A Worthy Cause – Rocks Causing Ripples

Earlier this week we received a small package in the mail.

 

Inside the package were two shiny stones painted with a website address and a cat face design. But, just as they say on those TV commercials advertising fantastic new products, “THAT’S NOT ALL!”

Yes there were two rocks, each about 2” in diameter, but also, included in this non-descript little package there was a whole lot more. Tucked behind the blue tissue wrap I found; a sense of duty, and then when I unfolded the paper some more I discovered feelings of honour, affiliation, education and contribution. All that? Really you say? Really, I do say. And how much did this jam packed package cost? Absolutely nothing!

Keep reading, you know you want to…

These weren’t just shiny rocks, they were the soon-to-be world-reknowned Timmy Stones.

Now you can read all about Timmy Stones on their website, but let me give you the condensed version because really, I think it’s a pretty cool thing that they are doing.

I have to take you back a bit, because I never did quite finish my post on Tiny Timmy, and thus no one got a chance to read it. Timmy is a cat who was adopted into a family who was told that he had a ‘muscular condition’. Fair enough they thought, we can handle this. Very quickly it became apparent, that what Timmy had was something much more serious and really much more horrific once the origins of his ‘condition’ were determined.  It turns out that Timmy was in the midst of having a reaction.

Timmy was suffering from what the vet described as ‘severe toxicosis’. Had he accidently ingested poison? Would they ever be able to determine how this happened? Sadly, it wasn’t a great mystery. The vet simply picked up the name brand flea and tick spray that Timmy’s family had with them (it had been given to them with Timmy when they adopted him, so that his new owners could reapply as necessary), pointed to the ingredients and thus the mystery was no longer a mystery. Timmy wasn’t expected to survive the next 48hrs, it was expected that he would have a massive seizure (he’d been having smaller ones) and die a frightening death.

Yes, Timmy had been poisoned and brought to the brink of death, not by some twisted sick animal-hating person, but by a product specifically marketed to pet owners, animal lovers, people who wanted to rid their pets of fleas.

Thankfully and through the dedication of his new owners, Timmy did survive and ultimately he thrived and inspired. However, sadly, not all pets in this situation survive, many of them do die.

 

As a result of their experience, Timmy and his family embarked on a journey. Their sole purpose is to educate pet owners, law makers, drug companies, pet product manufacturers and basically anyone else who will listen about the dangers of over the counter flea and tick medications.

 

Now back to those two rocks.

 

The Timmy Stone was created to honour Oliver D Cat, who died from exposure to harmful flea & tick products and Tiny Timmy, who continues to live with neurological damage from his exposure.

Timmy Stones are made by the T.O.Y. Army (which stands for Timmy, Oliver and YOU), a dedicated team of volunteers dotted around the globe. Each stone is unique and handmade.

Now here’s what you really want to know, – how does it work?

Check out their website, order your free Timmy Stone(s).

There is no charge for our Timmy Stones, but we ask only that you pass it on. We will send one or two, at your request. You can keep one and place one for someone else to find, thus keeping the message going.

Our mission is that one day Timmy Stones will have been placed all over the world to show support and outreach and in honour of anyone who has a special bond with an animal or has had one that has passed away.

Once placed, locations can be added to our global map so others can find them. When you find a Timmy Stone, you can also log it here on a map, or leave it where you found it for the next person.

Consider Timmy Stones like an interactive global Easter Egg Hunt! Have fun searching for and placing them! Share your Timmy Stone Stories with us so we can share them with the world!

And, what else do you need to know?

Volunteers of the T.O.Y. Army have a few Rules of the Journey. The first is that you do what you can, when you can and how you can. Maybe you don’t have time, but you have connections, a skill or money. Maybe you don’t have money, but you have time or a skill. We know that the key to propelling an idea forward is one of passion. When passion becomes mandatory, you burn out and it’s no longer a passion. When life gets overwhelming, the last thing you need is extra pressure. This concept works very well for us and we have been able to accomplish great things together.

The second Rule of the Journey is that we all have the ability to make a ripple. Maybe that’s talking to someone in the store, or doing a kindness for someone that takes little effort for you, but means a great deal to the other person. By creating ripples of action around you, eventually those ripples gain momentum and become great waves of change. Timmy Stones tag line “because one small stone creates a ripple” reflects that.

We are still deciding where to place our stones, we’ll let you know once we’ve sorted it out and we’ll log it on the Timmy Stones site too.

Now did we get you a bit worried about the flea and tick products that harmed Timmy and Oliver?
To learn more about these harmful products, safer alternatives and what you can do to help, please visit Tiny Timmy’s site .