Do Angels Have Fleas?
Quietly capturing hearts throughout North America, Fleas is bringing hope to the lives of many who find themselves seeking a simple, reliable source of comfort in a world filled with chaos. For others, Fleas provides a unique spiritual clarity and a pathway to inner peace. Join Phil as he shares this beautiful, touching and magical true story of the young stray puppy that forced its way into his life and the usually subtle, sometimes amazing, but always undeniable impact that it has on the lives of Phil, his family, friends and most remarkably, other animals too.
Hi, my name’s Phil and Fleas is my story. Well, it’s mine in the sense that I wrote it. It’s a true story that centers around a stray puppy I came across and efforts my family and I made to be sure it got home safely. While my heart was in the right place, no way I was prepared for the can of worms I’d opened by taking the puppy in.
It all started the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving ‘87. I was headed to a convenience store to buy a newspaper. As I got into my truck, before I could pull the door shut a high energy puppy came bounding up to me.
At first glance I figured the youngster to be about 3 – 4 months old. It wasn’t wearing a collar and I’d not seen it before but, as cute and people friendly as it was, I figured it had to belong to one of our neighbors. Especially being the holidays, I hated to leave it alone and, since I wasn’t going far, I decided to take it with me.
That first Saturday was Nov 28, 1987 and it would be a little over twelve years before a lot of this story started making sense. If there is a moral to the story, it might be that Mother Nature tends to be serious about her plans. Rather than resisting them or trying to second guess her, it’s best if we just go along for the ride and make the best of them. From that very first morning, this is the story of what took place over the next 4,424 days.
Meet the Author
Phil Deveraux
Born and raised in New Orleans, Phil (Photo – 2012) has lived in the Greater N.O. area all his life. In late 2006, just 16 months after the area was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, Phil found himself facing yet another disaster. This new storm came in the form of a severe health diagnosis. By summer of 2007 and with his health continuing to decline, Phil learned that his only chance to survive would depend on his ability to qualify for an organ transplant if…, if he could manage to live long enough to become eligible. After nearly ten long, and often miserable years, on May 22, 2016, Phil got the news he’d prayed for; finally, his name had been added to the transplant waiting list.
It was May 30th, only eight days later that a very grateful Phil got his second chance at life. He and his new organ are now semi-retired and living on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, just north of New Orleans, LA. His free time is divided between directing his own non-profit, domestic animal protection projects and, when called on, as an impassioned speaker advocating the importance of human organ donation and the dire need for organ donors.
When practical, Phil is available to act as an advisor bringing comfort and hope to patients and their loved ones, anxiously awaiting the news that they will get their second chance too! For many, the process can be overwhelming but a fresh hope, a timely new confidence along with an attitude boost can come from simply talking to someone who is himself the recipient of a successful organ transplant.
Phil’s Vision
Hello, my name is Phil Devereaux, thanks for visiting my website. Sometimes people tell me that the real story here is the story behind the story…, huh? Kind of made me scratch my head too, until I looked at the big picture.
You see, I’ve been blessed…, I truly have. I’ve been given such an amazing gift. For you amateur golfers, it’s what amounts to a gargantuan “Mulligan”, the do-over of all do-overs, the gifts of renewed health and reclaimed life-expectancy. Once on the road to recovery, I wanted to do everything I possibly could to pay it forward. I feel like when my time does come, to have not used this “Gift of Time” to do everything I possibly can to leave this rock better off than it was when I got here would border on the criminal.
That’s a mindset, a personal vow or promise I made to myself a few years before I knew for sure that I’d get the organ and life saving surgery I so desperately needed. A part of that promise was sharing “Do Angels Have Fleas?”, an incredible true, and very personal story that took place long before I first became sick. A story originally meant for me and my family but now I want to share it with the world.
Now that I have this amazing “Gift of Time”, here’s my Mulligan or, my do-over plan. For the remainder of my life, I intend to do my best to facilitate the creation of an organization addressing two important nonprofit, humanitarian causes. One focusing on the protection of domestic animals in North America and the second, advocating the importance of human organ donation. Both are tall orders and neither comes cheaply so to get them off the ground, I’ll use proceeds coming from the sale of my book, “Do Angels Have Fleas?”, to get my projects started.
“Using proceeds from the sale of Fleas, I will personally provide 100% of the startup cost and 100% of at least the first year operating expenses for these projects.”
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From those proceeds shall be born, the Angel Flea Foundation, an all new, forward thinking, Domestic Animal Protection Organization (DAPO).
Why? Well for starters, on any given day there are an estimated 70 million stray animals roaming the streets of the US. At present, using all of the resources currently available, we manage to locate and provide healthcare and shelter to fewer than 9% of the homeless critters. The current estimate is that each year, only about 6 million get help. We are the greatest nation in the world…, I know we have many problems that need to be addressed in this country, but surely we can find a way to help more than 9% of the little guys.
From the first day, the Angel Flea Foundation will strive to become a highly effective, model Domestic Animal Protection Organization (DAPO). One that works in conjunction with, federal, state and local government agencies, first responders, municipal animal shelters and other municipal agencies, private companies as well as other nonprofit DAPO’s nationwide.
The second way I intend to use my Mulligan is for as long as my health permits, I will spend my life speaking up and speaking out whenever and wherever people will sit long enough to listen. Speaking as an advocate for desperately needed human organ donors and on a personal campaign to dispel the many myths that often prevent people from signing up to become a donor. I’ll also continue to act as an advisor of sorts. A beacon of light in the form of someone who has walked what can be incredibly dark and often lonely corridors that transplant patients can go through.