember to explain all the things that had become as natural as breathing to me.
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, Petfinder is a valuable tool because it is becoming a household word. People who never visit the animal rescue sites have seen their favouritie characters on TV shows like NCIS discussing Petfinder. Business people anywhere would give both their arms for a free advertising service regularly visited by their target market, eh?
What time is it? Its time to remember how important these potential first time adopters are .. the ones who have never heard of preapproved adoptions ... the ones who don't want to travel to the shelter or rescue without some assurance that their next best friend will be available there. We need them to get to No Kill Nova Scotia.
The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic. Peter Drucker