sometimes i could just choke from the things i don't say and sometimes they back up so tight as i keep pushing them down that they just explode out into the air.
so look out...open throat.
let me tell you something about rescue..everybody thinks they can do it..and some are dumb enough to try.
would it even occur to you to set yourself up as a doctor and start treating people with life threatening diseases while knowing sweet bugger all?
would you dare to hang up a shingle and starting charging folks for legal advice?
would you actually tell someone you can totally re-build their computer when you can't do more than send an email?
but anyone can do rescue...even if they are totally clueless. if they love animals and are willing to try..poof... brand new rescue.
all it takes is a heart moving website, a few good photo's and some pretty good stories and before you know it a rescue is born...
and then?
well it depends..either they learn the hard way, take their bumps, pay minimal attention to what went right but big time attention to what went wrong and work towards doing it well. or.... they continue to live in retard rescue la la land and keep screwing up.
we all started as stupid neophytes..every freaking last one of us...the thing is... did stupid get smarter and better? or did stupid stay put?
so here are some questions for new or wanna-be rescuers who are still wearing their rose colored glasses...
what exactly are you going to do with that sweet, innocent dog you took in who you now discover bites kids and kills cats?
are you going to keep him and manage him yourself for the rest of his life?
are you going to nuke him? and if you do..is he just going to disappear while you hope no one notices because you are supposedly no kill?
are you going to re-home him with someone and hope that things go better than they did with you? will you try to dump him on another rescue so he is not your problem anymore?
if you are pretty rescue active and very proud that you have personally placed 54 dogs in a year..what exactly are you going to do when suddenly 12 (that maybe were not placed so great)... need to come back..all at the very same time?
do you have the money or the good credit to actually pay for their medical bills or are you going to be looking for cheap and maybe not so great vets to give you screaming rescue deals?
do you actually even know the difference between a good and not so great vet? or do you think all vets are created equal so the cheaper the better.
do you think that because you do rescue, you are entitled to certain things?...like instant respect...instant service, freebies or cheapies, angel halo's and wings? and do you think because you do rescue, you can yell or sneer at people, spy on people, lie about people, bully people, spread gossip and dissention among the rescue community?
and how far does your sense of responsibility to each animal and to rescue as a whole actually go?..just to convenient..just to easy?..just as far as you feel like going?...or does it go All the way..til you are judge and jury on pretty much everything.
how well do you see in the shadows?..how good are you are at peeling the layers off of an onion?
do you just see in black and white or are you forever stuck on the fence in grey?
will you tell the truth about what happens in your rescue or will you say nothing and hope the bad things just go away?
rescue is the only thing i know of where people with little or no qualifications, little or no knowledge or skill, can reap enormous trust and respect...and when we are caught red handed doing something immoral or illegal...like stealing people's dogs out of their backyards, or importing and attempting to re-home 20 imported dogs in the very same day..some innocent lunatics will still call us heroes.
I have a few friends and acquaintances that think they would like to do rescue. I say, "What, are you nuts?" I tell them it's a huge waste of time and money and that their money is far better spent by finding a rescue that they believe in and feel comfortable with and donate the funds to that rescue where the money could really go to some good. But what I tell everyone is take care of the animal you already have and make sure it has a good home for the rest of it's days. Oh and STOP buying puppies and designer dogs. A telemarketer called me two weeks ago looking for money for a theatre group in Vancouver. I told them that I have very little funds available and that the funds I do have budgeted for charity are committed. He wanted to know which charities - like it's his business!!! I told him. He pipes up and tells me about a coworker that goes to India two times a year and brings back 20 dogs each time and then adopts them out. I guess there are no dogs in Canada, or more specifically BC, that need help.