Every volunteer is an amazing special
gift to CARA. Fellow volunteers and the animals appreciate
every moment spent fundraising, walking dogs, and playing with
kitties. While each volunteer has endured his or her own share
of struggles, we would like to take a moment and share a
little about a volunteer who continues to inspire and amaze
us.
~Robert and Robert
Jr~
Roberts
story....
In the fall of 2006 a
man stopped at CARA and said the infamous words "I found a
dog" that volunteers at any animal rescue hear all too often. Out of
his car hopped a beautiful female adult boxer mix the
man had named Daisy. We explained we were (as per the
usual) at capacity and could not take in the sweet
dog, but offered suggestions of other rescues. The man
introduced himself as Robert Leffer and said he wanted to do all he could
for this dog, as he and his wife were animal lovers.
He told us about his dog Charlie, and how he wished
he could have more than one dog - and if he could
he would keep Daisy. It was arranged that he would foster Daisy
and she would become a CARA dog.
Robert was
so happy and said he would do anything he could for
CARA from that moment. Even after we learned
Daisy was heartworm positive, he still offered money to CARA for
her care as well as continuing to foster her until we
were able to have her heart worms
treated.
Robert
held fast to his promise
to help CARA. He attended cleaning trainings for volunteers
and would stop by the shelter after long days of
work when he knew we were short handed and needed help
making sure the critters were taken care of. When he
and his wife learned she was expecting we all saw the pride
and excitement in his face, yet he still would go out of his way
to help any animal he encountered who needed assistance.
Many kittens were brought into CARA by Robert that he
would find at different work sites. Some were healthy,
some were not, but his kind heart refused to leave a
defenseless animal alone.
In
January 2009, Robert was driving his semi on I-40 when
he was involved in an accident that nearly took his life. Burned
severely over 80% of his body, his survival has been nothing
short of a miracle. Initially given only 48 hours to
live, nearly a year later Robert is a walking
miracle.
Please visit the links on
this page to learn more about the accident and Robert
himself. You can also visit a Facebook support page.
If you are interested in
helping Robert and his family, The Robert and Amalia
Leffer Recovery Assistance Fund has been set up
at Wachovia Bank.
Roberts recovery will be long and
difficult, but he is here today because
of his strong heart, faith in God, and his loving
friends and family. We look forward to the day when
Robert will be back at the shelter helping the animals, and we
know it will be soon!
CARA supporters,
animal lovers, and all those who just love to
hear about wonderful inspiring stories, please sign this
online card, wishing Robert, his wife Amalia, and his 2
year old son Robert Jr a Merry Christmas.
Contact 