Partners and Paws Summer 2022

A message from Cabell

Loren Eisley wrote the famous story, The Star Thrower, in which a man is walking on the beach and sees a young boy dancing down the shore. As he gets closer, he sees that the boy is not dancing at all, but reaching down to the sand, picking something up and very gently tossing it into the ocean. When he gets closer, he asks the boy, “What are you doing?” The boy replies, “I am throwing starfish in the ocean. The sun is up and the tide is going out, so if I don’t throw them in, they will die.” The man looks around and sees that there are thousands of starfish. He asks the boy, “Can you see all these starfish? You can’t possibly make a difference!” The boy simply reaches down, picks up another starfish, and tosses it lightly into the waves. He looks up at the man and smiles, saying, “I made a difference for that one.” I love this story. It seems to me that Saint Francis Service Dogs is the boy on the beach. We work hard to raise and train excellent service dogs and place them lovingly with the people that need them. We are able to make a profound and lasting difference in people’s lives. On the flip side, there are so many people that need our help. Just as the beach in the story is full of starfish that need saving, there are many people with disabilities that need a Saint Francis Service Dog.

No matter how many we help, there are many more that need us. The pressure to do more and do it more quickly, more efficiently, is relentless. The demand can wear us down and lead to a sense of futility, because no matter how much we do, there is more that needs doing. Sometimes, I wonder about that boy on the beach. Did he ever get tired? Did he ever feel a little overwhelmed? Did he ever get lost in how many starfish needed him? If he did, then I hope he had people like those at Saint Francis Service Dogs. We have donors who give joyfully, volunteers that pitch in enthusiastically, co-workers that keep their focus on what is important no matter what, and dogs that lift us up with their loving, happy spirits. I am deeply grateful. I hope the boy was surrounded by encouragement, so he could carry on changing the world - one starfish at a time. Because that is what we are going to do with your loyal support – we are going to change the world too - one dog, one person, one family, one community at a time.

“We are able to make a profound and lasting difference in people’s lives.”

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