It has been said that everyone has a story. This is the story of an animal lover.
Ernie loved every creature God placed on this earth.

Throughout his life, he always had a dog—too many to name.
At his workplace, he became known as the caregiver of a colony of cats who made their home in a vacant warehouse. Every day, Ernie could be seen taking food and fresh water to them. At one time, there were as many as 30 cats. Eventually, they were all neutered, and over the many years, the warehouse became empty.
Aside from the cats, he fed the crows, the birds, and any other animal that crossed his path. He would crumble up bread and put the crumbs in aluminum pie pans, then watch the crows eat from his window.
Even the mice that tried to find a home in his office got food. He would not allow them to be killed. Instead, he would catch them and take them outside—whereupon they probably laughed all the way back in before he even made it back to his desk!
At home, he fed the birds, foxes, squirrels, hungry cats and dogs. Possums ate the cat food as well. He eve caught any fly that found its way into the house with the hand vac and released them outside!
One of the more memorable stories happened when Ernie was taking care of someone's dog while they were traveling. The dog caught a squirrel, and Ernie tried to take the squirrel away from the dog. Both the dog and the squirrel went their merry way, while Ernie ended up taking a series of rabies shots from the squirrel bite!
He never saw a turtle in the road that he did not stop for. He would pick it up, carry it to the side of the road toward which it was heading, and make sure it was safely out of harm's way.
He spent many hours riding around with his dogs and even bought an old car that became the dog taxi. Lipton and Tetley enjoyed many hours riding along with him. On one occasion, while they were parked in a service station parking lot, Ernie came out of the store to find a policeman waiting for him. The officer asked if the dogs had drivers licenses. Both dogs dutifully sat on the front seat—one behind the wheel—waiting for their treat.
Every drive-through was familiar with the sight of Ernie and his beloved dogs, and they always seemed to have a dog treat ready when Ernie and his canine passengers arrived.
The world lost a champion for animals when Ernie left us, but I cannot help but think that a multitude of animals were waiting to greet him at the Rainbow Bridge. Because of his love of animals, his wife, Gladys made a generous donation in her husband’s memory. What a wonderful way to continue his legacy.