On World Kindness Day

by Anne Garretson

When rain gently falls, each little drop forms a circle as it hits the water. Whether it falls on a puddle, a pond, stream or ocean, the circle ripples out. Each one intersects with another and another. One little raindrop lands and suddenly is part of a greater body of water, sustaining itself in a new way.

For me, Miller is that raindrop. JP, Chelsea, Sammy, Pearl, Mary, Shiloh, Benni, Roxy, Lakota, Chester, Coal and all the BluePath puppies to come, all raindrops. I guess that makes us puppy raisers the first circle around each of the drops. Jody, Caroline, Michelle, Kate, Erica, the loads of other volunteers, the board of directors, the donors, each one is another circle surrounding and rippling out from each puppy. Together we sustain the children who are served by each pup.

Or is it the other way around? Each child is the raindrop. Their families encircle them. A new service dog joins their circle and the ripples expand. The aunts and uncles, kids at school, clerks in stores, flight attendants on a trip to Disney, total strangers drawn to a child and a dog, another person drawn to BluePath, another family living with a child on the spectrum seeing that life’s potential truly can be unlocked… each is another circle rippling from a single child.  A greater body is formed, sustaining us all in a new way.

Kindness is synonymous with the gentle BluePath rain. Puppy raisers hear ‘thank you’ a lot, yet we are the grateful ones. The families that receive our pups open a door into their lives and reach out to us. They love the same pup we have loved. They invite us to know them. They let us watch their child grow. They give us the precious gift of inviting us to be part of their journey – of their path.

Every professional and each volunteer gives us their heart and soul. They nurture us in a million ways. They’re proud of the same pups that have made us proud to raise them. They’re in love with the same children we call our most special gift of all. They make it possible for us to see the awesome power of these dogs to make the world a little kinder. Each of us involved with BluePath is a little drop gently forming a great big BluePath sea. We ripple out to one another, we intersect and we become an ocean of kindness, sustaining the world in a new way.