Rescue Journal

it would be far easier to do rescue if...

Carol  ·  Sep. 30, 2012

i could just turn off my head.

there is a reality that there are millons of animals who are sick, abused or neglected, become abandoned, homeless, or live in unhappy or horrible situations.

sometimes it just seems so stupid to turn myself into an emotional, physical and mental pretzel while trying to help some of these unfortunate animals adjust to life in a shelter.

why not bite the reality bullet and just accept that apparently their lives are supposed to suck?

i have no idea.

i also wonder sometimes that if every person ever connected to these animals...the breeders, the sometimes multiple previous homes....if they really ever understand the contributing roles they played to these animals oft times difficult lives.

it would be great if they all read the blog and learned of the havoc and chaos they caused. or if maybe they learned that they could have done better so that animal never did end up here.

but i fully suspect if they all read this blog and listened to me bitch, whine and rage about what a pain in the ass some previous animal of theirs is...they would be horrified, thinking i was mean and unkind and unfair and sucked at rescue and they would do so much better...

but the reality is...they didn't.


there was an email that came in yesterday...sent to every email on the website...volunteer, adopt, info@saints...whoever...about unloading another 14 yr old dog. it was such a typical request that stripped down of the "love" "concern" desperation and sappy sentiment, boiled down to 2 basic things...it will make someone happy and fix all of their problems if they can dump their dog here and come and visit her whenever they want.

that may be their perfect world but it sure ain't mine or the dog's.

as a species in general..i don't know what it will take for us to learn to think what human responsibility and accountability for these animals lives actually really does mean.

anway..i guess i will continue to do rescue the hard way trying to fight back against the reality. better if i get myself all tied up into knots with them so i have to figure it out for us both then just let them suffer forever in knots all by themselves.

Comments

Nicole

I gave my two cents to you personally carol! This was the first email plea I have seen, it made me sick to my stomach. It took everything I had to forward it to you to ask you or someone else to respond. I wanted to say so much to this person and none of it nice. The email made me cry. And I know this is only one, and probably a tame one.

Your job sucks. I can only imagine what you and Nicole M see.

shelagh f

putting an animal down is a hard decision. Maybe they
have a bit more life in them, and now is not exactly
the right time, but that doesn't make it the right time
to go to Saints either.

NicoleMcC

Hmm you might not want to read the email I just forwarded you then.