Episode 92
What We Got Wrong: The Biggest Animal Rescue Myths Revealed
What is the one thing you believed about animal rescue before getting involved that you quickly learned wasn't true? In this solo episode of Animal Posse, we dive into the overwhelming response to that exact social media question.
Rescuers, fosters, volunteers, and adopters didn't hold back. From the harsh realities of funding, public recognition, and shelter gatekeeping to the myths around intake vetting, adoption fees, and rescue collaboration, we read through the comments and break down what’s really happening behind the scenes. Whether you are a seasoned rescuer or simply an animal lover, tune in for an honest, unfiltered look at the challenges, hard truths, and everyday realities of doing the work on the front lines.
Transcript
Welcome back to Animal Posse.
Speaker:Today's show is gonna be a little bit different.
Speaker:I don't have a guest.
Speaker:So what I decided to do was I asked a question on social media
Speaker:that sparked quite a conversation.
Speaker:That question was: what's the one thing you believed about animal rescue
Speaker:before you got involved that you quickly learned wasn't actually true?
Speaker:And let me tell you, the responses did not disappoint.
Speaker:We had so many people in rescue share their experiences, misconceptions,
Speaker:frustrations, surprises, and some things that they wish they had
Speaker:known before getting involved.
Speaker:Some of the answers were funny, some were eye-opening, and some
Speaker:opened up conversations that I think really need to happen.
Speaker:So today, we're gonna look at some of those responses, talk about them,
Speaker:share different perspectives, and maybe challenge a few assumptions along the way.
Speaker:Because whether you're a seasoned rescuer, a foster, a volunteer, an adopter, or
Speaker:someone who simply loves animals, there's a lot about rescue that happens behind
Speaker:the scenes that most people never see.
Speaker:And here's the thing: rescue isn't one size fits all.
Speaker:Every organization operates differently, every situation is different, and
Speaker:there is always something new to learn.
Speaker:This isn't about calling anyone out or declaring that one rescue
Speaker:does things is better than another.
Speaker:It's just about having honest conversations, sharing knowledge, and
Speaker:learning from the collective experiences of people who are actually doing the work.
Speaker:So buckle up, because we're about to get into the realities of animal
Speaker:rescue, the things nobody told us, the things we got wrong, and the
Speaker:things that we learned along the way.
Speaker:So let's get into it
Speaker:The exact questions that I asked was, what's one thing you used to believe about
Speaker:animal rescue that you no longer believe?
Speaker:I'm just gonna go through the comments.
Speaker:I'm gonna read the comments, and I'm gonna give my commentary.
Speaker:And please keep in mind that some of these comments may be duplicates 'cause a lot
Speaker:of people were bringing up a lot of the same things, which to me, I think that's a
Speaker:good thing because you can see when people are raising the same kind of issues, that
Speaker:kind of points to where we need to have a change and where we need to work harder.
Speaker:And I do really hope that this is gonna function to help people.
Speaker:I do hope it's a situation where we can learn from this and become
Speaker:better so we can save more animals
Speaker:Okay, so here we go.
Speaker:A comment from Linda I used to think everyone was in it
Speaker:just to help the animals.
Speaker:I learned the hard way some were in it mainly for public recognition.
Speaker:Very sad.
Speaker:Okay, so my commentary on this one.
Speaker:I have seen this.
Speaker:I know that there are a lot of really good, dedicated rescuers that I know,
Speaker:and then I know that there's other people that truly just wanna get in
Speaker:it so they can get the recognition.
Speaker:They want the people to sit back and tell them, "Oh my gosh,
Speaker:you're such a wonderful person.
Speaker:Look what you're doing."
Speaker:Meanwhile, they might have somebody else doing all the work, and they're just kinda
Speaker:sitting back and taking all the credit.
Speaker:I have seen that before.
Speaker:I've seen cases where there's people that maybe just want press.
Speaker:Maybe they just wanna get on the radio, they just wanna get on TV, and they
Speaker:wanna get out there and say, "Look what we're doing," but they're not the
Speaker:ones that are actually doing the work.
Speaker:So I have seen this before, but I have also seen these people that
Speaker:put in hours and hours of their time trying to work to better animals.
Speaker:. I'm not gonna say that it doesn't happen, because I have seen it.
Speaker:But I also wanna point out to the people that are working really hard to save
Speaker:animals, that they are all out there.
Speaker:Those people are out there, and sadly, I wanna also say it's
Speaker:those people are the ones that you don't see a lot of credit for.
Speaker:And actually I'm gonna say one of the reasons for that
Speaker:is because they're too busy.
Speaker:They're too busy working with sick animals, running to the
Speaker:vet, taking care of fosters coordinating adoptions doing events.
Speaker:They're too busy to actually step back and get involved with the recognition
Speaker:part of it, but they definitely are there.
Speaker:And I think that this would be a good time for all of us, if you know
Speaker:somebody in animal rescue, and you know that they are, I'm gonna just say,
Speaker:working their ass off to save animals, tell them thank you for what they do.
Speaker:And go give them the recognition that they deserve.
Speaker:Don't let it be these people that are just sitting behind on a computer or
Speaker:in the background somewhere that aren't actually doing the work, but they're
Speaker:taking the credit for somebody else.
Speaker:So make sure you go tell your rescuer thank you and acknowledge them.
Speaker:Thank you so much, Linda, for that comment.
Speaker:Okay, so we're gonna go to another one.
Speaker:This is gonna be from Mary, that animals are vetted by a veterinarian.
Speaker:Okay, so this is a very interesting one.
Speaker:And the reason that I'm gonna say that this is a very interesting question
Speaker:I definitely think that there's a distinction between an animal receiving
Speaker:appropriate veterinary care and requiring an individual veterinary
Speaker:office visit for every animal upon intake As a small foster-based rescue,
Speaker:we have intake protocols that include assessing the animal, vaccinations,
Speaker:parasite control, testing, monitoring, and veterinary care when indicated.
Speaker:Animals that are sick, injured, or showing concerning symptoms
Speaker:absolutely need to go to a vet.
Speaker:Absolutely, there's no question.
Speaker:But our animals also receive veterinary care when they go to
Speaker:their spay/neuter surgery, so the vets that are doing the spay/neuter
Speaker:also look them over at that time.
Speaker:But when you say that all the animals are vetted by a veterinarian definitely when
Speaker:they go to spay/neuter surgery, they are.
Speaker:. The vets do not do a spay/neuter surgery if there looks like there could
Speaker:be something wrong with the animal.
Speaker:If they notice something with the animal, they tell you.
Speaker:However, requiring a separate wellness examination for every apparently
Speaker:healthy animal that is entering a rescue, it isn't financially
Speaker:sustainable for many organizations.
Speaker:And if you look at the sheer number of animals that would be coming in
Speaker:and you're paying for an examination for every single animal the funds that
Speaker:would be going to helping the animals would be depleted, and it would be a
Speaker:lot less animals that we could take in.
Speaker:So basically, if we're spending hundreds or thousands of dollars
Speaker:just on intake examinations for the animals, then it just depletes all
Speaker:the resources that we would have, and we are already short on donations.
Speaker:That's where most rescues are gonna struggle is with donations.
Speaker:So ideally, it would be great that every animal, every litter that you take in,
Speaker:the first thing you could do is go get every single one of them vetted, but I
Speaker:think for a lot of rescues, it's just not something that is really feasible.
Speaker:Of course, if they're sick, yes, they go to a vet.
Speaker:If you notice that they're sick, they're, they go to a vet.
Speaker:I know for me personally my vet she's a phone call away, so we do a lot of
Speaker:mobile vetting with her, where she might not actually see them in person,
Speaker:but she's advising me and telling me what I should do, what I should be
Speaker:looking for, and if we notice any kind of changes or anything deviates or if
Speaker:I notice that there's something that seems off, they go to the vet right away.
Speaker:I definitely will get them in, to have her see them.
Speaker:Now her working with me for the mobile vetting aspect of it, I think that works,
Speaker:it works fantastic for me, but I know that there's a lot of organizations
Speaker:that might not necessarily be able to do that their vet may not be able to
Speaker:advise them, like I'm gonna say tele-vet or mobile vetting via just FaceTime,
Speaker:and so not everybody might have access to that, so I can see where, they're … The
Speaker:animals are not technically getting vetted by a veterinarian, but that doesn't mean
Speaker:that these people are not monitoring them.
Speaker:When they come in, you have intake protocols.
Speaker:You're looking at them.
Speaker:You're making sure that they look healthy.
Speaker:And when you've done it for so long, you look at them and
Speaker:you almost know right away.
Speaker:So it is a, a kind of like a tricky thing, because they do all get vetted
Speaker:because they do all have to go get their spay and neuter surgeries.
Speaker:They do definitely get vetted before they go up for adoption because they're seeing
Speaker:the vet for the spay and neuter surgeries.
Speaker:But to say that they need to go get vetted by a veterinarian upon intake it
Speaker:would just deplete resources so fast.
Speaker:So I can see, where there are some rescues that are not able to do that.
Speaker:But thank you , Mary.
Speaker:That was a very good one.
Speaker:. So Mary also has another one, which is that the adoption fee covers the cost for
Speaker:the animal's prep for adoption So first with adoption fees, adoption fees are not
Speaker:necessarily intended to cover the entire cost of preparing an animal for adoption.
Speaker:They help offset the expenses because, between food, litter, vaccinations,
Speaker:testing, deworming, flea prevention, spay/neuter, microchipping, and
Speaker:then of course any other unexpected medical things that come along, and
Speaker:you do go to a vet the cost adds up.
Speaker:So the cost of caring for the animal can quickly exceed the adoption fee.
Speaker:So I'm gonna say in the case of people that have lower adoption
Speaker:fees, that's definitely the case.
Speaker:That adoption fee that they're getting back is gonna be covering, just a
Speaker:small portion of what they're spending.
Speaker:And I'm gonna say the same thing's true for people who have higher fees, because
Speaker:you don't know how many animals that they have that they're taking care of.
Speaker:So somebody might s- look at one group doing an adoptions, let's say for $100,
Speaker:and be like, "Okay that's feasible.
Speaker:It can cost $100 to prep an animal for adoption," but then there's
Speaker:this other group that's charging $300 for this animal for adoption.
Speaker:But, how many animals are in their program?
Speaker:I'm not gonna say that they're profiting from the animals because, they could
Speaker:have … One animal might cost $100 to prep, and then another animal in that
Speaker:litter might get sick and might need some hospitalization, so that quickly adds up.
Speaker:They're just there to kinda help offset things.
Speaker:. I think when people think about prep for adoption, they're
Speaker:thinking about just the basics.
Speaker:They're thinking about, "Okay, we've got microchips.
Speaker:You got the vaccinations.
Speaker:You got the deworming, flea preventative, and then spay and neuter surgery."
Speaker:But they're not thinking about all the other things that are involved,
Speaker:like the food like the litter for cats and just all those other
Speaker:things, and they add up quickly.
Speaker:And, I don't know how it is with other rescues, but I know for me when we get
Speaker:a sick kitten, we are literally trying every single flavor and brand cat food
Speaker:so we can try to get a kitten to eat.
Speaker:So it's not unusual for me to go to the store and I'll spend, $25- Just
Speaker:to buy an assortment of cans for one, try to get one kitten to eat.
Speaker:I definitely would say that the adoption fees offset 'cause those,
Speaker:those expenses add up so quickly.
Speaker:But that was a that was definitely, a good statement, Mary.
Speaker:So thank you for putting that in the comments
Speaker:Okay, so the next one is gonna be from Maria.
Speaker:"I didn't have any expectation for shelter and rescue work, but
Speaker:something that I still have trouble understanding is how few people care.
Speaker:I remember a shelter vet telling me we should kill the black puppies in a litter
Speaker:because no one would adopt them anyway.
Speaker:I remember telling a community member that if they left the 10-month-old
Speaker:black pit puppy that they let get pregnant behind the shelter, she'd die.
Speaker:They threw their hands up in the air, got in the car, and left.
Speaker:It's difficult to understand how those people can be the same species as us."
Speaker:I totally understand that.
Speaker:I see it all the time with people who do wanna surrender animals or
Speaker:people who do find puppies or kittens, and it's just like they want the
Speaker:problem gone, and they want it gone.
Speaker:They want you to take them, and they don't wanna take any extra steps involved.
Speaker:, I don't know if they think that they're trying to do good by either
Speaker:calling a rescue, going to the shelter to just leave them there
Speaker:It's a hard thing for me to understand.
Speaker:It definitely happens.
Speaker:So yeah.
Speaker:I say that all the time too , a lot of people in rescue, they're
Speaker:definitely , a different breed.
Speaker:So thank you for that response, Maria
Speaker:All right, so now on to one from Nancy.
Speaker:That they will find a loving and caring home for your rescues
Speaker:So that's a touchy thing.
Speaker:I know that there's rescues that go above and beyond to try to find the
Speaker:perfect home for an animal that you might rescue and get into their care.
Speaker:And I guess that's what you're talking about, Nancy.
Speaker:But there's other times where I see where it's more of a numbers game.
Speaker:It's more quantity over quality.
Speaker:Maybe they're sending an animal to the wrong home, but they
Speaker:get the credit for that animal.
Speaker:Luckily, the rescues that I'm involved with and that I'm friends
Speaker:with they all try to find the best homes possible for rescues.
Speaker:But I can definitely see where you're coming from, Nancy, because
Speaker:there are times, for some groups where it is just like a numbers game
Speaker:All right, here's one from Elizabeth.
Speaker:That just because they say no-kill, it does not mean at all
Speaker:that they are actually no-kill.
Speaker:, Interesting comment because it, there is some truth to that.
Speaker:There are situations where animals may end up having to be
Speaker:euthanized for behavior issues.
Speaker:There are situations where animals may have to be euthanized for medical issues.
Speaker:Now as far as euthanizing animals for space I don't think that they
Speaker:can call themselves no-kill if they're euthanizing for space.
Speaker:But yeah, I have seen it where you will have it for behavioral or, medical.
Speaker:Now, of course, I'm not an expert on that, but anybody can go look up that , and
Speaker:I'm sure you'll find the answers to that.
Speaker:All right, so another one from Bonnie.
Speaker:That rescuers were kind to each other and collaborative
Speaker:So there is a lot of truth to that.
Speaker:I've been doing rescue for a really long time.
Speaker:Before having my own 501[c][3], I did volunteer , I guess 15 years.
Speaker:I've been doing this a really long time, and that's one thing that always
Speaker:frustrated me because, when I first got involved with it way back when, I
Speaker:always thought they all worked together.
Speaker:And I was very surprised to find out that it's a very cliquey thing.
Speaker:The thing that I compare it to is like high school, okay?
Speaker:It is.
Speaker:It is like high school.
Speaker:I have seen other rescuers talk about other rescuers behind their back and talk
Speaker:about, "Oh their animals are in horrible condition," "We're far superior to them."
Speaker:And when you bring up the idea of working with another rescue, people
Speaker:are "Why would we wanna do that?"
Speaker:And for me, it's like getting an animal a home.
Speaker:And I guess there's a lot of us that are naive in that respect.
Speaker:It's because, you go into it, and you're really doing it for the animals,
Speaker:but you find out that there are a lot of people that, as we mentioned
Speaker:before, want it for the recognition.
Speaker:They want it for their rescue but not for another rescue.
Speaker:So I do think that rescues need to be working on being
Speaker:collaborative with each other.
Speaker:I am all for collaboration.
Speaker:I think if we are gonna change anything, the best way to
Speaker:change it is with collaboration.
Speaker:Rescuers need to put their ego aside and do what's good for the animals.
Speaker:So thank you for opening up that discussion, Bonnie.
Speaker:That's a really good one.
Speaker:Okay, so here is one from Jill, that small towns could be convinced that cats cannot
Speaker:survive on rodents, that city officials trap cats, even pets, and just release
Speaker:them in the middle of nowhere to suffer, that neighbors would understand the ferals
Speaker:and strays I had spayed and neutered and loved and fed wet and dry food daily,
Speaker:fresh water, flea meds on ones I could touch, had the right to live in the
Speaker:neighborhood that they loved and knew also That I would be fined and made to go to
Speaker:court for cats going in a neighbor's yard.
Speaker:That a warrant would be issued if I did not go to court.
Speaker:The cats have zero rights in small towns.
Speaker:Also, that some rescuers and fosters think w- quantity over quality is
Speaker:better, and that a cat sanctuary would make sure my cats were safe and happy
Speaker:and cared for while being fostered.
Speaker:So I have seen that a lot recently in some of these p- small rural
Speaker:parishes in Louisiana where they do have feeding bans, and it is very sad.
Speaker:I can see the issue with feeding cats that are not TNR'd because
Speaker:they can become a nuisance.
Speaker:But once the cats are TNR'd, TNR solves all of those nuisance-type behaviors.
Speaker:And they do have a right to eat.
Speaker:Every being has a right to eat, so I definitely can agree with Jill on that.
Speaker:And I don't-- The cat sanctuary would make sure the cats were safe and happy
Speaker:and cared for while being fostered.
Speaker:I don't know that I can't answer on because I don't know what cat sanctuary
Speaker:she's referring to, but definitely with the deal with the feeding bans.
Speaker:The feeding bans are absolutely ridiculous.
Speaker:I can agree with you 100% on that, Jill.
Speaker:Thank you for your comment.
Speaker:All right, here's one from Kasha.
Speaker:That the public actually gives a damn.
Speaker:They've proven they do not in the 22 years that I've run my rescue.
Speaker:I'm so exhausted, so broke.
Speaker:They promise that donation if I just take this one.
Speaker:I'm so tired.
Speaker:I totally understand that because a lot of the times the public, they
Speaker:do want you to take everything, and they want you to take everything.
Speaker:They want you to take it now And I guess they d- I don't know if they do or if
Speaker:they don't realize the toll that this can take on a person, because rescues do
Speaker:wanna say yes, we do, but we also get to the point where we do get exhausted, and
Speaker:we only have so much space to deal with.
Speaker:And the public is just expecting us to do this for them, and if
Speaker:you don't, you're the bad person.
Speaker:Thank you so much for your comment, Kasha, and I definitely
Speaker:hope things get better for you.
Speaker:And thank you for what you do.
Speaker:All right, here's one from Karen: "I used to think that all the rescue groups
Speaker:competed against each other, but I have seen a big change that they actually
Speaker:work to s- together to support each other and can come together for the animals."
Speaker:I am so happy that you said that, Karen.
Speaker:I'm so glad to see that because for years, rescue groups were competing
Speaker:with each other, and I think collaboration definitely is the key.
Speaker:So I'm so glad that you have experienced this firsthand.
Speaker:I know personally for me, from being on this podcast, I met a lot of
Speaker:great rescues, a lot of great people, and I do collaborate with them.
Speaker:If I get some information that might help them, I share it with them, they
Speaker:share it with me, and I definitely think it works better for everybody that way.
Speaker:Okay, so here's another one from Hannah: "That I was making a difference."
Speaker:I understand that, definitely.
Speaker:I guess it goes back to that old story of the the starfish.
Speaker:If you help that one starfish but there's thousands of them still
Speaker:on the beach, you're making a difference for that one animal.
Speaker:So you're definitely making a difference.
Speaker:You're making a difference for that one animal.
Speaker:For the animals that are in your care, you are definitely making a difference.
Speaker:But I understand where you're coming from because you work so hard and it just
Speaker:seems like the phone calls never stop.
Speaker:So thank you so much, Hannah, for doing what you do.
Speaker:All right, here's one from Joan.
Speaker:"I thought they were funded by government, public, and philanthropic groups.
Speaker:Then after working with the group, I found out that there is little to
Speaker:no funding available and the groups had to raise m- their own money and
Speaker:donate personally as much as possible.
Speaker:This goes for not only financial costs but also for time, physical space, and work."
Speaker:This comment, 100%.
Speaker:There is so very little funding out there and raising funds is incredibly
Speaker:difficult and finding volunteers to help you is just as difficult.
Speaker:So a lot of us are all out here on our own.
Speaker:We really are.
Speaker:We do it because we love the animals.
Speaker:So thank you for your comment, Joan, and it was definitely spot on.
Speaker:All right, here's one from Barbara, that everyone works together.
Speaker:So again, that's the thing we went over about the collaboration,
Speaker:so thank you again, Barbara.
Speaker:Diane, that everyone in rescue work together to help animals.
Speaker:, There's a lot of people commenting saying that they definitely feel the same.
Speaker:So I do think that is something that we do need to see a change with.
Speaker:But like I said with Karen's comment, I'm glad that she sees
Speaker:that we're having a a change.
Speaker:And somebody actually even commented that there's other rescues destroy
Speaker:your, destroy you online, smear your name and try to ruin you.
Speaker:They did to me.
Speaker:I still haven't recovered and I'm still involved in a smear campaign and it's
Speaker:sad because I have seen that happen A comment from Meg that everyone in rescue
Speaker:has the same heart as you do, and we've gone over that about the whole deal with
Speaker:the recognition and the ego in rescue.
Speaker:Thank you for your comment, Meg.
Speaker:All right, a comment from William, that people who love
Speaker:cats were a little weird, but now.
Speaker:Yes, people that love cats are a little bit weird but people that love
Speaker:dogs are a different kind of weird, so all rescue people are weird.
Speaker:A comment from Nita, "It's important to have rescue partners.
Speaker:We are all in this together.
Speaker:I see much more partnerships than in the past."
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:I'm glad to see that you're working with groups, Nita, and I'm glad to see
Speaker:that you're seeing more partnerships, 'cause I definitely think that is the
Speaker:key, that whole collaboration thing.
Speaker:A comment from Patricia, "I had no idea how overwhelming the problems
Speaker:of overpopulation of cats and dogs are, and the people I know give so
Speaker:much of themselves, their time, and their money to save, s so many that
Speaker:no one else seems to care about."
Speaker:That is 100% true.
Speaker:Thank you for your comment, Patricia.
Meredith:"I used to believe that everyone involved in rescue was genuinely acting
Meredith:in the best interests of the animals.
Meredith:After years of doing this, I've learned that compassion, good
Meredith:intentions, and actual competence are three very different things.
Meredith:Unfortunately, not everyone involved is motivated by the same things.
Meredith:I've also learned that saving an animal and successfully rescuing one are not
Meredith:necessarily the same thing, and much of that comes back to the first point.
Meredith:Getting an animal out of a bad situation is just the beginning, but
Meredith:for some, that's where the work ends.
Meredith:The real work is everything that comes afterwards, the medical
Meredith:care, rehab, behavioral support, understanding the individual animal's
Meredith:needs, and taking responsibility for their long-term well-being.
Meredith:Rescue isn't a competition.
Meredith:It's not about numbers, recognition, social media applause, or who
Meredith:gets to claim they saved the day.
Meredith:It's about the animals.
Meredith:You would think that last part would be obvious, but here we are."
Meredith:Yeah, and I have seen that too.
Meredith:And Mary actually commented on that, that it shouldn't be a
Meredith:competition between rescuers.
Meredith:The competition should be just to get more animals rehabbed and adopted.
Meredith:I agree 100%.
Meredith:Comment from Laura, that everyone should work together and put
Meredith:their feelings and ego aside to do what is best for the animals.
Meredith:Absolutely.
Meredith:There's a lot of ego in animal rescue, though.
Meredith:A comment from Michelle that she believed it was all about the animals.
Meredith:So that's, again, what we already touched on, that there is a lot
Meredith:of that ego in animal rescue.
Meredith:Okay, comment from Shannon, that I could change the minds of elected officials
Meredith:because I thought if they really knew how bad the overpopulation numbers were,
Meredith:they would jump in immediately to help.
Meredith:There are very few out there that care, but not nearly enough.
Meredith:That is that is definitely a good statement too, Shannon.
Meredith:And that's something that has come up on this podcast quite a few times.
Meredith:A lot of people have actually have y- said something similar, that they believe
Meredith:that's one of the, the, the problems is getting the elected officials involved.
Meredith:Comment from Mandy, that everyone has the best interest of the animals in mind.
Meredith:The people would never let their ego or greed get in the way,
Meredith:and that everyone always got the recognition that they deserve.
Meredith:So that's back to that first comment that we made again, and that's absolutely true.
Meredith:There's so much ego in animal rescue.
Meredith:And again, like I said earlier if you know somebody that's not getting
Meredith:the recognition that they deserve turn, make sure you tell them.
Meredith:A comment from Jerry, "I thought I could save them all."
Meredith:And Jerry, just know you're making a difference in the lives of
Meredith:the ones that you are helping.
Meredith:Comment from Chelsea, "I thought that they were willing to help
Meredith:any pet that was in a danger.
Meredith:In reality, they go for the ones and leave all the pitties and mutts in the shelter.
Meredith:I also thought everyone worked together for the greater good.
Meredith:And don't get me wrong, I know a lot of great people in the rescue world,
Meredith:but there are some of these whack jobs that just want to villainize shelters.
Meredith:They forget the volunteers and workers in the shelter are literally in the
Meredith:front lines of a never-ending battle.
Meredith:We don't deserve to be demonized.
Meredith:We are not monsters.
Meredith:We don't get the luxury to turn animals down."
Meredith:And yeah, what she's saying about the shelter workers I do see people
Meredith:villainizing the shelters all the time, and I don't think that they're
Meredith:realizing the work that goes into to the shelters and how stressful it is.
Meredith:If you're out there working in a shelter, Chelsea, thank you for what you do.
Meredith:All right, so here's another comment that rescuers would welcome new volunteers.
Meredith:Rescuers I know I'm grateful for new volunteers, definitely.
Meredith:I don't know why a rescue would turn down volunteers.
Meredith:I'm the type of person that would say "If you can come help even just
Meredith:for one day, it's helpful to me."
Meredith:Like I, I know right now we're doing the kennels at the adoption
Meredith:center and, it's really just it's just me and my husband right now.
Meredith:We have two people that did sign up to come help us, and they come help
Meredith:us when they're available to help us, and I'm very grateful for that.
Meredith:So you know, if somebody can't commit to come in every single day but
Meredith:they're like, "Hey, I can help you with tomorrow morning," I am very grateful
Meredith:to have that, and I welcome that.
Meredith:I welcome any help that we can get actually.
Meredith:So for rescues that don't wanna welcome new volunteers, I don't
Meredith:really know what to say about that.
Meredith:All right, here's one from Clementine: "I figured big names in rescue
Meredith:meant they did big deep work.
Meredith:Learned that they really just hide behind a lot of big branding.
Meredith:I also learned that if you try to actually change things for a better system overall,
Meredith:you're gonna get villainized in a hurry."
Meredith:All right.
Meredith:So the big names I'm not gonna drop any big names here.
Meredith:But I can definitely understand where she's coming because you do see a lot of
Meredith:these big groups that people donate money to, and I don't think that they realize
Meredith:that it's a lot of the small groups that are doing a lot of the work too.
Meredith:All right.
Meredith:Here's one from Tien that they got paid and reimbursed for
Meredith:their out-of-pocket expenses.
Meredith:Yeah, I think that, that's a tough one 'cause if you're in rescue, I know I
Meredith:have a lot of out-of-pocket expenses.
Meredith:Even when I was volunteering with another group, I had a
Meredith:lot of out-of-pocket expenses.
Meredith:But again, that was my choice.
Meredith:They offered to provide food and litter, but a lot of the times I
Meredith:would just kinda go get my own.
Meredith:I know for me personally if we have a foster I will offer, food and litter and
Meredith:supplies and everything that's needed.
Meredith:Some people will take us up on this, and other people like to
Meredith:contribute their own supplies.
Meredith:But that's a good comment.
Meredith:Thank you, Tianne.
Meredith:All right, one from Philip: "I used to think all rescues work together
Meredith:for the same goal, but just after a few years in, I can see that it can
Meredith:be cutthroat, backstabby, and cliquey.
Meredith:I've seen street gangs with more ethics."
Meredith:And again, that's a comment we've covered or the topic we've covered already.
Meredith:All right, comment from Jennifer: "People care."
Meredith:And it's sad when you start working with the public and
Meredith:you realize how few people do.
Meredith:From another one from Nita: "It's getting better.
Meredith:It's still bad, but it's better than it was in the '70s."
Meredith:That's encouraging at least.
Meredith:Maybe it just'll take another 15, 50 years to get it even
Meredith:better than where it is now.
Meredith:Okay, here's one from Naomi: "Honestly, I lived and breathed rescue until I didn't.
Meredith:I had four d- dogs I took care of the same way I take care of my children today.
Meredith:Every one of them all had health insurance.
Meredith:They went to the doctor for checkups every six months to a
Meredith:year, all on heartworm medicine.
Meredith:I did make the decision to stop vaccinations when their
Meredith:health started to decline.
Meredith:One had kidney disease, another hip dysplasia, and
Meredith:another one myasthenia gravis."
Meredith:My oldest girl lived to be 18, then 12 and 14.
Meredith:I lost Beau that battled the myasthenia gravis disease at 11 after
Meredith:a year-long battle and $21,000 later.
Meredith:Yes, $21,000.
Meredith:My dogs big and little lived inside.
Meredith:I spent thousands of dollars on keeping them healthy and making sure
Meredith:that they had the best foods and supplements, and I always had a sitter
Meredith:come here when we were out of town.
Meredith:Endless grooming appointments, beds, blankets, toys, everything.
Meredith:But today, if I apply for a pet in rescue, I'm not allowed because
Meredith:I didn't keep a vaccine schedule.
Meredith:This is so ridiculous and unfair.
Meredith:My kids today, I chose what goes into their bodies the same way I
Meredith:did for the dogs, what I thought was best for them at the time.
Meredith:My dogs never knew what it was like to not have care or loved, never kept
Meredith:outside or slept on a cold ground.
Meredith:Still to this day, even with them being gone, they still live in the
Meredith:house, their urns honored on the shelf with their past loved ones and
Meredith:pictures of their memories everywhere.
Meredith:But in the eyes of a rescue group, I am not fit because I didn't
Meredith:regularly vaccinate my dogs.
Meredith:I'm sorry to hear that, Naomi.
Meredith:I know each rescue has their own rules.
Meredith:You may find one out there that would be more accommodating to you.
Meredith:I know I just adopted out to someone who had a cat, and the cat had some kind
Meredith:of disease and couldn't be vaccinated, and her vet was okay with that.
Meredith:For me, if I call your vet, and your vet is okay with it and is
Meredith:telling me your dogs are healthy and they're good I'm gonna go by that.
Meredith:I know some people wanna see the schedule.
Meredith:For me, it's more about what your vet is gonna say.
Meredith:But one thing that I'm gonna point out about your comment Is I got
Meredith:denied a cat years and years ago.
Meredith:This is such a long time ago, but I actually applied for a rescue group.
Meredith:I got denied a cat, and the funny thing about that story is I ended
Meredith:up becoming a volunteer for the same group that I got denied by.
Meredith:And that was something that I always laughed at because here it is, I got
Meredith:denied for a cat when I was younger, and I ended up volunteering with this group,
Meredith:and I can't even tell you how many hours.
Meredith:I was probably putting in 20 hours a week to this group, and so I can
Meredith:definitely understand your frustration.
Meredith:But keep looking, and I, \- hope you find somebody out there
Meredith:who's willing to work with you.
Meredith:A comment from Rebecca: "I didn't think it was going to be generally this hard.
Meredith:I thought fundraising would be easier, donors and grants.
Meredith:I sure the heck didn't expect people to yell at me for not taking
Meredith:care of their animal situation."
Meredith:100%, Rebecca.
Meredith:100%.
Meredith:I'm right there with you.
Meredith:Kathleen.
Meredith:I'm sorry, comment from Catherine: "That it's making a difference.
Meredith:Small picture, yes.
Meredith:Big picture, no.
Meredith:It's a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound, and until it's funded the way it
Meredith:needs to be, nothing will be changed."
Meredith:Catherine, I'm just gonna take a second to tell you thank you for what you do.
Meredith:And you are making a difference, definitely, in the
Meredith:animals that you are helping.
Meredith:Okay, comment from Sharon that people care.
Meredith:Again, that's something that people keep bringing up.
Meredith:A comment from Veronica: "I definitely didn't expect inflated egos and
Meredith:intolerance from a group of people who are supposed to be united through compassion.
Meredith:Many rescuers would turn down help for an animal rather than accept
Meredith:it from someone who is not in their clique or whose political or personal
Meredith:beliefs don't align with theirs."
Meredith:Veronica has been on the show numerous times.
Meredith:I can definitely agree with this comment.
Meredith:And like I said before with the comments from Nita and Karen they said
Meredith:that they're seeing a difference and people are becoming more collaborative.
Meredith:Like I said, I know with me, I work with other groups, and so
Meredith:I do see people open to that, so hopefully we can change things.
Meredith:But the, the trend here seems to be, that seems to be the biggest thing
Meredith:is that rescuers don't work together.
Meredith:I wanna thank everybody who commented on this.
Meredith:I'm gonna go ahead and as I end the show here, I'm going to give my comment
Meredith:And my comment actually is
Meredith:I didn't expect the way, the amount of calls that I was gonna get for people
Meredith:calling to rehome or surrender animals compared to the amount for adoptions.
Meredith:I never expected that each day I would get about 15 calls for people calling to
Meredith:surrender, but yet maybe I was lucky if I got one for people calling to adopt.
Meredith:That's shocking to me.
Meredith:And even worse is that when you try to help people and try to offer them
Meredith:a solution, that out of those 15 calls, you might have one of them
Meredith:that's open to helping and to maybe fostering in place or listen to the
Meredith:advice that you have, and the other 14 just get really mad at you, and they
Meredith:expect you to solve their problem.
Meredith:That's my comment.
Meredith:I hope everybody enjoyed this.
Meredith:I know it was a little bit different from what we normally do.
Meredith:So let me know in the comments, what's the one thing you used to li believe about
Meredith:animal rescue that you no longer believe?
Meredith:And I hope you found this episode to be helpful and entertaining 'cause
Meredith:some of the comments were pretty good.
Meredith:So thank you to everybody who participated and I hope y'all come back
Meredith:to catch us for next week's episode.
Meredith:Bye y'all.
