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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | OCTOBER 2017 By Martha Baumgarten We can find no more moving evidence of the importance of pets to their people than the recent footage of evacuees in Houston and throughout Florida protecting their precious pets. We also note the brave rescuers who put their own well-being on the line to assist with distressed, threatened pets and farm animals. What a demonstration of kindness and compassion and a reflection of the importance we place on our companion animals! Did you know that there is a collection of similarly caring folks in Four Seasons that was recently recognized by our Board of Directors as an official community group? Four Seasons residents have indulged their life-long love for animals by bringing beloved pets with them or by adopting, fostering and/or volunteering with rescues and shelters as part of their retirement activities. Four Seasons volunteers do everything: mucking out stalls at equine facilities, cleaning crates and cages for local rescues, producing professional photography of adoptable pets, nursing puppies and kittens who have been separated from their moms, graphic art design for shelters and rescues, social media administration, fostering (both short and long-term), transporting; working adoption events at the local Petco and elsewhere, and much more — including adopting animals in need! These residents bring an abundance of passion and love to their efforts and are now banding together to be a force for good in our community. As we have grown, so has the need for organized services within our gates. Residents have responded to many situations, including rehoming pets whose futures are suddenly threatened by their owners' dire circumstances such as illness, temporary incapacity, hospital confinement, a need to move into assisted living, or even the passing of a pet parent. More routinely, a pet slips out and we provide assistance locating it. Sometimes, the reverse happens… a lost pet wanders into the path of a caring New Group Tails & Trails Serves Residents & Pets In Times Of Need LOVE WORD is a four-legged Photos by Alex Woodcock, Alexpressions Photography Collage created by Rick Padon Our community also seems particularly attractive to strays and the occasional "dumped" pet. Maybe lost dogs and cats or the people who dump them somehow know about our big hearts! continued on following page