Rescue that isn't

I've been seeing a disturbing trend in animal rescue lately. Private parties, unaffiliated with any particular rescue group, are attempting to rescue animals but failing to fulfill their responsibilities to those animals.


Animal rescue is not easy. I think the reason rescue groups form is so that people can pool their resources and support one another in a time-consuming, emotionally taxing, and often expensive process. Any individual who attempts to rescue an animal without the support and structure of a responsible, reputable group needs to be very knowledgeable, organized, wealthy, cool-headed, energetic, and have a fair amount of free time in order to do it well. Rehabilitating and rehoming at-risk animals can be extremely rewarding, but it can also be utterly heartbreaking, and well-meaning novices are rarely prepared for the challenges it can present.


I am constantly fielding e-mails and phone calls from people who say, "I rescued this dog a few months ago but I can't find him a home, and I just don't have time for him, and I can't afford to get him fixed or vaccinated or wormed, and he's tearing up my back yard, so I can't keep him anymore." It makes me cringe. If you're abandoning an animal, you don't get to claim you rescued it, especially if now you're asking ME to rescue it. My rescue group saves animals that are in kill shelters and are about to be euthanized; we rarely take them from the public. And yet, at least a dozen people per month want me to rescue THEM from the guilt of failing an animal, or the pain of simply not being able to help. I'm not involved in animal rescue to save people from hard choices and feelings. Please, if you're not prepared to take care of a stray, abandoned, or injured animal until you can find it a good permanent home, take the animal to a shelter. That's what they're there for. Yes, that cat or dog may not make it out alive, but that's simply the reality of our world. Many of us are trying to change that reality, but it hasn't happened yet. There are far more animals than there are loving, responsible homes. If the animal really is a stray, its breeder or original owner is to blame for letting it end up in a shelter. You can certainly feel sad for that animal, but you need not feel guilty. However, if you are the breeder or owner of that animal, I hope you do feel guilty, and I have even less interest in relieving your pain and your guilt.


Benign neglect and ending up in a shelter are not the worst things that happen to animals that are "rescued" by inexperienced, unprepared, and irresponsible people. Sometimes, animals are "rescued" from humane euthanasia only to have their suffering prolonged. Some of these animals are rescued again, and their suffering is finally relieved by veterinary care, but not all are so lucky. I just heard a story about a young woman who took in a small dog that had been abandoned in the desert, and found him a home. Her friend decided the home was not safe, since there was a pit bull in the home, so she took the dog to her own home on a temporary basis, and put him in the back yard with her two German Shepherds. 48 hours later, one of the shepherds attacked the smaller dog. For some reason, she did not take the injured dog to the vet. Instead, she called a rescue group for help, who gave her the number of another rescue group, whose representative agreed to take the dog on a temporary basis. The young woman picked up the injured dog and drove for an hour to meet the rescue representative, who was horrified when she saw the condition of the dog: deep puncture wounds to the throat, white gums, signs of shock and blood loss. She took him home and fifteen minutes later, the dog died of its injuries.


I will never understand how this severely injured dog passed through the hands of three supposed animal rescuers and then died without ever seeing a vet. After being dumped in the desert, this dog was shuffled between four different homes before it died a violent and painful death as the direct result of mismanagement and improper care. That is not rescue, and it was not a better fate than being taken to a shelter.