About

Welcome to my blog. The blog's name is two-fold. First, I received a heart transplant ("second chance") on February 21, 2007 after an 11-year battle with heart disease. Now, I work to help the 123,000+ Americans awaiting life-saving transplants get the same second chance I got. Unfortunately, about 19 of them die each day waiting for a match. The good news is that you can help stop the needless dying by registering as an organ and tissue donor by clicking here. Did you know that one organ and tissue donor can make a HUGE difference? Just one can save as many as 8 lives through organ donation and improve as many as 50 more through tissue donation. 

Second, the "sheepdog" is from an article, On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs, by Lieut. Col. Dave Grossman that was sent to me by a friend. It says there are basically three types of people - sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. 

The sheep are mostly kind, gentle people going about their lives never hurting anyone. They often are unaware of the wolves around them. The wolves prey on the sheep unmercifully. They are thieves, murderers, or other thugs. The sheepdogs, on the other hand, are aware of the threats posed by the wolves and stand ready and alert to confront the wolves and defend the sheep. The article is primarily about self-defense and taking up for yourself, but as I read it I realized it was about so much more and could apply to any number of things. 

Mollies Pack Wolves Baiting a Bison (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For instance, wolves are people that deprive others of opportunities due to disability, chronic illness, socio-economic class, race, age, appearance, etc. They deprive the sheep of life's necessities like food, shelter, clothing, and companionship. Wolves are power hungry, greedy, and don't care who they hurt. Many believe wolves are currently trying to deprive us of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" and the American way of life. These wolves have little or no respect / regard for freedom and the Constitution.

Furthermore, politicians in several states are behaving as wolves in regards to transplant patients (the sheep). Due to the current recession, many states are facing budget cuts and politicians are cutting off Medicaid funding for people needing transplants, but yet those same politicians waste millions of taxpayer dollars on unneeded pet pork projects. These funds could be used to pay for life-saving transplants for our sickest Americans. It's shameful.

So, after reading and thinking about all of the above, it occurred to me that I'm a sheepdog. Hence, the blog's name. 

The blog's purpose is to advocate for organ and tissue donation and freedom. It will inform you about the wolves among us whether they are in politics, finance, healthcare, energy, or national security. I hope it is useful and informative. If you come across something that should be addressed here, please let me know, and please enjoy the blog.