On Sunday afternoon, the staff and volunteers working in our adoption center witnessed a random act of kindness that has put us all in the holiday spirit.
Week after week, Mary Bell and her 9-year-old son Quinton have visited our Robins-Starr Humane Center because Quinton had asked for a dog for Christmas. Mary estimates they had been visiting each Saturday or Sunday for about eight weeks. Each time, they met nice dogs, but the mother and son kept looking for just the right match. Quinton has never had a dog before, and he wanted a small dog, big enough to play with but not too rough for a young boy.
Mary and Quinton came to the Richmond SPCA on Saturday, Dec. 18 and met Grace, a 4-year-old beagle mix who was just the right size, around 25 lbs. They spent time with her in a visiting room playing with Grace and began to fall in love with her, but after 8 weeks of visits, Mary was not ready to make a decision right away. They went home to think it over and decided Grace was just the dog they’d been looking for, and Quinton decided he would call her “Gracie.” That night they went out to buy supplies – a bed, a crate and all the things a family needs to be prepared for a new pup’s arrival – with the plan to return to the Richmond SPCA when the adoption center opened at noon on Sunday.
But they arrived at the adoption center later than they intended, and someone else was already visiting with Grace. The adoption counselor, Joe Bishop, who helped them the day before recognized Mary and Quinton, and told them that Grace was no longer available, the lady visiting her was making the adoption final. Joe offered to introduce them to other dogs who would make great pets. As Joe walked with the family to meet other dogs in the kennels, they passed the visiting room where Grace’s adoption was in progress.
Joe recalled, “As we were walking toward the back viewing area, her son stopped by the visiting room and looked through the door at Grace to say goodbye.”
The woman who was about to adopt Grace saw Quinton at the window and opened the door to him. Mary said her son told the lady, “I came back to get Gracie.” Quinton had tears in his eyes, and Mary remembers the woman, whose name she did not get, saying, “I see it in his eyes, and I see it in her eyes.”
“She seemed to know they needed to be together,” Quinton’s mom said of the lady who then handed her adoption survey back to the adoption counselor before turning to invite Quinton and Mary into the room.
Joe said it was, “like something out of a Hallmark movie,” as he heard the lady say, “I can't take this dog from a little boy. Just looking at his face, I know this is your dog. Merry Christmas."
“She then gave the little boy a huge hug, gave Mary a huge hug, and everyone was pretty much in tears at this point,” Joe said. “I think we were all a little stunned by what just happened, and it took a moment for it all to sink in.”
Joe continued, “Because her act of kindness meant sacrificing her own happiness with a new animal in order to give a child that happiness, she is a real angel. It made me so happy to see that she would do that for someone she never met,” Joe wanted to return the kindness. He purchased a gift card for the amount of the adoption fee for when she finds her own perfect match.
Quinton and his new best friend were united that day because of a stranger’s kindness. Mary reports that Gracie is already being spoiled and is the perfect dog.
Joe summed up the act of kindness he witnessed, “I don't know who the woman was… but, she made the holiday season complete for Mary and her son, and she made it complete for me.”
Tabitha Frizzell Hanes is the community relations manager for the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our commenting guidelines.
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