Flashback: Sunday, February 23, 2014:
Imagine Home’s website receives a transport request to move a cat and a dog on Monday, February 24, 2014. Wait a minute, that’s the next day! And from Leitchfield, KY to Grundy Center, IA!?
As your Imagine Home Admins scratched our collective heads and looked in bewilderment at our Volunteer Drivers’ Map, we saw the wide open spaces and knew there was no way we could do it in a month, let alone one day. Kelly, our Transport Director, picked up the phone to get to the heart of the tail of the kitty and the dog. Sometimes, Imagine Home gets urgent requests that turn out to be more “I really want kitty in my life as soon as possible.”
That was not the case for Boots the cat and Jojo the dog. Ryan, their owner, had lost track of them when his ex disappeared from his life. Then one day, the ex turned up in Leitchfield, KY (one of those “blink and you miss it when you drive by it” towns), spinning a tale of woe about Ryan being dead and a few other tales not worth repeating. Shortly afterward, the ex disappeared, abandoning Boots and Jojo in the care of a friend. It soon became clear that the ex had no intention of returning for Boots or Jojo any time soon and the friend was in no position to keep them forever, in fact, she had very little food or money left for the animals.
When Ryan discovered that Boots and Jojo were about to be taken to the small town animal shelter, he became frantic. By the time we all got the story straight in our minds, ALL of your Imagine Home Admins dropped what they were doing to try to plan a map and find drivers. Somehow, some way, in a matter of just a few days, we found a driver to pick up Boots and Jojo from the person who had them, created pictures and a map, set up the event, found drivers for the remaining legs and filled the transport! You can believe that behind the scenes, all of us were celebrating.
We had one admin looking at the weather at all times, and then the night before, our worst fears started to come true. A severe snowstorm was predicted for Iowa. Lots of frantic typing, phone calls and private messages ensued. There was no way to call off the transport without putting Boots and Jojo at risk. All of the drivers signed up agreed that they would take the risk.
Saturday, March 1st dawned and the snow was coming as predicted. The forecast for the destination was as follows: “Davenport, IA: Today Snow, mainly after 4pm. High near 19. Wind chill values as low as -5. North wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Tonight Snow. Low around 3. Wind chill values as low as -15. North wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of around 3 inches.”
By the time our kitty and first dog got into Iowa, the snow was blowing something fierce. One of our drivers actually was afraid to leave her house and Crystal, the driver coming north towards her, offered to continue on to Coralville, Iowa. Ryan, shortly after getting Boots and Jojo took the time to call every driver who volunteered that day, and has been attempting to “Pay it Forward” ever since.
Today was going to be that day for Ryan. He was to drive for two kitties also getting a second chance at life; Glaze and Hiccup are due to go to Rustic Hollow in Iowa. Today’s transport, quite poetically, was postponed due to snow. Still, to honor Ryan’s determination, Crystal’s dedication, and the many hearts and hands who helped out, we remember that epic day, March 1st, 2014. It takes a village to move cats, and in this instance also a dog. And that day was a perfect example of that small village moving mountains to reunite love. ~noelle
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