Rescue Journal

knee jerk reactions and responses in rescue can be a total nightmare.

Carol  ·  Sep. 29, 2008

any kind of rescue can turn into any kind of utter disaster in the blink of an eye. it is not about just grabbing animals and whisking them off to safety...

whew, rescue fairy tale complete....good job!

there are the logistics...where are the animals to go, is there appropriate and reasonably responsible and educated and COMMITTED care for them? are the resources and supports in place to do the job well? what are the LEGALITIES and CONSEQUENCES of what you are about to get into cuz if you are going to end up in court or in jail, banished to rescue outer space or consigned to the proverbial crazy rescuer funny farm, it ain't going to be fun.

are you prepared with plan A, B, and then C when all the previous plans just went down the toilet without any warning?

did you just make something really unbelievably complicated and convoluted instead of just drawing a straight line?
and did you actually think it through ALL of the way before you jumped out of the pot and into the fire...cuz if you didn't not only are you toast but so is whoever you were trying to rescue and that just sucks.

i cannot stress enough that in the highly emotional and passionate and white knight to the rescue world of rescue...stopping and thinking and seeking advice and delving deeper than you thought to delve, and planning carefully whatever it is that you are looking to accomplish...needs a bit of time to work out. knee jerk reactions have a bad habit of backfiring and causing more hurt.

that is my well-learned advice to anyone who is interested in being a hero today.

Comments

Carol

carl is back with his sheep unsupervised during the day but continues to be separated at night...this is not only due to space issues now that there are four but also for safety cuz the sheep can get away from him in a field but not in a stall. he is not bugging elizabeth anymore but she is also not giving him any opportunities or excuses.

Audrey

I believe that only certain people are cut out to be in the absolute midst of rescue (ie. the day-to-day nitty gritty stuff). It's one thing to be a volunteer, but quite another to be at the helm. I admire you, Carol. It's not easy financially, emotionally or any way at all. Thank you for what you do!!
Haven't heard how Carl is doing with the new sheep? Is he behaving himself now?