Owner Surrenders

As any rescue group or American Shelter has experienced first hand, the seemingly endless amount of owner surrender requests have filled our voice-mails and emails. Rescues such as ours, without a formal shelter, will bring these once loved - now unwanted pets into our homes and without fail into our hearts. And while some will thrive in their new environments, some - despite everything we try to do for them, will never recover from the heartache and grief of losing their family. For those who surrender, regardless of situation, a promise has been broken. As we bring animals into our life, we make a promise and devotion to them that we will protect and care for them. And as always, life will throw us curveballs. But our commitment to our animals needs to be unwavering - for once we bring them in, they need to be our responsibility until it is their time to pass. It is often the owners who bring their once loved pets to our rescue that convince themselves that they will be fine - for they are going to a rescue, certainly they will find another home as they wont be put down. And once the door closes behind them, and they leave their pet, I wonder do you they think about them again or are they merely a distant memory of a failed commitment. I may never know what the former owner feels as they leave their pet behind, but I can be sure of what is felt by the unwanted pet for it is their eyes that will forever tell the story. Fear, anxiety, and depression are the most often experienced emotions felt by formerly owned pets. It is as if they do not understand why they are in this unfamiliar environment and they are pleading with us to take them back to their family. As always, we try to comfort them and familiarize them with their new surroundings, hoping that they will thrive. And most do thrive - the adjustment period is tough, but most will adapt to their new homes. But its the ones who do not thrive, the ones who suffer and inevitably die from grief and depression that tear at our heart strings. They come to us healthy, but the emotional toll of being rejected by the only family they have ever known soon turns sadness into physical ailments. Inevitably, the ones who do not thrive will perish while in our care, they will perish with us - their "new" family by their sides - and though we love them as if they were our own pet, to them we are not their family, we are not the ones who loved them for years, we are not the ones who promised them forever, and we are not the ones who turned our backs on them for whatever reason. Again, as they cross the rainbow bridge, I sit back and wonder if their former guardians know how deeply their unwanted pet cared and loved them - for it was that unconditional love and devotion that ended their life. Please make a lifelong commitment to your pets - don't let them become a statistic.

Perspective

How we choose to view situations in our life will inevitably define our character, morals, beliefs, everything about us that is real. It is often said we can choose to look at the glass half full or half empty - a simple saying that means so much more if you look deeper into what you see. In the world of animal rescue, we inevitably see bad. We see abuse, neglect, apathy, irresponsibility around every corner. We receive countless phone calls from the public begging for help for their animals that can no longer remain a part of their families. We help strays who have fought the elements and human cruelty - and we often times lose the battle to save their life and never get the chance to show them that the world is so much more than THE heartache they have experienced. We know the statistics of our shelter systems and we know that in the majority of communities, those who enter the system will never leave alive. Its seems every day there are new reasons to look at the glass half-empty. But its perspective that can change the glass to half-full. Yes, there are people who don't care about animal welfare - the same as there are people who don't care about environmental welfare or child abuse - but if we focus on those who do not care, we lose our own sense of caring. We become encapsulated in the misconception that we live in a society that simply will not change and our plight for animal welfare is hopeless - thus leaving the animals without a voice. In reality, there are those who do care about animal welfare, likely millions more than we will ever know. For every companion animal that is tragically killed in our heartless shelter system, there are more than threefold in loving committed homes. As a rescue group, it is up to us to view our task with our glasses half-full. We must embrace and empower those who do care as it is us who HAVE the tools, resources, and knowledge to make a difference. We know that simply feeding strays is not enough, so we must empower and educate those who feed hungry strays that they must be sterilized - we must go so far as to have them sterilized ourselves and show that through collaboration, we can make a difference. We must show caring citizens how to trap feral cats and provide them with resources to have them sterilized and returned. We must educate society of the truths in our shelter systems. We must be organizations that care - both for animals and the people who demand better for the animals. We must not close our hearts for it is our love that will change the future for companion animals. The law of nature states like attracts like - thus like minded people will seek and find other like minded people. When our glasses are half empty, that is what we will attract - those who do not see an end to animal cruelty and shelter killing. It is only when we focus on what we are doing to make a difference will we see the true glory of our plight. As someone who has been and is still in the trenches every day - it is easy to lose focus and momentum. If we can just take a minute to look around - and see the eyes of those we have rescued, those whose lives have changed because we cared, those who are better now than they were before - our glasses will undoubtedly be half-full. In the end, its our perspective that defines us and sets the stage for the day no healthy or treatable companion animals are killed for space or operational control. Please make a lifelong commitment to your pets - don't let them become a statistic.

Introduction

I would like to preface the writings in this blog as being my own thoughts, feelings, and attitudes - not necessarily the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the animal organizations that I am affiliated with. Though some views are certainly shared among my counterparts, I am merely speaking for me - not them. I don't intend this blog to be controversial nor demeaning to those who oppose my viewpoints on the welfare and treatment of companion animals. The intent is to provide a deeper look into the facts and fictions of today's animal societies combined with a honest and candid viewpoint from someone who has seen a lot - both good and bad - of what can happen in our society when you are a four (or maybe even three) legged furry friend without a voice of your own. My background isn't graced with years working for an animal shelter, sitting on a Board of Directors for a local humane society, or really anything involving a paycheck and helping animals. I am a animal rescuer and advocate - bound and determined to end the senseless killing of the millions of companion animals disposed of annually. I live and breathe the motto "killing is not the answer". Death by lethal injection, suffocation in a gas chamber, or being shot in a back alley was not the answer to animal control yesterday, is not the answer today, and will not be the answer tomorrow. But this topic is well deserving of its own blog and will have to wait for another day. As for today, my credentials surely do not strike any chords with the upper echelon of society - but I do know in time they will. I am part of a movement that is great - the movement to end the killing of companion animals in our shelters. When I look around at the numerous (and I mean numerous) animals that I have rescued, rehabilitated, and adopted into loving homes, I am disheartened and ashamed that our society would have killed them without a second glance or thought had they entered our shelter system. I reach down to pet Ginger, a beautiful, but very deformed older calico cat, and I know she wouldn't have stood a chance. Our shelters don't keep cats with broken legs, no teeth, and that come in pregnant - they are "damaged goods" and the most humane thing (humane to whom I always wonder?) to do is to kill them. But I think if we asked Ginger if she is enjoying life or if she would be better off dead , she would happily roll over so I can pet her belly and say I love my life. Sometimes you have to look beyond the physical misfortunes to see what beauty lies within. I do operate a feline rescue organization, where our mission is to rescue and rehabilitate felines who would be sentenced to death in the shelter system. It is in the eyes of the cats who are scared, traumatized, physically and emotionally battered that we can see the inner spirit and will to survive. Like all of us, these cats and dogs want to live, not die in the arms of shelter workers then tossed in a local landfill or sent to the rendering plant to be placed in some of the foods we feed our own animals. I hold true that all of us, humans and animals alike, should be given the same right to life - for in the end, we all want the same thing - love, compassion, and the chance to live until its time to go on our own devices. Please make a lifelong commitment to your pets - don't let them become a statistic.