Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.

I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.

I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.

I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today.

Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past.

I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.

I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.

Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.

I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side.

I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.

So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.

So many more to be saved.

At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

Author Unknown

 

 

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What insight!

This is an excerpt from Dallas columnist's Larry Powell's website. It was written in response to an e-mail a rescuer received from a typical member of the public bitching about the 'high' fees her group charge for a rescue dog.

 

If you enjoy this, you can read more (a LOT more!) by going to: www.Readlarrypowell.com

 

"Yessir, I'm going to yank the veil back on the hidden truth about the 'rescue cult.'
Here goes:
-- There is a secret society of animal rescuers who pool their immense profits made from cornering the market on mangy dogs and wormy cats, poorly-groomed purebreds with congenital in-breeding problems and un-socialized dogs who have been kept in filthy conditions in the house of a backwoods hoarder. Those critters are pure profit! These rescue cultists take those truckloads of cash and buy bricks of gold each day to hedge against hard times in the market and to make trips to Vegas a little more fun.
-- Rescuers vacation for three months each summer in Switzerland and spend their Christmases with their extended families in a fantastic villa at the North Pole. And they all dress like movie stars at the Oscars -- yes, they all go to the Oscars.
-- Most of the time they all ride in their chauffer-driven Bentleys or they drive a Ferrari so they can get to adoption events in a hurry.
-- When they talk about boarding animals, they mean staying with them for a couple of weeks or months in some swank Dallas hotel or maybe, if they're hip enough, Hotel Zaza. Yeah, the people in rescue lead a dream life. I don't understand why more people don't get involved with animal rescue and start dipping up their share of the gigantic profits. Back to reality. You know, folks, there are people who will believe all that.
Oh, for crying out loud. A rescue group is like George Bailey's Building and Loan in It's a Wonderful Life -- the money isn't always kept in the vault, it's invested in assorted properties to benefit the whole community. I might give a $250 adoption fee for a Pom whose care and upkeep was minimal and it cost about $30 to get the rascal ship-shape. But someone else may donate $250 for a Pom who cost about $4,000 to repair after a lifetime of bad living at the hands of some idiot human.
I asked Cheri about Recycled's state this week: 'We have 20 dogs currently available for adoption and two un-adoptable dogs (one has a brain tumor and the other is a fear-biter). We just recently had one come to us anemic with a broken leg, broken tail and open sores all over her body. We even had to remove some tar like substance from her ears... not to mention the million fleas.' At the group's link HERE you can see other dogs such as Gizmo, who can't tolerate kids, and Bubbles, who is a boy dog. On a personal note, Cheri says, 'I currently have 12 foster dogs in my care alone. I don't live on a ranch and they don't get put in kennels. At least 6 of them sleep in my bed each night. We really could use some foster mommies or daddies, too. We have four dogs in boarding because we don't have foster homes for them to go to.' (FYI: Boarding isn't free -- there's where some of that $250 fee goes.) You know the recent move to smaller cars and more efficient fuel-burning engines? Animal rescuers did that years ago. They needed to save money on gasoline so they could feed their rescue habit and efficiently drive rescued dogs from one city to another, from one state to another.
Earlier this year, a rescue group took a heeler mix from Dallas to Minnesota and got snowed in near the final destination. That cost money nobody expected to spend. That money often comes right out of a rescuer's pocket and isn't replaced -- except that their hearts feel better about saving an animal.
I've been to many, many rescue events. I have yet to see a rescuer show up in designer fashions and shoes that you couldn't wear to wade into a storm sewer to find a mewing kitten or a whimpering puppy. Not that rescuers don't clean up good, it's just that they look at a $300 suit or $500 dress and think, 'That would buy a lot of dog food' or 'That would pay for a lot of spaying and neutering.'
These people make sacrifices to help animals. When some foul-minded human tries to get rich via an animal rescue group, they usually wind up spending their money on criminal defense attorneys.
Rescue groups sometimes set what looks like a high fee because it theoretically makes the person who pays it feel more responsible about the dog or cat. That motivation might just work with some people-- but other people fall in love with the animals and they become part of the family no matter what they cost. Free dogs and free cats often wind up in shelters. But, so do the expensive critters. No animal is safe when the human factor is out of control.
Oh, yeah, when these dogs and cats come into a rescue group, they don't arrive with a folder containing their medical records. So every dog or cat has to go through a vet exam and gets shots and usually gets a treatment for some minor problem. There'll be heartworm testing and if the result is 'positive,' there's the added expense of heartworm treatment -- at the least a few hundred bucks if there's a charitable vet involved. And lots of vets work with rescue groups to try to keep the expenses down. Still, if you get 5 fresh dogs one week and four of them are heartworm positive, that's still a bundle.
OK, that's just scraping the surface of rescue expenses -- we're not even touching on boarding or special medical situations such as broken bones or open wounds, horrifying physical problems caused by lack of grooming, etc. Oh, geez, don't get me started on the problems with cocker spaniels' ears and eyes. Or retired racing Greyhounds with their broken hocks and wrecked tendons. Or cats that arrive looking pregnant and actually are -- delivering five or six kittens that need immediate treatment for upper respiratory problems. Or ... well, it's just flat sad what happens to animals in the custody of idiot people.
So, to you shallow thinkers who believe rescue groups are in it to make money, let's just ask this: For crying out loud, are you nuts? Are you blind to reality? You think caviar is the official snack of Straydog Inc., the sanctuary for down-on-their-luck dogs at Gun Barrel City? The assorted rescuers of Goldens, Labs, Great Danes, Siamese, Tabbies, Rabbits, Hamsters, etc. are people who'll sacrifice nearly everything to achieve the mission of saving the animals. Then, after a good adoption day, they'll splurge for a cup of coffee or a Slurpee, talk about how they're worn out from juggling their job and their mission, and try to drive home without picking up another stray that crosses their paths.
Yeah, they're all getting rich -- just not with spending money."

 

Reprinted with permission