Kindness at the Vet

In tenth grade, I began volunteering at a veterinary hospital that was run by a family friend in order to get experience for what I thought would be my future job. As it turns out; the experience I gained at the hospital taught me the opposite: that my future was not in veterinary medicine. However, there is one particular Saturday morning that taught me something maybe more important.

The hospital was in the middle of one of the poorer sections of the city and we frequently had people come in who could just barely pay for the most basic treatments. On this Saturday a man and his young son, who was probably about 7 years old, walked in with a small cat in a cardboard box. I remember the cat had an eye infection but the man could not afford to pay for the cost of the medicine in addition to the exam and the rabies vaccination. When he asked where the nearest animal shelter was his son cried and started to argue with his father. Out of the blue an older women who was sitting in the waiting room stood up, walked up to the counter, and told the man that she would pay for anything that he could not afford. The man thanked her and the son got to keep a healthy cat.

I had always thought that it was the right thing to do'help out a needy person'but only ever saw people commit random acts of kindness on TV or in movies. The woman in the vet's office taught me that these things do happen in real life, and should happen more often. When I am hesitant to be the first person to help someone whose papers have flown out of his hands or someone who is in need of any sort of help, I remember this woman, and have the courage to step up to the plate. Sometimes other people follow.

Submitted by Anonymous

Teaching By Example