Inspiring story of dog’s recovery is just one of many

Published 5:55 pm Friday, November 15, 2019

We can all sit back and think of a few folks in our lives who would confirm the old saying “there are angels among us.”

There are those in our lives — teachers, coaches and mentors at different stages of our lives — who helped shape us, encourage us and inspire us.

This week, The Post published an article about Alexa Jeffers and her work to care for a Great Dane, Riley, who had been shot twice in the head and left for dead. Thanks to a neighbor in Louisiana, a foster family in Vicksburg, friends and a network of supporters, Riley — although still blind in one eye and partially blind in another — will soon be in condition to be adopted and live her life with a family in Arkansas.

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Alexa’s compassion for animals and her passion for their well-being is an inspiration, but she is not alone. There are others cut from the same cloth who care for our four-legged friends in a way that would melt the heart of the most hardened critic.

In the case of the Vicksburg Animal Shelter, Kacie Lindsey practically runs the entire operations, caring for the animals, advocating for their health, marketing their availability for adoption and pushing forward along with city leaders for a new shelter.

As for the Vicksburg Warren Humane Society, Georgia Lynn and her team of dedicated personnel and volunteers, work to create a safe haven for dogs, cats, horses, a donkey named “Donkey,” a few chickens and a pig stuck in his ways named “J.D.”

Through their work, animals are given a chance to be found by a family wanting to adopt them.

And, there are other organizations throughout the area, such as Paws Rescue, who are quite literally “angels among us” in what they do, the services they provide and the care and compassion they give to these animals.

Despite their passion, there are so few resources to support their efforts. Far too often, each of these organizations must send out pleas for funding and scrape up donations just to provide the very basics to these animals. They would love to be in a position to stretch every dollar, if only they had a dollar to stretch.

Alexa’s story made headlines this week here in Vicksburg and around the country, and the work she and others have done to restore Riley back to life is inspiring. It is our hope that this story, and the story of others in Vicksburg, bring attention to the great work they do, the lives they change, and the tremendous service to our community they provide.