Today’s Friendly Friday post introduces you to a most friendly man, Percy Grant. Percy Grant is the Head Inspector and Shelter Manager of the Bahamas Humane Society. Percy is the living definition of friendly. It never ceases to amaze me with everything Percy deals with on a daily basis, whenever I see him or call him, he is always so friendly. Below is a short interview to get the inside scoop on Percy’s positive approach to life.
BPF: Bahamas Pet Friendly
PG: Percy Grant
BPF: Percy, whenever I see you or speak to you, you always have such positive friendly attitude. How do you maintain this mindset?
PG: I try not to focus on people’s problems but instead finding a solution for what it is me and the person I am interacting with are trying to accomplish at that time. You can read people’s body language and if they are being confrontational or defensive I focus on how I can help and not get into the negative side of whatever is going on in their lives that day. What really helps is to let people vent and then give people a calm word and some advice on how to look at things differently. I also encourage people to do what they do well, whatever that maybe, and it will work out for them.
BPF: You must answer a lot of questions about animals each day. What are the most common three questions that people ask you?
PG:
1 – What does it cost to get my pet shots?
2 – How do I approach my neighbor about the way they mistreatment their dogs?
3 – How can I get other people to understand that animals have feelings?
BPF: Who is the friendliest animal you have ever come in contact?
PG: We had a rescued dog named McCullough. She had been rescued by a client on McCullough corner and came into the BHS. McCullough was adopted out to a person who lived at the end of Carmichael road by the Coral Harbor round about and she came all the way back on her own to the BHS because she was so happy here. She lived out her life at the BHS for over 10 years. She was just the friendliest dog I had ever met, she would come and put her head in your lap for attention and just loved everyone at the shelter.
BPF: Is there a person that stands out in your mind as another outstanding friendly person?
PG: There have been so many its hard to pick. One person that comes to mind is a gentleman named Haley Evans. He came here as a volunteer student. His is now married and when he comes to the BHS with his pets he always comes in to say hello to me. Whenever I see Haley, he is respectful and kind towards the animals. When he came to volunteer as a young man, he was as gentle as anyone could be.
BPF: If there was something you could do to impact the way people feel towards and treat animals in The Bahamas, what would it be?
PG: My dream is to have a huge rally and get everyone in one place to have a heart to heart talk about why people think differently about animals. There is a correlation to being kind to each other and being kind to animals. I would have a campaign as big as the election campaign and go into every community to educate about compassion towards animals and each other.
