I unfortunately read an online article recently that elaborated on what your pets would do if you passed away in your home without human companionship. Assuming you were not checked upon timely by family or friends, the article announced that within 12-24 hours of having run out of kibbles, your cat would eat your face. Makes me side-eye Pootie and Penelope a bit more often I can assure you, not to mention reinforcing the practice of filling their dishes before I say my prayers and drift off to sleep. For dog lovers, as we are as well, it seems your loyal canine is willing to wait a number of days forlornly staring at the unretrieved Chewy box on the porch before tucking in the proverbial napkin. Surprisingly that doesn’t make me love Leala and Zoey that much more than the cats.
Undaunted, I will heroically ignore the risks and continue to welcome the purrs and diligently apply the petting, although I must confess that just a tiny tinge of doubt now accompanies the face licks… Concurrently, I will continue to support a local shelter, pet food banks, and the wonderful folks at Kitty City here in Lenexa who foster out dozens of previously unhomed cats and then gather on weekends for truly warmingly successful adoption events. Twas there we were a bit reluctantly chosen by Penelope who has morphed from teacup sized kitten into the feline equivalent of Jabba the Hutt. She’ll be the first to feast no doubt, and likely while I’m still somewhat warm. But her wonderful purrs and frequent commentary have in my mind earned that privilege a thousand times over. I do hope however that I’m found, even looking like one of the Walking Dead, before the dogs have to resort to my overly abundant flesh. Based on the looks I get when there is the infrequent accident, I would spare them the guilt if I could.
Where the heck was I going with this… Oh yeah, the NAILBA Charitable Foundation. Please disregard any recency bias regarding the previous paragraphs! Absent the unlikely event of a shipwreck and months on a raft, neither I nor my fellow board members have any predisposition to cannibalism to the best of my knowledge. We collectively just want to pick your pocket for a great cause! Although not many pet-related charities make the cut, the NAILBA Charitable Foundation does great work benefitting literally thousands of underprivileged humans every year. It’s a great way to give back for all this industry has given you whether you are NAILBA affiliated or not.
The mission of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation is to encourage volunteerism among NAILBA members and provide grant funds to worthy charitable organizations that serve to enhance the quality of life for those less fortunate, with a special emphasis on children. Since 2002, the NAILBA Foundation has raised and contributed more than $3.5 million to more than 245 deserving charities and community organizations nationwide. At the 2022 NAILBA annual convention, Foundation Board President Jim Sorebo announced that $180,000 in grants were awarded with 39 charities receiving at least a four figure contribution. Last year’s Felton Grant, named after the founder of the NAILBA Charitable Foundation, Col. William J. Felton, and the Foundation’s largest grant each year, gave $20,000 to The Formation Project of North Charleston, SC, providing housing and shelter support for survivors of human trafficking.
And this year the Foundation has made it easier than ever to make a contribution. Simply scan the QR Code, click on the link that shows up, and you’ll be directed straight to the donation page.
In my experience folks in the life insurance industry are among the country’s most caring and generous. Perhaps it’s because you deeply feel the calling to insure families against the need for services like those helped by the NAILBA Charitable Foundation (and countless other organizations), and, attendant, you’ve seen too often and too clearly the result of failing to properly plan for families you know you could have helped. Your efforts in this profession alone qualify as charitable giving in my mind and yet you almost certainly still give philanthropically as well. I would ask you to consider the NAILBA Charitable Foundation even as just a small addition to your charitable giving program. It’s your industry proving yet again that we consistently rise above the selfishness and heartlessness that those in the political and legal ivory towers would have their audiences believe of us.
Hope and I contribute to humanitarian causes as well as animal ones, though we do feel particularly pulled by the pet ones. Blame Sarah McLachlan.
Regardless, I sincerely hope that any pets you leave behind at your passing are transferred to an equally or even more loving home…regardless of whether they’ve eaten your face or not.[SPH]
