{"id":148,"date":"2008-11-04T05:39:21","date_gmt":"2008-11-04T12:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/8statekate.aucado.us\/wordpress\/?p=148"},"modified":"2008-11-04T19:27:15","modified_gmt":"2008-11-05T02:27:15","slug":"all-that-we-can-be-saving-ratchet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/?p=148","title":{"rendered":"All That We Can Be: Saving Ratchet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well behaved women seldom make history.–<\/span><\/em>Laurel Thatcher Ulrich<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ratchet the dog from Iraq recently arrived in Minnesota. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve probably heard of Ratchet and former Sgt Gwen Beberg, who rescued him from a burning pile of trash and didn’t give up on him. Beberg, now\u00c2\u00a0demoted to\u00c2\u00a0Specialist rank, stood by Ratchet until she\u00c2\u00a0was able\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0ensure his safety and send him home to Minnesota.\u00c2\u00a0If not for Beberg, Ratchet would likely be long dead by now.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have something in common\u00c2\u00a0with Beberg–a\u00c2\u00a0dog that\u00c2\u00a0I couldn’t leave behind.\u00c2\u00a0After Hurricane Katrina, I fought red tape to bring an old lost cattle dog \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d home to foster. I fought the bureaucracy and red tape\u00c2\u00a0of the HSUS, not the military, but I hit a very real wall. Like Ratchet, there were no guarantees for Kate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0well-being if\u00c2\u00a0I didn’t take action. Like Beberg I took a stand and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look back. You might think I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have as much to lose, but giving up on Kate would have been unbearable.<\/span><\/p>\n

I doubt that Beberg\u00c2\u00a0was looking for publicity. Like me, she was probably surprised when she first\u00c2\u00a0encountered\u00c2\u00a0the dog, who sparked a simple awareness that grew into a powerful bond and commitment.\u00c2\u00a0Then the situation\u00c2\u00a0became\u00c2\u00a0a “problem” to be overcome. Knowing that a dog needs you and may not have another chance without you makes it tough to walk away, no matter the obstacles. A dog will be eternally grateful for whatever you do. Your efforts won’t be wasted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some people question spending thousands of dollars on a dog. But it’s not just about the dog. It’s about love and hope and caring about other creatures, caring about someone besides ourselves. It’s about\u00c2\u00a0being all that we can be, if we dare. It’s about being humane, if we can claim that, in the middle of a disaster or a war. For all the suffering and destruction around us, we see a ray of hope in making life better, at least for that one, even if it’s “only a dog”. In saving the dog, we’re really saving ourselves, or at least that part of ourselves that we call human. And maybe we create hope for another.<\/span><\/p>\n

I understand that the military has rules and isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t set up to be an animal shelter. Beberg has been demoted from Sergeant to Specialist. But she is a leader, perhaps not by plan or choice or title, but by action. In the real world,\u00c2\u00a0her courage and commitment\u00c2\u00a0are rare and priceless. I’m elated to see that love can find a way, even in a war zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specialist Beberg, thank you for your service. Thank you for saving Ratchet.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well behaved women seldom make history.–Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Ratchet the dog from Iraq recently arrived in Minnesota. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve probably heard of Ratchet and former Sgt Gwen Beberg, who rescued him from a burning pile of trash and didn’t give up on him. Beberg, now\u00c2\u00a0demoted to\u00c2\u00a0Specialist rank, stood by Ratchet until she\u00c2\u00a0was able\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0ensure his safety and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.8statekate.net\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}