It was late. I was bundled up under blankets with my one year old daughter unsuccessfully trying to nurse her to sleep while simultaneously cruising through the Facebook page for our brand new animal rescue. My head was a buzz with the seemingly endless list of tasks that needed to be accomplished. Excitement, thrill, and nervousness all percolating inside of me in a way that I can only describe as child like. When we are young, everything seems possible. Motives are simplistically pure….you help because it’s the right thing to do. You give because that is what God (or the universe) wants for us. Everything is black and white in a way that is refreshing…inspiring….freeing. As I sat there, petting my dogs and shushing my daughter, a PM popped up on my iPad. The message spoke of a little girl named Avonlea who was with the Angels now…..How she loved animals and would have been excited at the news of a new local rescue. They wanted to give in her name.
My breath caught in my throat as I felt the familiar empathy that one parent feels for another in moments such as these, and I squeezed my own daughter close. When I became a parent I was prepared for sleepless nights and tiny new born cries….what I wasn’t prepared for, was the indescribable love that takes over everything….love that turned me…a notoriously tough and logic driven adult into a terrified mom who seems to FEEL everything. The total transformation of a persons heart. That is really what it is to be a parent. And in that moment my heart was breaking for the Wilmer’s.
In the hours that followed, I googled, researched, and absorbed all that I could about the life of this tiny little person who loved to give, share, and help unselfishly. I learned about her contagious smile…her sympathetic nature towards the needy and downtrodden….her pure spirit that seemed to overflow with everything that is good in this world. At only 11 years of age, God took her home, leaving those that knew her–forever missing the light that she emanated. A light that will never be really extinguished… because a person like Avonlea changes the world and everyone in it.
We want to help Avonlea’s light keep on shining. After speaking with her family, it is my absolute pleasure to announce that our special needs fund will be named in her honor. That “Avonlea’s Angels” will go on for years and years to save the lives of countless animals. As funds allow, Central Virginia Regional Rescue will take in dogs and cats that are sick or wounded, and donations given for those special needs cases will give be their second chance at life and love. Their stories will be posted here.
If you wish to donate for Avonlea’s Angels, checks can be mailed to PO box 2172, Forest VA, 24551. You can also donate to us through paypal. Be sure to include on the check that the donation is for this special fund. The donations will earmarked ONLY for Avonlea’s Angels. We welcome any messages you would like to share and will post them here as well as forward to the family.
Most sincerely,
Laura D. Linn and all the volunteers at CVRR
