Because of all of the attention we've been giving these poor animals, we almost overlooked the person that made the rescue of three wonderful dogs (and counting!) possible. As many of you know, the work we have accomplished together would not be possible without the selfless, extraordinary acts of . . . well, let's call her "Mother."* It was Mother who, upon realizing Charley was in critically bad health, hauled him in a suitcase to a more prosperous part of town in hopes of finding him a home. She did this, mind you, despite being in poor health herself, with two broken arms, and needing a cane to walk, by hopping on a bus with a suitcase filled with a sick puppy intending to "trade" him for food to feed to the sick dogs she left behind. It was Mother that, for a long time before any of us decided to take action, was feeding these poor dogs even though she is homeless and could not feed herself. And it is Mother that must fear for her safety now that our rescue has been brought to the attention of the residents of her neighborhood (many of whom also possess terribly ill or abused dogs) and the owner of the junkyard. This is, to be clear, an extremely dangerous neighborhood and one that I will not enter alone, so we are taking the threats to Mother's safety very seriously.
Well, you're probably asking yourself: "what can I do to help Mother?" Upon hearing the story that serves as the narrative for everything we are trying to do on this blog, many people are also wondering what Mother was doing hanging around junkyards in the first place. As it turns out, Mother cannot work because of an injury she sustained about a year ago. The injury appears to have been sustained during an incident that sounds a whole lot like a textbook Civil Rights Act case study, coupled with a case of simple negligence. Unfortunately, Paul said that he thinks he might have a conflict of interest if he represented her and that he cannot get involved, and neither Atlanta Legal Aid, nor Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation handle tort claims. We are trying to convince another excellent legal non-profit to handle this, but her case sort of "slips through the cracks" of what they typically handle, and finding representation by the traditional channels poses challenges. In sum, we must secure adequate, effective legal representation, whether through pro bono representation or otherwise, to allow Mother to recover what she has been deprived of. Do you or anyone you know think you might be able to help? If so, please contact me!
It is also clear that Mother is not receiving any disability benefits or food stamps, which would go a long way in helping her. Mother has said that she cannot receive food stamps or other benefits because she has an outstanding fine owing to Cobb County, which was originally $300.00, but has grown over time as a result of non-payment to $550.00. She said she has $105.00 that she can apply towards paying the fine, so I think we may need to just pony up and help her raise the rest. I understand that this requires a leap of faith. I also understand that it is not tax-deductible and that so many of you have already been so generous with contributions for the dogs. The only justification I can give you while imploring you to help her is to point to her unspeakable acts of kindness and selflessness towards these wonderful dogs. I am establishing a separate account on fund.com to help Mother. Anything you can give to help her would be greatly appreciated.
*We will use this pseudonym because Mother's acts, though noble to some, have instilled anger in others, and we now have reason to fear for Mother's safety.
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