Adopt, Don't Shop

​Before my heart was stolen by Murphy — my Rescue Dog — I had no clue what rescue is really about. No idea of the depth. It took a minute to learn it is much more than just a photo of a dog on a website. It is not an assembly line process. It is not first-come, first served. It is not one-size-fits-all. It is not just a big heart reaching out.

 

Rescue puts together all of the pieces of a puzzle and figures it out. The process requires a comprehensive look into a dog or cat's history, personality and behavior before the door to forever love is opened. The process is not easy. More often than not, an animal's past is unknown. Many are strays. Or abandoned. Or surrendered. Many have been abused.

 

Rescuers have to be equal parts detective, psychologist, and sometimes magician. Some animals might have personality quirks. Some may have health or medical issues. Some are old and need that one last place to live out their best days. Through no fault of their own, some may carry the stigma of being undesired or unsavory just because of who they are or where they are from — geographically distanced, enduring a life that no one wants to imagine because of the perception of "why take care of someone else's problem?" A dog doesn't care about geography. The only thing a dog cares about is the ability to live a good life.

 

​Puppies, kittens and cute dogs are almost always adopted without a second thought. Some believe that a “pretty face” guarantees a perfect pet. The other dogs, those with a few years on them, those with battle scars on their bodies and in their hearts, the ones with a breed reputation and a past they didn’t choose — they are the dogs who must wait for that one person to love them forever. They wait. And wait. And wait.

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Rescue = immense and undeniable reward. A life is saved. So... instead of thinking, "why should I?"—perhaps a better question is, "why not?" 

 

Sometimes the ones we overlook change our lives the most.