Hello! So, finally I'm gonna be posting about one of the things I'm most passionate about: stray animal rescue. I've been doing this ever since I was 15 years old. With every new rescue I learn new things, so in five years, there's a lot I can talk about. So I'm going to divide this subject in three different posts:
- Social networks: Tips for posting and sharing information.
- How to go from being a passive activist to being an active one.
- Tips to have a successful rescue and not die while trying: If you're new to rescue, I have some great tips and advice to help you stay sane.
So, if you want some cool advice and learn about other ways help animals, stay tuned for those posts!
Now, it's time for a little story...
I believe that there are defining moments in life. The moment you realize that you are here for a reason, that you are born not only to study, work, get married, have kids and at the end, to die, but to make the world a better place. I had that moment five years ago, and it was because of this little guy named Tommy.
One day, I was with my sister running some errands in my city's downtown. After we did everything we had to do, we started walking back to the bus stop to go back home. As we walked, I noticed some people up ahead who were painting a wall on our left. While we got closer, I saw this cute little white puppy sniffing around shyly near the people that were painting. I thought to myself "Aw.. I hope someone does something for that puppy... Poor thing...". As I walked closer I noticed how the puppy got a bit too close to a man and all of a sudden the man kicked him. I got enfuriated. I walked up to the man and asked him "Is that dog yours?!". He said it wasn't. I got the puppy and as I left, the man said "I can sell him to you if you want!!!". I ignored him and just kept walking. There I was, holding a really dirty dog, with fleas, ticks and worms to pass around. I had no idea of what I was doing. First thing I thought was "Well, I could leave him in the park, at least there are other dogs there...". When I got to the park I thought "But what if the dogs don't like him and bite him? Maybe I'll leave him outside my urb, there are few dogs and people feed them". When I got to my urb, I thought "But what if he gets lost? It would be my fault if something happened to him for bringing him here". At the end, I took him to my house, gave him a bath with my dog's shampoo, took him outside and started picking out all the fleas and ticks. It was all normal until I got to his ears. He had so much dirt and ticks in there that all you could see was this black mushy substance. I stayed with my little sister cleaning him out the whole afternoon, and during that time we named him Tommy. .jpg)
My parents had gone on a trip around that time, and in a few days they would be back. They would kill me if they saw the puppy so I started calling friends asking for help. At the end, one of my best friends gave me a phone number. I called and it was a lady who gave puppies up for adoption. I told her about the puppy and how I wanted him to go to a good home. She found a young man who really wanted a dog, and in the end, he adopted Tommy. We were all very sad to see him go, but we had the satisfaction of knowing we did something good.
One of the things I regretted the most was not keeping the young man's phone number. I didn't know about adoption contracts or neutering. I know that young man was going to be a good owner but it still would've been good to have his phone number (At least). But that's one of the things experience taught me. I still feel very thankful for the support I had during that rescue and the fact that I could give Tommy a good home.
After that, I realized that I couldn't just feel bad for stray animals. I always hoped someone would do something. In the end, the person who did something, was me.
So, I hope you liked my little story about my first rescue. Stay tuned for the next posts! They are definitely gonna be helpful for you guys and gals!
- 6:40 PM
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