The Rescuer's Creed

[Angels3]

This was posted on the OzDogRescue site.

The Rescuer's Creed

I promise I will take your unwanted animals.

I will heal their wounds, their diseases, their broken bones.

I will give them the medical attention they need and deserve.

I will nurture their starvation, and give them a warm place to sleep.

I will spay and neuter them, vaccinate them against the diseases that can harm them.

I will treat them and honor them.

I will buy them toys, blankets, balls, and teach them to play.

I will speak softly to them.

I will try to teach them not to fear, not to cry, and not to hate.

I will whisper sweet, kind, gentle words into their ears, while gently trying to stroke their fear, their pain, and their scars away.

I will face their emotional scars and give them time to overcome them.

I will socialize them, potty train them, teach them to be obedient, show them dignity, and hold their paws, and stroke their ears if they have endured too much and walk them over the Rainbow Bridge,

BUT most of all I will teach them Love.
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[mugsy]

I love that poem! That speaks to exactly how my husband and I feel. We have 10 dogs and they are all rescues and I wish we could save them all!

[Angels3]

Mugsy, it sounds like you & your husband have done a great deal for dogs in distress. I agree with you, I'd like to help them all, too. Our elderly sheltie is a rescue dog (when he was 18 months old) & every time I hug him I remember how he was found straying & in poor condition, with rope burns around his neck, desperately trying to drink some drops of water from a tap in a park. And I still tell him that he's safe & loved now and will never suffer again like that...and he's 14 yrs old ! Our 2 cats are also rescues..& were thought too ill to survive. Now, over 10 yrs later they live the life of Riley. Our first rescue dog was a little black mixed-breed lady called Tessa who lived until she was 22 yrs old. By that time, her name had been changed to 'Grandma'.
I wish that everybody would consider adding even just one rescue animal to their pet family.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Angels3 that is a wonderful poem and it tells of the dedication of all the people who do work in rescue and spend their time with the sick, homeless, distressed, hungry
pets discarded by an uncaring society. I'm sorry to say that I have never got a rescue pet, but at our age I just think it would be unfair to get one not knowing how many years we have left. I thank God every day that we have Perry and Daisy and I am dedicated to making sure they will always be loved and cared for, if not by us, we have a promise from our Son he will take them should that day come.

[Angels3]

Jackie, I agree with you. We, too, are retired people & have to think of the future for any new pet we get. So we've decided that our next forever Tibetan Spaniel will be a Senior Rescue Dog.
The one we would have liked to take was called Grandpa Joe...but he was in Sydney, a long way from where we live. He's about 12 yrs old, & was taken to the pound after being found straying & lost & in poor condition. Now he's in a happy home in his home city. You can see this sweet happy old fellow at: http://www.aussieTibRescue.com/Joe.html
Some dog shelters are now keeping lists of Senior Dogs for people preferring to take on a dog in need but with a shorter life span.

Lots of pats for Perry & Daisy.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Granpa Joe is so pretty, I'm so glad he found a home to live out his days. I do think about a Senior dog, then I'm not sure, I'm not making excuses but Perry is so
aggressive to other dogs, we did try to adopt another little Schnauzer and the people brought her down here from Los Angeles and he attacked her really attacked her three times. I was so scared. He would act like everything was o.k. then jump on her and attack her. He is so attached to Daisy I don't know, I think he thought he was protecting her. Daisy does not like kids in anyway, so we have to be really careful with both of them in where we go or what we do. We got him at 8 months and Daisy when she was 8 weeks old. I think we had them at home and it is our fault we didn't socialize them enough. They are not your dogs that can go out and play with other dogs and I have to be very careful if someone wants to pet them. As I say, I know it is our fault, we did take Perry to a behaviorist but didn't do much good. They wouldn't take him in
classes, he was to aggressive, but we love them both with all our hearts and we understand how they are and adjust for it.
I guess I am rambling on.

[Angels3]

Jackie, I didn't think you were rambling. I thought you were being very thoughtful & sensible about adding another pet to your household. We'll have to do exactly the same kind of thinking when we look at adding our next dog. And we don't know how things will work out either. There are the resident dogs to consider (& the 2 cats, too.)
I'm glad you liked Grandpa Joe...he's an absolute darling.