Dream a Little Dream

I sometimes like to wonder what I would do if I had unlimited money. I have wild visions of traveling the world first class and expensive clothes but realize that those things, while fun, are not what I really want. If money was completely a non-issue I know exactly what I would do, after I traveled the world of course. I don’t want to die without seeing some of the places I dream about although as the years pass that is probably what will happen.

There is a no-kill animal sanctuary in Arizona called Best Friends. It is on many acres and takes in all kinds of animals and offers them safety, healthcare and training as well as the chance to be adopted to loving forever families. No animal is turned away and if no one adopts them they will live out their lives on the property until they cross the Rainbow Bridge. If you have never heard of them check it out. http://www.bestfriends.org/home.aspx 

My dream would be to open a place like this and even take it a step further. I want to buy substantial acreage south of the border, maybe Brazil or Costa Rica. There I would build a sanctuary much like the one in Arizona but it would also be a school for impoverished young people. All of the animals would need veterinary care and many extremely poor children in these countries have limited access to education and job prospects. My sanctuary would offer scholarships to teach them to become world class veterinarians and vet techs for no monetary cost to them or their families. They would have to live on-site in dorms like a college and attend classes and help with the care and feeding of the animals and the grounds. At the end of their training, I would ask only that they stay and work for 1 year as payment and then they are free to take their skills anywhere they choose. For me, it would be extremely important that my students would be sought after the world over. So not only would my animals get the best of care, those who leave my facility will have the sky be the limit for them. My sanctuary would also be green, completely off the grid and self-sustaining with its own gardens and orchards. I would also like to have cabins where people could stay and vacation and maybe take home a new family member. It would be a peaceful, warm, and serene place and hopefully a mecca for local artists and craftspeople to sell their wares. There is so much good that could be done with a place like that. It would be a little piece of heaven and if I ever hit it big I wouldn't let anything stop me from making it a reality.