Dear Readers,

You might think that two retired people would travel the world, take up bungee jumping or redecorate the house.  No, not us.  Although the first and third do sound good… We adopted Finn Sint Maarten, a puppy who had been brought to New Jersey from the Caribbean island of Sint Maartin (St. Martin) by Dawn, a teacher friend, and her husband, Miguel.

Dawn and her hubby go on vacation on a tropical isle and what do they do–except for sunbathing, eating and drinking?  Sailing? Maybe partying heartily?  They go to the island animal rescue.

I followed Dawn on Facebook this summer and she had photos of puppies.  The next thing I know, she was back in New Jersey with two puppies, two of three who were found in a trash can along with their dead mom outside a movie theater in Sint Maarten.

When Maarten (our Finn Sint Maarten) went up for adoption and his photo went on Facebook, I fell in love with him.  The happy ending to this story is that we adopted Finn last Sunday.

I am failing miserably at trying to be nonchalant about how much I love him.  My husband, Carlos, is gaga about him and he couldn’t even bear to watch Finn get his shots at the vet today.  Aw, the female dog owner has to be the strong one.

We are putting so much love, time and money into this dog.  I almost feel guilty when I think about all the children of the world who will never have the medical care, the special food, the clothing (yes, he has clothing) and the toys that Finn will enjoy. But, I still want Finn.  He’s brought more fun into our lives–watching him run with joy and shake his new doggy toy dinosaur has made us laugh oblivious to the troubles of the world.

But, I will sign up to help a child somewhere in poverty or will do something here in Camden for a child.  I taught school for a long time and I know that there are kids who need a helping hand more than a dog, no matter how cute and lively.

If  you look carefully at the photo, you will see a black spot on the top of his head.  Some people said that it’s an on and off button, but no.  I say that’s where an angel kissed his head when the animal rescue in Sint Maarten found him.

God bless the animal rescue people of the world.

Marguerite Ferra, Finn’s “mommy”     Cramer Hill