One day in the life of a rescuer:
Today, I rescued a stray dog/cat, and I handed over the case to an animal charity group. Yay!! I’ve helped an animal today!
**********************
One day in the life of an animal charity group:
Today someone rescued a stray dog/cat, and handed over the case to us. We really wish these rescuers would do more than just hand over the case to us and expect us to perform miracles.
We have to:
1. raise money for the medical treatment, if required.
2. look for a fosterer, and eventually, an adopter.
3. see to the wellbeing of the animal until we can find (2).
4. handle any other unforeseen circumstances.
We often hear these remarks:
1. I can’t foster or adopt, I already have two dogs/cats at home. (Well, so do we, we are all operating from our own homes too, and we too have our own pets. Can we please work together and look for potential adopters?)
2. If you don’t take, do you expect me to leave the dog/cat on the street? (We don’t expect you to, but please also do not dump the animal on us. We are not a shelter or sanctuary.)
3. If you don’t take, the dog/cat will die!! (Please don’t use emotional blackmail on us, it isn’t helpful.)
4. I have to go on a holiday, I can’t look after the animal. (Excuse me?)
5. You look after first, I will take back in xxx days or find you an adopter soon. (Very often, this is only an empty promise, and after a few days, Er..sorry, I cannot find an adopter, can you keep the dog/cat and find an adopter yourself?)
6. I give you all the contact numbers, you contact these people, ok? (No, please don’t do this to us. We are all volunteers, we hold fulltime jobs and have families to take care of. Can the responsibility be shared out, please?)
7. I found this puppy/kitten, can you take it? (No, we can’t, but we can help you find an adopter.) How soon can you find an adopter? (No promises, we will do our best. Please send us a photo of the animal with your contact details). No response.
8. I saw this injured animal by the roadside, can you send your people over? It is located at xxx…. (As much as we wish we could, we have no skills in rescuing injured animals. Please call the experts. Or, if you see an injured animal, why don’t you try rescuing it? We can help raise funds for its treatment.)
9. I think you should adopt this animal, you know…. (Excuse me?)
Our motto at AnimalCare is “Working together for the animals” and we appeal to everyone who come to us to work together with us. Not just dump the case to us.
Just as we follow up on every case with the rescuer/fosterer/adopter, we hope you too would follow up with us, and please let’s work together.
We also have people who call us up for an immediate appointment at the vet’s for spaying/neutering, without giving us ample time to arrange for an appointment.
And finally, of course, we have the “advisers” who would tell us what we should do, and what we should not do. I don’t see them managing or coordinating an animal charity group, but they are telling us what we should do.
Having written the above, I must not forget to thank our supporters who have worked together with us, offering their moral and financial support. Most importantly, we are very grateful to those who have offered their physical help in helping us rescue, foster and transport the animals.
Thank goodness we have more supporters than “dumpsters” and negative critics.