Debbie Croft: Lending a helping hand to fire victims

Exactly how big does a hand need to be in order to be of help?

Let's ask Reese Radanovich, a pixie little 8-year-old whose spunk and ingenuity make up for her small size.

A couple days after the Telegraph fire started, people were lined up on Reese's street in Mariposa.

"Mom, there's a lady with a dog outside," Reese said while looking out the living room window.

"OK," her mom replied, thinking nothing of it.

Then Reese piped up again, "There's the lady dad knows with a black and white cat."

"Really?" her mom asked.

But when Reese told her a third time that somebody was outside with an animal, Jacque went to the window and looked out. A long line of people streamed from the elementary school all the way up the street. She realized they were some of the hundreds of evacuees, waiting to get into the shelter.

When Jacque explained this, Reese's heart was broken, and she wondered what would happen to all those animals. Her mom responded, "Is there something you would like to do?" Soon they were heading toward the school with a poster in hand.

Do you need a temporary home for your small caged animals?

I would like to help care for your pets free of charge.

Birds, Reptiles, Hamsters, Rabbits, etc.

Call Reese Radanovich at...

While at the shelter, Reese saw an elderly couple with a beautiful green parrot inside a large cage. Reese and her mom talked to them, offering to take "Poncho" to their house until the couple could go back home. At first they declined, but after Reese and her mom went home, they heard a knock at the door. There stood the the parrot's owner. After getting to know Reese and her family better, the lady entrusted Reese with the bird's safe keeping.

Every day, Reese fed the parrot and changed the newspaper in the bottom of his cage.

"I saw a lady with tons of dogs -- big dogs. There were five." Reese explained that she helped take care of the dogs, too, while they stayed next door.

When Reese's brother came into the room, he walked over to stroke the bird. Poncho tilted his head to one side, and Ryland scratched his neck. "He really likes this," he said.

"He says his own name," Reese said, turning toward the cage. "Hello, Poncho." Poncho responded with a quiet "Hello."

"He whistles, talks and sings opera," Jacque said. "He's very funny!"

"I like it when he stretches his wing out, and then you can see the other colors," Reese pointed. Among the green were spots of red, yellow, blue, white and black. The parrot's feathers were indeed beautiful.

Back at the shelter, the Red Cross personnel were so impressed with Reese's beneficence, they made her an "unofficial official Red Cross member,", and gave her a pin. "Don't ever lose that heart of concern for others," she was told.

Debbie Croft writes about life in the foothill communities. She can be reached at composed@cwo.com.