All week long I have tormented myself inside. I kept reading over and over again the story
about the Campbell County Animal Shelter.
I am so bothered inside myself about this situation. And because I am bothered I keep trying to
make sense of the whole horrific ordeal.
I can’t. I am a rescuer and I work
every day of my life in some way or another saving the lives of the animals that
need me. And to think that walking among
those like me would be a woman who will forever now be dubbed “Bloody Betty”.
When working the shelter floors for those who are employees,
and the rescuers who walk among those floors, beside them, though on somewhat
different levels, we are all there because some place inside us there is a love
for God’s innocent creatures. There are
those who are paid to walk those floors providing dignity and compassion to
those animals, who many of are living their last days. The rescuers are there trying with all of
their strength to save those who are there because someone thought they couldn’t
be saved. The differing sides have
different emotions on different subjects….but the bottom line is that those who
are paid to walk those floors have a job in which can in no way be easy on
their hearts. As a rescuer it is a
luxury to not have to live our days watching them die, but sending them home
when they are ready.
Doing rescue for the largest portion of my life at this time
I have seen many things come and go. I
started rescue on the shelter floor. I
looked each day at the eyes until I could take no more. It is a rare occasion you will find me
standing among the rows, as my heart no longer lets me look. I am now a rescuer who has the luxury of not
looking and being able to help what I know I can help or what I will die trying
to help. I can focus on my small number and live in the satisfaction that yes
today I changed a life.
Well this Betty………I expected that she had a responsibility
too. It was expected by me that she
would allow the animals no one loved enough the common decency to die with a
human telling them she loved them. How
hard would that have been? My God she was getting a paycheck while I at times
have to do this shit for free! How hard
could it have been to pet them? And when
she knew she had become numb to it……..she needed to leave. How do you sleep at night? And the workers? Her partners in crime? How in God’s name did woman become so
cruel? Who are you women? My God you turn my stomach.
Rescue at the throat of Rescue. That too is a change in which I have seen
come over the years. It was once every
rescue had a common goal. We all have
thoughts opinions and are many times the strongest of personalities. However our common goal was once to save
lives. I ask you all…..how many lives
are we saving when we don’t work together?
How many lives are we losing over our petty bickering arguments and our
self righteous needs to be the one who is right? Get over ourselves how about it? It is about the animals! We have forgotten that. And it makes me ashamed that we all aren’t seeing
that.
I am sick and tired of hearing about overloaded rescuers. Dogs going without shots? Adoptions of too many unaltered dogs? Back yard breeding rescues? People really need to face it……when you see
that ‘some life’ is not sometimes better than ‘no life’ there is something
wrong. I know some of you will argue this……but if you can I ask that you
provide yourself with ‘some life’ and see if it is really right. Please chain
yourself to a tree or to the side of a house…..
If you are sending a dog from a chain to a chain…..that isn’t quality. When you are sending a dog who has never been
to a vet to a home who has no vet reference is it better. Are you sending them some place you could see
your dog? If not what made your dog
better? Why did you stop wanting more for your dogs?
Rarely will you hear me say bad things about another
rescue. Believe me though if you hear me
say it and you hear me say another rescue is not good, it is because I believe
it. There are some things you don’t and
never do. You NEVER breed a rescued
dog. You never abuse a rescue dog. You never put down more rescue dogs than you
adopt out. You never put a dog to sleep
because you cannot find a foster home.
If you took that dog…that dog is your responsibility. And that’s as long as it takes or you have
done all in which you can do. Period.
Those are simple rules. Those
among the most golden rules of rescue. They
are unwritten…unspoken ……but words to live in this rescue world by.
It is long past time for us to come forth as educators. It is long past time that our backbones
stiffen and we pay a little more attention to our shelters, our shelter floors,
and serve as support in the areas we can to make a terrible job some days maybe
a bit easier. It is time for us to quit trying
to be politicians and thinking we are good at it…..while someone like Betty
gets by with literal murder. Why didn’t we
know that? Someone did. And someone kept it quiet because they were
afraid they would never get to pull another animal on the shelter floor. Shut up! It is up to every one of us…..shelter
worker or rescuer……to make a difference.
We are sucking wind.
If we spent a little less time worrying about the differences
in each other, spend the time to teach one another to make infallible
structures for our missions, talk to our older rescues, our younger ones, serve
as backup systems, support systems, leaving the personal issues out of it, I think
of the lives we could save together. It
is time for us to remember it is about the dogs and get back to work. When there is a Betty among us we have failed
all of the way around. And the dogs lost
lives because of it. Think about
that. And think about why in some way
you might have been a part of it. And
fix it. Fix it before it is too late for
more of the lives you say you care about.
Prove it.
It is about the dogs.
That’s all I want to do…..save dogs.
I don’t have to be the best or the greatest. I don’t have to do much at all except be as
responsible as I can be to what I agreed to take on. And some days quite frankly it is a lot to
take on. There are mistakes made, things
forgotten, people forgotten, missed phone calls, missed emails, people who are
turned down, differences of opinions, sick dogs, well dogs, dogs who come back
sometimes, heartbreaks, tears, joy, and an overwhelming need to give more than
just a piece of yourself.
Rescue never sleeps.
There is never a holiday. There
is never a shortage of help needed.
There is never a lack of love or hate.
There is simply a fine balance of doing what you know you can and that
is all any of us can do. Rescuers are
not perfect, not angels, not Godly, not politicians, not heroes, not stars, but
simply people who have a piece of themselves that can see the eyes and know the
life is precious. It in no way made us
perfect…..yet made us exactly who we are inside. It is your heart which does the saving……and
your head just tries to keep up. And
just like the worker walking that shelter floor our jobs hurt too…..but that is
no reason to allow your heart to become hard.
Agree with me or not?
It simply is my opinion. I do
stand by my opinion though. I will not
tolerate another Betty…..be that a Betty who could be working the shelter floor
or a Betty rescuer walking that floor…..those of us who really came for the
dogs will start today trying to make some kind of difference. We better get to work and make sure these like
Betty don’t hurt our dogs anymore. We
need to do the damage control and know who is around us. We need to make sure those who are living
wrong by these dogs don’t do it anymore.
That means even if it is a shelter worker, rescuer, grandfather, sister,
child, policeman, doctor……it doesn’t matter…..report them. Stand up for those who cannot stand up for
themselves. Do what you came here
for. Fix these situations and quit
playing politics….they just aren’t worth playing if death is involved.
So that’s simply my opinion.
Very well said. Thank you for all you have done, are doing, and will do.
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