It’s been a while since we’ve had the inspiration to write. Something profound was brought to my attention today.
Someone looking for help, received none, and not only blamed the rescues, but rescues in general. So far as to say, “All these dog rescues need to change their names to dog adoption agencies…”
Previous blog posts tell a little about what happens in rescue. And now I’m going to spill the ugly truth.
We are not your savior. We are not your shopping bag. We are not here to take on your baggage. We are not here to clean up every mess that others leave behind. It’s not our job to rescue YOU from a decision you made, or didn’t follow through with.
We are here to help. When we can. When we have the space and finances allow.
We’re here to inspire, recruit, and empower fellow animal lovers like ourselves.
We cannot become anxiety ridden over a world that we cannot control. We lose enough sleep as it is. Please don’t put more upon our shoulders. We’re doing the best we can.
We will help you when there aren’t 4 other dogs that have been dumped in rural areas, left to the elements, emaciated, and literally going to die.
We will help you when the shelter doesn’t have a mile long euthanasia list because they’re lacking space for intake.
So imagine this. I know there is a dog left to die, skin and bones, and I have room for him. But then, you call me, and I commit to the dog that you have safely tucked away in your home. Be it a rescue or a dog you can no longer handle and want to re-home. It doesn’t matter at this point, the dog above, Jasper, needs me more. The dog in your possession is no more deserving, nor critical than Jasper. You chose to take the dog in, and I applaud you for doing so- very few would! YOU just became part of the solution!
But who will be there for Jasper? Can you honestly say, that I am to blame for choosing him over the healthy, happy dog that resides on your couch? Is it still my fault? My burden? Knowing there’s a million more like Jasper out there?
Or will you step up, and see it through? Will you take responsibility for the dog you took in, and not blame the community for not helping you? Will you offer to foster, if a rescue will help? Or will you blame them for not taking the dog out of your possession, and pat yourself on the back for doing a good deed if they do…?
If you want to be apart of the solution, you have to BE apart of it. Dig in, it’s a long ride!
Now let’s get to the reality of it all.
I can count on one hand the amount of rescues who actually have an army behind them, and those that only have a handful of people who loyally contribute. At the end of the day, there will be ONE person behind it all. One person orchestrates the entire show. So that friend you know who works in rescue? That person is relaying all of your information to the leader. Along with a dozen others, who also look to that leader for help.
It’s a lot to put on one person. But that one person, does it daily. And they do it without complaint. There are days that person doesn’t want to get out of bed, they shut their phone off and shut the world out. This world is heavy, and often we find the brunt of it on our shoulders.
It’s emotionally taxing, it’s Hell on our bodies, but our hearts keep bringing us back. Back to what matters. Forget the soap box heroes, the keyboard warriors, the critics and all the rest. We know our truth. And we keep on, while the world forgets.
To get to the root of it all…. You cannot rightfully blame a rescue for not being able to accommodate you. Sure you can call us “adoption agencies” – I’ll gladly take it. Not because we are selective about the dogs that come in, but because we are selective about where they end up. We don’t want these dogs back, and it’s not because we don’t love them. It’s because we want them to succeed. So we screen, we do home checks, we do go-home sessions, we go SO far above and beyond what any municipal shelter would do. We do not want them back, and it’s for the RIGHT reasons.
I’m sorry we couldn’t take in the dog you found, or want to surrender. If you walked a mile in our shoes, you would understand why.
