Paying It Forward
Helping the homeless and their pets as a ‘Palm to Paws’ volunteer was a moving, eye-opening experience
For many of us, Christmas is a time of year that brings happiness, joy and special moments of sharing with friends and family. Winter is also commonly seen as a time to bundle up and get outdoors for some fun and exercise. Unfortunately, not everyone gets to celebrate the holidays or enjoy winter in such a way. For the homeless, Christmas can be just another day—another act of survival— and the joys of winter are nonexistent in the face of cold, lack of shelter and hunger. Living on the streets can literally be a struggle between life and death. Some go days without a roof over their head or a proper meal. Unfortunately, it seems that many people just don’t want to hear about the reality of how serious the problem is.
During a cold spell at the beginning of December 2018, there was a story in the news about a dog that froze to death in downtown Montreal. The dog belonged to a homeless person, who could not gain access to a warm space for himself and his loyal companion. When they first heard about it, the story broke the hearts of two Montreal sisters I know, Samantha (Capobianco) Murray and
Sara Capobianco. They decided something had to be done, and so started up a non-profit organization called “Palm to Paws,” raising more than $7,000 in financial support and collecting an amazing array of donated items to help those living on the streets with their pets.
I tagged along on one of their distribution runs of “goodie bags” in downtown Montreal. In
all, there were 12 of us in a small convoy of vehicles that included one truck and one van packed with donated items. Samantha and Sara’s team had prepared two bags for each homeless person: one bag held blankets and personal items, colour-coded for male or female, and the other was for the animal companion, dog or cat as the case may be. They also had made insulated tarps to hand out as needed, and in the back of the truck there were bags labelled for scarves, mitts, gloves, pants, boots, coats and so much more.
Our first stop was the Old Brewery Mission, where we dropped o a lot of the bigger items: dog beds, huge bags of dog and cat food, and pet toys. Our next stop was Gamelin Park (Place Émilie-gamelin), where we began handing out the goodie bags. I remember one gentleman who said he really needed boots. When Sara brought him a pair, this guy’s face lit up, and he exclaimed excitedly, “Oh, my God!” He also received blankets, a tarp and hot coee, and his overall reaction brought tears to my eyes.
Bandit Steals Hearts
With our hearts lightened by that encounter, we continued along the downtown sidewalks, looking for those in need of our help. We came across two gentlemen who were sitting together, and one had a dog. The owner told us the dog’s name was Bandit, because he stole people’s hearts. And believe me, he stole all our hearts that day! A very gentle and loving dog he was. We asked if it was okay to feed him, which was indeed all right with the owner, and so Bandit ate well and drank a lot of water. We spent a lot of time with these two remarkable gentlemen. Near the end of our visit, keeping in mind it was -11ºc outside, the girls asked if it would be okay to equip Bandit with a warming vest and a set of booties. His owner didn’t mind at all, and helped put them on Bandit. As we were getting ready to leave, the man asked, “Would you like to see him walk in his new boots?” We turned around and waited, and sure enough, Bandit started walking with his owner, sporting his new booties! What a beautiful sight—it put a smile on everyone’s face! And once again my eyes misted with tears.
It was a great day. I counted at least 25 homeless people that we helped. And there were others that I spoke to, nice downto-earth people who were just down on their luck.
By the end of the outing, in addition to all the pet-related donations, we had passed out everything we had to oer: scarves, hats, gloves, pants, boots, blankets, tarps, food certificates, hot coee, cigarettes—and lots of hugs, smiles and good wishes!
I really wanted to go on this run with these remarkable young people with hearts of gold, and I am so glad I did. On our return trip, we drove along some of the streets we had covered, and seeing our goodie bags being put to use gave me a warm feeling. What this group, Palm to Paws, did on that day, will forever be in my heart. My thanks go out to Samantha and Sara for allowing me to take part.
Most of all, I learned to appreciate that even just one act of kindness, one kind word or gesture, can change someone’s entire day. Paying it forward is a wonderful thing and should happen all year round, not just during the holidays or under extreme circumstances.
English writer and puritan preacher John Bunyan said it best when he wrote, “You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”