Joplin boy helps: Making lemonade out of lemons

Here's an article from USA Today about a wonderful young man.  Now if all men were as kind and generous, this world would be a great place.  Obviously, this young man has an understanding of humankind's place in the greater picture and is willing to stand up and take his own place without hesitation.

Yes, I know the $25 is not much money for this huge cause.  Yes, I know that much more is needed.
But---here's the but----this wonderful child took the trouble to do something proactive!  In my book, this makes him very, very special.

Please read the article and let me know if you feel the same way.  I know I want to do my part to help all those lost and injured in that devastation left behind after the tornado.  This young man makes me see the importance of not putting it off anymore.  I'm off to donate........

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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a young entrepreneur helping out. Luke Greenwood, 11, donated $25 dollars for the pet relief effort in the aftermath of the Joplin, Mo., tornado, says the ASPCA's Emily Schneider.

"He stopped by the Joplin Human Society to donate $25 from running a lemonade stand for 4 days,'' Schneider wrote in an e-mail from Joplin. "It was a cute moment."

She shot another e-mail to say " Luke is a wonderful kid. It was adorable when he explained how he made the lemonade from scratch. He wouldn't give up his secret lemonade recipe!"

The ASPCA has been helping the Joplin Humane Society along with other animal welfare groups. Schneider said they've assisted more than 1,000 animals there and so far have helped reunite more than 400 pets with their owners.

Related articles

• Animal rescue groups help pets in disaster aftermath (sfgate.com)
• Humane Society of Missouri Deploys Disaster Response Team to Joplin, Missouri (yubanet.com)
• After destruction, joy in Joplin as animals reunite with their owners (cnn.com)
• West Seattle weekend scene: Lemonade fundraiser (westseattleblog.com)

Humane responders take on task of socializing 500 dogs from raid

8-week-old Pit Bull puppies Belle, left, and Nellie, are seen in St. Louis. They were born after the July 8 multi-state federal dog fighting raid.

CAPTION

By Dawn Majors, AP

On Sunday, a team of 11 Red Star Animal Emergency Services responders from the American Humane Association will return to a shelter near St. Louis to help care for and socialize some 500 dogs that were rescued in a July dogfighting raid, the biggest in U.S. history, which spanned Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas.This news comes on the heels of guilty pleas from Robert Hackman, Teddy Kiriakidis, Ronald Creach and Michael Morgan entered Monday to conspiracy and other crimes, admitting their roles in breeding, trafficking, fighting and killing pit bulls in a lucrative dogfighting network, the Associated Press reports. A fifth co-defendant, Jack Ruppel, pled guilty Sept. 4.
During the raid, agents also seized "rape stands" used to strap female dogs into place to be bred. One hundred puppies have been born since the raids.
Breeding is crucial to the industry because fighting dogs don't live long, says Tim Rickey, director of the Humane Society of Missouri's anti-cruelty task force.
The Humane Society of Missouri staff "is outstanding," says Red Star Animal Emergency Services program manager Tracy Reis. "This temporary shelter is one of the best run that I've seen. They've been working this shelter since the beginning and are tireless in their efforts to care for these dogs. I'm proud that they've asked us to help."
New video from the Humane Society of Missouri shows dogs chained and caged with ribs showing, lips chewed and legs missing:

"To know that three-legged dogs were forced to fight for their survival is too much," said Rickey.
--By Anne Godlasky, USA TODAY
Article from USA Today