Grateful...
(thread)

#FeelGoodFriday started early for us. We will go to bed tonight grateful for what we have & that it's enough we could do something for another.

My Mistress took Roxy out for the bedtime pottywalk & when they got back, in between the front doors where

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the door intercom is was a young man. He apologized and said he was just warming up. He wasn't dressed very warm, and had a duffel bag with him. One can only assume it contained the few things he owned. He had a blanket over his shoulders & was warming his hands over the

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heater.

He made no attempt to follow them through the door once they unlocked it.
Before getting my leash my Mistress grabbed an empty plastic bag. She put a few snack packages of Crackers with cheese, a chocolate bar and some rice krispie treats into it. She went through

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the tray with the change in it and came up with enough for a bus fare & a coffee.

Then she got me ready & headed downstairs. The young man was still there standing close to the heater. He looked tired. He stared nervously at me as we approached the door & watched as I

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pushed the button with my nose to open it. I usually open the second one right away but I was told to halt and sit, so I did. I know sometimes my Mistress gets nervous around strangers & doesn't like feeling vulnerable. My size is a big deterrent for many & that helps.

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He commented on how he thought it was impressive I could open the door. My Mistress looked at him & told him that eventually someone would tell him to leave but if he was only between the doors to warm up & not causing any harm, it wouldn't be us. She held out the bag to

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him & told him it wasn't a lot but it will help for now, and she gave him the few dollars & told him it was for the bus & a coffee. He was genuinely surprised & thanked her & said he felt embarrassed to take food but he was hungry and appreciated it.
She told him there's no

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shame in needing a little help, and to try to take care of himself and stay safe. We then proceeded out the building on my pottywalk. On our way back he passed us, blanket wrapped around shoulders, duffle bag carried like a back pack. He thanked us again & said now he could

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take a bus instead of walking all the way to the shelter. We don't know his story or why he has nowhere to live & is out in the cold. It doesn't matter though because he's still a human, somebody's son. Maybe someone's brother. We don't have enough to do a lot for him, but

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we have enough to help him take a bus to somewhere he can sleep indoors & give him something to eat while waiting for that bus. Homelessness is a problem. We are so fortunate to have a good home, but with such a shortage of accessible housing, I wonder what would happen to us
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if for some reason we had to move. It took a LONG time to find this place. We probably wouldn't be homeless but there's a very real possibility that we'd have to live without a bathroom we could access while we were on a waitlist.
While I'm out frolicking in the snow, others
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are trudging through it hoping to find somewhere warm to sleep.
I come home to somewhere warm & comfy where I'm loved. Others only hope there's room on a cot at a shelter. I ate today. More than once. I've never really been hungry. I have a good life. Even without legs, my

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Mistress has a pretty good life. It's not easy, but it's pretty good & with hard work we can make it Pawsome.

I'm really grateful for what I have. And I'm glad we can make one night of cold a bit better for a stranger.
That's a #FeelGoodFriday moment for sure.
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#Yeg #care