And So I Learned About Rescue
One of my passions is companion animal welfare and rescue. When I tell people that, I am often met with a sneer and am asked the question “what about all of the people who need help?” I always ask the “sneerer” where he or she volunteers his or her time. I either get an answer, a dissertation on why he or she doesn’t have time to volunteer, or a blank look. If I get an answer I thank him or her for the service to the community. If I get the dissertation I nod thoughtfully and say “I understand.” If I get the blank look, I smile and give him or her a minute to recover.
In all cases, when I get a look of derision I say “If we would all volunteer for the cause for which we are passionate, this might be a better world.”
We pass judgement on others every day. We all do; don’t deny it. We see an overweight person and assume he or she is lazy. Someone walks by without saying “hello” and we assume that person is rude. You get the idea. Unfortunately, it’s human nature. With all of the judgments we pass, do we have to degrade someone’s volunteer choices too?
It’s silly. And mean.
Did I mention it’s silly?
Anyway, I wanted to write a bit today about why I am so passionate about animal welfare. As a child, I grew up fairly solitary. My sister is ten years older than me and moved out of the house before her 18th birthday. Even before she moved out, she was into teenage stuff and I was just a kid. Although we love one another, our childhoods didn’t run parallel like most siblings. My first cousin and my nephew didn’t come around until I was between six and seven years old so I didn’t have any extended family close to me in age either. The nearest neighbor kids were two boys a few houses down. We played sometimes but, well, they were boys. Ha! The one constant companion I had was the family dog, a Lhasa Apso named Buttons.
Me with Buttons as a little girl. He hated to have his picture taken!
Buttons was a good dog. He wasn’t overly affectionate nor was he particularly playful. He was just there and that’s all I really needed. When Buttons went to the bridge I cried and cried. I was in middle school and I remember taking a day off of school because I couldn’t get it together. The loss was very painful for the family. It wasn’t until a few years later that we got another dog. Those early years with Buttons as my pal left an imprint on my child’s mind and heart.
When I (finally) left the family home and moved into my own apartment the family dogs at the time, Jake and Gretchen, stayed with my parents, of course. I went a whole year living dog-free. I ached for a dog though. I didn’t know how badly I missed having a dog until a friend of mine needed a sitter for a day and I took little Maynard to the park and he slept in my bed for the night. During that dogless time Jake passed away. Jake was a chocolate lab and a complete goofball.
Dad, Mom, me, Jake (chocolate) and Duchess (golden). Duchess had gone to the bridge by the time I moved into my own place.
Gretchen. She was blind but never let it stop her. She could do anything any other dog could do…but mostly she just wanted to be lazy.
Aching from Jake’s passing and newly dogspired by Maynard, I started searching for a dog online. I knew a little about animal adoption but not a lot. I knew enough to know that there are many dogs out there that need a home. I also had a random nugget of knowledge floating in my brain about black dogs being the last to be adopted. So in the fall of 2007 I went to Petfinder.com and searched for black dogs in my area that needed homes. The output was a bit overwhelming. Eventually I saw Apollo on Concerned Citizens for Animals’ website. It was love at first sight. Or site. Well, both. Anyway, he was wearing a big goofy grin and his eyes sparkled in the photo. I contacted CCA and started the adoption process. It was way more involved than I anticipated and I remember getting a little frustrated at one point. The adoptions counselor, Meg, told me that they had many adoptions not get approved because the conditions the applicants were going to keep the dogs in were atrocious. I was skeptical. Looking back now, I am embarrassed about my naivety but at the time I was just another dog lover. I had no knowledge of the world of rescue.
Apollo on the left. Phoebe on the right. Apollo was long and lean and Phoebe was short and stocky. They weighed almost exactly the same, believe it or not!
After spending a few months with Apollo, I learned so very much about dogs. Most especially though, I learned about humans and how they treat companion animals. I learned that not everyone is so kind to their pets. The more I learned, the more I wanted to help. I began my volunteer days at CCA and on my very first volunteer outing I met Phoebe, a sweet little black dog who became a mom of 8 before her first birthday. Her story melted my heart. SHE melted my heart. Her first year was rough, having lived on the streets for most of the time. CCA had healed her physically and tried very hard to heal her mentally but Phoebe was a “people dog” and the shelter environment was very hard for her.
I applied to adopt Phoebe. Her first few years with me will probably be a blog post of its own. Suffice it to say, it was a struggle. Through that struggle I was exposed to the world of animal rescue and welfare like I never had been before. I met amazing people (and some less than amazing people), heard heartwarming tales of overcoming adversity (and the horror stories too), and learned about breed-specific legislation and tethering laws (or lack thereof), among other things.
Phoebe on the right. Apollo on the left. Hands down my favorite picture of the three of us together. Phoebe didn’t care for the camera but Apollo was a HAM!
I’ll tell the stories another time but loving companion animals became my heart because of my experience. From a somewhat lonely little girl with a little white dog by her side to a homeowner with dogs of my own, animal rescue and welfare became my driving force. It keeps my heart beating and breaks it too.
