RESCUE: To help someone or something out of a dangerous, harmful, or unpleasant situation.
RESCUE WORK~WHEN TOO MANY ANIMALS NEED RESCUING
Unfortunately, when the numbers of homeless dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, exceeds the number of homes available, a crisis occurs. This is exactly where we are at. Shelters and rescue groups are drowning and there is no relief in sight. When the need becomes so overwhelming and the situation becomes dire to find homes for the animals because they are pouring in faster then they are going out, quality goes down.
Too often, and no fault of their own, there is no time for shelters to do proper home visits or screening because everyone is scrambling to keep their heads above water, processing the overabundance of incoming dogs and cats. If you have a valid driver's license, you can leave with an animal. And many shelters have "clear the shelters" events for people to get "free" animals. So many animals end up being returned. Or dumped. It's the roll of the dice for them.
Then there is the warehousing of animals. Since there are many more homeless dogs and cats than there are homes, dogs as well as cats end up sitting in cages at shelters or rescues for many months and sometimes even years, without having any quality of life. Is this really rescue? What are the answers. This is a very controversial topic.
This is really no one's fault except for our weak legislation, backyard breeders, and those who don't spay and neuter and allow their pets to reproduce. Also there are the pet owners who give up far too quickly without putting in the work to find solutions, and end up surrendering their pets to shelters or dumping them on the streets.
RESCUE WORK~WHEN TOO MANY ANIMALS NEED RESCUING
Unfortunately, when the numbers of homeless dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, exceeds the number of homes available, a crisis occurs. This is exactly where we are at. Shelters and rescue groups are drowning and there is no relief in sight. When the need becomes so overwhelming and the situation becomes dire to find homes for the animals because they are pouring in faster then they are going out, quality goes down.
Too often, and no fault of their own, there is no time for shelters to do proper home visits or screening because everyone is scrambling to keep their heads above water, processing the overabundance of incoming dogs and cats. If you have a valid driver's license, you can leave with an animal. And many shelters have "clear the shelters" events for people to get "free" animals. So many animals end up being returned. Or dumped. It's the roll of the dice for them.
Then there is the warehousing of animals. Since there are many more homeless dogs and cats than there are homes, dogs as well as cats end up sitting in cages at shelters or rescues for many months and sometimes even years, without having any quality of life. Is this really rescue? What are the answers. This is a very controversial topic.
This is really no one's fault except for our weak legislation, backyard breeders, and those who don't spay and neuter and allow their pets to reproduce. Also there are the pet owners who give up far too quickly without putting in the work to find solutions, and end up surrendering their pets to shelters or dumping them on the streets.
THE EMOTIONS
Rescue work is not for the faint of heart. You will see horrible things that you wish you could UN-see. Struggle knowing you cannot help them all. No one can help them all because the math just doesn't add up. You will drown in heartache, due to the animal crisis, but also the the heartache caused by those few rescuers that are broken themselves who cause unnecessary drama and cruelty amongst one another.
When you have so many amazingly wonderful and passionate people working so hard towards one goal, there will be many different opinions. There are always those few rescuers who aren't able to "agree to disagree", or put the animals wellbeing above themselves, or personality clashes. Rescue work is not for the thin skinned, and especially if you truly have the animal's best interest at heart.
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KILL VERSUS NO-KILL
And then you add the kill versus no-kill controversy. "Kill-shelters" are shelters that are open admission, which means they will take any animal that comes through their door, even when there is no more space. Many are sick or injured, or may even have irreparable aggression issues. These shelters have no choice but to euthanize animals for various reasons, including no space.
“No-kill" shelters are often able to decide which animals to accept in their doors. This can lead to the pets that are turned away, being dumped on the streets or even worse. So are they really "no-kill"? Warehousing of animals can also become a problem, when pets there do not get adopted in a timely manner, which can be viewed as cruelty in itself. When an animals quality of life is no longer present, is this really better? They are able to save healthy and treatable animals, reserving euthanasia only for severely ill or dangerous animals to achieve a high "live release rate," typically 90% or more.
"Open admission" and "limited admission" might be more accurate terms for the 2 different types of shelters, because "no-kill" shelters do not necessarily prevent animals from being euthanized, looking at the bigger picture. Very sadly, until our backyard breeding and spay & neuter regulations change drastically, being a no-kill shelter is not a realistic goal.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Visit the "State & Local Laws" tab on this website to see how you can help improve our legislation. The "Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation" team needs more compassionate volunteers to help change our weak laws.
Visit your local shelter or rescue group. I can guarantee they will welcome you with open arms. They all need volunteer dog walkers and fosters. Even kitty kat snugglers. There are never enough volunteers to help them carry the heavy burden of caring for the overwhelming number of dogs and cats that they are trying to help. Every single volunteer makes a huge difference!
And then you add the kill versus no-kill controversy. "Kill-shelters" are shelters that are open admission, which means they will take any animal that comes through their door, even when there is no more space. Many are sick or injured, or may even have irreparable aggression issues. These shelters have no choice but to euthanize animals for various reasons, including no space.
“No-kill" shelters are often able to decide which animals to accept in their doors. This can lead to the pets that are turned away, being dumped on the streets or even worse. So are they really "no-kill"? Warehousing of animals can also become a problem, when pets there do not get adopted in a timely manner, which can be viewed as cruelty in itself. When an animals quality of life is no longer present, is this really better? They are able to save healthy and treatable animals, reserving euthanasia only for severely ill or dangerous animals to achieve a high "live release rate," typically 90% or more.
"Open admission" and "limited admission" might be more accurate terms for the 2 different types of shelters, because "no-kill" shelters do not necessarily prevent animals from being euthanized, looking at the bigger picture. Very sadly, until our backyard breeding and spay & neuter regulations change drastically, being a no-kill shelter is not a realistic goal.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Visit the "State & Local Laws" tab on this website to see how you can help improve our legislation. The "Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation" team needs more compassionate volunteers to help change our weak laws.
Visit your local shelter or rescue group. I can guarantee they will welcome you with open arms. They all need volunteer dog walkers and fosters. Even kitty kat snugglers. There are never enough volunteers to help them carry the heavy burden of caring for the overwhelming number of dogs and cats that they are trying to help. Every single volunteer makes a huge difference!
