Dedicated to the ones she loved... A tribute to a friend

"Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them only to find out too late that it's what they bring to the world that really counts." — L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables ADAPTED ( A Stepping Stone Book)

And there are some people who go through life dedicated to a cause...a cause that can only be repaid in heaven.  Joan was one such person. 
The stray, injured, and abandoned animals of this world lost a close friend recently.  We've known Joan for close to forty years and during that time she has saved the lives of so many dogs and cats that we can only enumerate it with the acronym, "TNTC" (too numerous to count).  It was not only the small animals that concerned her, she once found out that several horses we're abused by neglect and she had all four transported (over 200 miles) to the farm where she nursed them back to good health and found them homes.  Then there was the African miniature goat that had one of its horns growing in a reversed curve into the animals skull...surely a slow and painful death would have resulted if Joan had not come to the rescue.  At her own expense she had a veterinarian remove the errant horn.  How she found out about the goat and numerous other cruelty cases has always been a mystery to me but somehow the news would get to her and without hesitation, acted immediately.
Some years ago she observed that the local animal control officer in the town where she lived was not feeding the captured animals properly.  Joan took it upon herself to be there every evening at feeding time, sometimes purchasing the food out of her own pocket.  As a result of her involvement a meeting was held at the town council which ended with the replacement of the animal control officer and a new and modern shelter was constructed. 
I suppose that if I were to sum up in one word the kind of person Joan presented herself to others, it would have to be, "Dedicated"...that's with a capital D!  Its not only the fact that she found homes for so many animals, she should also be remembered that for each animal she bore the vet bills that included all the necessary shots and surgery such as spaying and neutering. ~ Norm... Oh and one last thought...someone once gave Joan a lobster and she was going to put it in the pond at the farm when she was advised that the lobster  would not survive in fresh water.  She could not bring herself to cooking the lobster so off to the bay where the lobster would find another day of freedom.

Going through her effects we found this cartoon that has to be close to fifty years old (yellowed with age) yet Joan saved it for some sentimental and perhaps a more meaningful purpose...she was 57 when she left us.