The Dogs of Bulgaria

84. Here in America we love our dogs, cats and all our other animals. They make our lives happier and more meaningful. Our culture has a strong bond with pets. How many times have you heard "I like dogs more than people". I know I've said that on many occasions. Sometimes, when one of our special pets pass away, it's seems to hurt more than when somebody close to us does. Maybe it's because of the unconditional love they gives us. Maybe it's because they have such short lives compared to us. Whatever it is, it hurts and it hurts bad. It's not like that in all countries. Bulgaria is one of those countries. I was watching a show last week on Animal Planet called “The Bond” and that's what inspired me to write this column today. And if you watch this show, (which I highly recommend) and you don't cry multiple times, you might want to consider seeing a doctor.

85. The purpose of this entry today is about consequences. In blog # 1, I speak about power (see point 67). Your actions can affect things you never thought of. And some of those things can have dire and serious consequences on others, even dogs in Bulgaria.

86. This story starts in 2018. I was going through my Yahoo news feed and there was a story about a dog rescue. There is always a lot of dog stories on their news feed and I pretty much read them all. After reading the story I checked out their Facebook page. I really enjoyed the stories, the pictures and the way they were written. It’s a story about a young woman called Desi,her husband and young son who have dedicated their lives to saving the lives of dogs and cats in great distress.

You can check out their Facebook page at Спаси ме/Save me | Plovdiv | Facebook

87. I was so taken by their story, that I started making small donations. Within a couple of years I became one of their largest donors. Now, because of what the Mayor and company have done, my donations now are very limited. 

88. I rarely posted on their Facebook page. Desi and I communicated mostly on Facebook messenger. I would say that about 95% of the people I know will be surprised about my involvement with this rescue. I never told them. My wife and kids and a few other friends knew, but not in any great detail. It's not because I meant to keep it a secret or anything like that. I just think for me, I would feel uncomfortable going around saying “Hey, I donate a lot of money to a dog rescue”.

I guess I just felt more at ease keeping this part of my life somewhat private. 

Below, are pictures of the messages between Desi and myself over the last five years. They speak for themselves and it explains my disappointment and anxiety

over this turn of events.