The number 300 carries religious, historical and athletic significance.
“Sheen,” the Hebrew letter, represents 300 quantitatively and also happens to be — per scriptural interpretation — the signature of God. It is also the number of Spartan warriors that held off, for a while anyway, a charging throng of Persians at the razor-thin coastal pass near Thermopylae, Greece, in 480 BC. In bowling, 300 is a perfect game.
This week, Rescue Legacy publishes its 300th blog. Every week since March of 2015, this website has endeavored to bring you the latest news about responsible pet parenting while sharing vignettes reflecting our personal successes and shortcomings in raising our pets.
We may not have achieved the lofty status of the 300s mentioned above, but we are happy to have tapped this numerical bar. It is a testament to experience — and much, much more.
The day I sired my first (and only) private enterprise more than 30 years ago, my Papa Paul told me, “Your success will equal the sum total of your mistakes.” Years of skinned knees and bruised egos later, I added to this equation: “ . . . and the ability to learn from your mistakes and the willingness to change what you’ve been doing.”
This collaborative piece of wisdom has helped me serve the nearly 18,000 patients I’ve seen as a medical speech pathologist. It also helped me heal after the surrender of our first dog, Louie — the single most heartbreaking experience of my life — and consider what I’d do differently the second time around.
But contemplating change is not enough. Both my wife, Susan, and I have screwed up. Royally. Me much more than her. Twice in recent years, I’ve had lapses of attention while walking our Lilly, the Boston terrier, that could have resulted in serious injury to another dog. One episode culminated with a threat against my life. Our latest mistake left Lilly limping but, hopefully, on the mend (more on this next week).
In essence, we keep on learning. And you’re learning right along with us. Rescue Legacy would be nothing without you. We are not pet swamis with instant access to all information. We are not paragons of virtue and harmony with four-legged lives. We learn from you as much as you learn from us. Our connection is a symbiotic one prompting us to lean toward the next chance to do better by our animal companions.
We acknowledge, appreciate and celebrate those of you who follow us and might blow a (small) party favor on our behalf. Three hundred blogs is great. But as any conscientious person knows, sheer numbers are not enough to warrant street cred. There are plenty of pet bloggers and vloggers out there attracting hefty followings while boasting hollow content. Others have fallen from grace. I will not use this platform to boost their exposure by mentioning their names.
Three hundred is a powerful number. But it is not greater than one. The power of enduring change can be harnessed in one being. One action.
While serving as secretary of the American legation in Tsarist Russia in 1863, Henry Bergh witnessed the beating of a horse being forced to bear an impossible load. Three years later Bergh helped found the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Let us each be the power of one.