Hello, Steemians!

Today I want to share something with you that is a little bit different than what I usually share.

Trailways To Heaven is an amazing animal rescue shelter in Benton, Pennsylvania. They mainly focus on rescuing Pit Bulls, but also rescue all sorts of other animals including cats, horses, chickens, ducks, cows, and even a few buffalos! If there are people that should be considered angels because of the good they do, these people are the very definition of that. And I'm not religious.

They are so selfless that, just like most good people in this society, go without a lot so that they can help the furbabies.

Their whole family contributes and helps to operate the shelter. The mom of that family is the one who has ran the shelter and really is the heart and soul of it. Sadly, she has passed away this past week from pancreatic cancer.

This whole situation is heartbreaking, and really has been making me emotional over the past few days. I never knew these people on a personal level, I just adopted my doggies from them. However, over the past couple years I have built up a relationship with them (the mom and the daughters) on Facebook by sharing and supporting their Facebook page.

As I said, they didn't have very much before this happened. I really am not saying this to talk down to them, as this is the position a LOT of people are trying to do good things are in right now. It's unfortunate, and it shouldn't be this way. It really demonstrates one of the bigger issues we have in society right now.

Now they are faced with paying for her funeral and trying to keep the shelter afloat with all of their animals. I believe the older daughter is trying to take the shelter over, and run it, though I am not positive. They aren't aware I am making this post, because I don't really know what this post will generate, or if it will do any good. But I feel like I should do something, because these people deserve SO MUCH more than the situation they are in right now.

The younger daughter is selling her artwork for $5 and $10 a piece to help pay for her mom's funeral.

No, I'm not joking.

I realize everyone has their own situations right now. I realize EVERYONE, every grocery store checkout and fast food restaurant are asking for money (do we really even know where those donations go?). Everyone has their own situation, their own struggle they are going through. I realize that. And no one's struggles should be overlooked or talked down to. But if there is a point where we unify to help people who have given everything to help other living beings, have the basics to survive, this is one of those points.

You can view their Facebook page here.
You can view their website here. Note: I don't think they have recently kept up on their website as much as they have on their Facebook page.

We got our dogs from there, and they pulled them from a kill shelter in Ohio. Our dogs were on the list to be euthanized on Christmas Eve. So, on Christmas Eve, the mother drove all the way to Ohio to rescue them.

Both of our dogs are Pit Bulls. They are also "trunk dogs". This means they were bred to be small so that they could fight in the trunk of a car in case the police showed up. Again, no I'm not joking. Our boy was found abandoned, tied to a park bench in Ohio. Our girl was previously owned by a drug dealer who chopped her ears off with scissors. They are both the biggest babies ever, as anyone who has owned this breed can probably attest to.

And yes, she cared enough to make a road trip on Christmas Eve to save them.

You can probably also imagine what they have been through because they focus on rescuing this breed. They have been in and out of court battles over the past few years with a neighbor who does not fancy the breed.

My whole point here is, these people need some help!!!

You can help by donating to their fundraiser. The kids started this fundraiser 2 days before their mother passed away. So far they have raised $555 of their $10,000 goal.

You can also help by buying some of the younger daughter's artwork. You can see the style of it in the picture below. I have cropped out her name for privacy reasons, because I didn't ask them for permission to do this. If you want to buy her art, comment below and I will message her.

Also, if this post generates enough money, I will try to figure out withdrawing the amount to donate it to them. I am not quite sure of the logistics of that just yet, because I am new to steemit and have not yet withdrawn any funds from my account. If this post does generate a good amount of money, I will figure out showing proof of me doing this!

If you can't help in any other way, and this at all touches you, please upvote and resteem this! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me. I have been trying to think of ways to help them, and this is the solution I have come up with. I would love to be able to help them through their tough time, by helping to support their shelter.

This means a lot!

I've seen some of the amazing things steemit has done for people, and I'm hoping this can be one of them!

Thank you for listening Steemians!

For more feel free to check out my website!

Also, I am working on launching my own web design business. As a student building my portfolio I can give you a really great deal on a website. If you or anyone you know needs a website feel free to contact me! Will accept payments in STEEM :)

Until next time,

~Zoey