This is the moment when I get philosophical. Brace yourselves.
I believe, as I said in a previous post (Not sure which one), that there's always a defining moment in our lives. It's different for everyone, but it's usually when we decide that we just HAVE to do something. In most animal rescue cases, we decide we just can't leave an animal on the street. We see that poor little creature, with those sad eyes and dirty fur and we just think "I can't leave it there. I just can't. My mom is going to kill me" or something along those lines.
At first, we don't know what to do, we don't know if we should hold that animal with our bare hands or where to put it. You just kinda grab it but you can't put it down. You feel responsible. You feel as though you just made a commitment to that animal and you just can't let it go. You start thinking about who might want it, you worry about how you're gonna be able to get someone to adopt it, how long it will be with you, and you just kinda panic a bit.
My goal is to help you out when that moment comes. Of course, my journey was a bit difficult considering I never really knew what to do or anyone to give me advice. So, I'm gonna make a small list with some of the things experience taught me. So, that being said, let's begin!
- TAKE IT TO THE VET: This is the most important thing on this list. DON'T GO HOME AFTER YOU RESCUE. GO TO THE VET. Specially if you have other pets at home. You don't know what kind of disease your rescue might have and it might need medication or some sort of treatment. I can't stress this enough. GO TO THE VET. If you do have pets and were not able to go to the vet straight away, put the animal in a bathroom o a place where it can't have immediate contact with your pets. Trust me on this one. I learnt this the hard way.
- Give it food and water: Alright, important thing number two. You don't know if the animal you rescued has had anything to eat. For all you know, perhaps it hasn't eaten in days. So, it's important to hydrate it and fill up that tummy. Food and water will help them get more energy and recover if they have wounds. Animals tend to be grateful, specially strays. Since the treatment they usually receive is made up mostly by abuse in many forms, you can expect them to be grateful for food. Thing is, you have to be careful. You don't know if that animal has a problem with people getting too close to their food or something. Best thing you can do is serve them some food, leave it on the floor, and watch their behavior. Give them space, they don't know what's going on.
- Check for fleas, ticks and injuries: If you didn't get the chance to stop by the vet and went straight home, you're gonna have to do the checking. Look for an old eyebrow tweezer and run your hand through the animal's hair (Most of the time it's easier when you rescue dogs. I wouldn't try to touch a cat's tummy at the very least). Check the ears, between the toes and the tummy first. These are usually places you can find a lot of little bloodthirsty (and disgusting) bugs like fleas and ticks. You have to be careful when removing the ticks. You have to grab them as close to the skin as you can and pull up with even, steady pressure, careful to not break the mouth parts. If they do break and stay in the skin, don't panic, just let it heal. If you find the animal has any injuries or myiasis. If it does, a trip to the vet is gonna be absolutely necessary.
- Deworming and Vaccines: When you go to the vet, the first thing you're probably gonna have to hear is that the animal needs to be dewormed and vaccinated. This is very very important since there are tons of parasites that could be harming that animal and preventing him from becoming that healthy, adoptable, beautiful animal someone will fall in love with, and, in case someone decides to adopt, it's a guarantee for you that the animal isn't going to get sick with the disease you vaccinated it against.
- Bathing (Dogs): I say only dogs because obviously cats are much much more delicate. The don't like to be handled around a lot, and they don't like getting wet. Put those two together and it might not be the greatest idea ever. After the vet, you should give that little angel a nice bath and let it rest. They'll feel a ton better, and bathtime is ideal to check if there are any fleas or ticks left.
- Last but not least, putting it up for adoption: The last tip. If it's your first time it's not all that easy to find someone who will adopt. You have to turn to social networks. Most animal welfare organizations have Twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts where they put the dates of their events. Look for an adoption event near you and take your rescue when they are absolutely healthy. When you are there, don't let it come in contact with other animals or step on places where other animals might have been. You don't know if everyone has been as careful as you have with their rescue's health and you don't want your rescue to catch something. You should also post the animal's photo on social networks like I explained in this post Stray animal rescue and Social networks: Tips for posting and sharing information.
Remember, you can't just wait for someone to do something. You are that SOMEONE! You are the person that can make a difference. We are all agents of change in our world. If doing good things was easy, the world would be a very different place. Since it's not, we have to be brave enough to do something to make the world a place worth living in. We might not see immediate results, and things might not go as planned, but we have to think that everything we do and everything we say is an opportunity to inspire people, to help them understand, to open their eyes to one of the many cruel truths people refuse to see.
I hope you awesome readers liked this post. I really hope it help you out and gives you that little push you need to help out stray animals. Stay tuned :)
- 11:25 PM
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