Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis (1952)
There is too much kudos going on in the dog rescue world at the moment for my liking.
Everyone involved has their own opinion on how things should be done, they often think that they are in a better position to dictate because of many reasons, the most common being the length of time they have been involved in the welfare of dogs. Judgements run high on people’s self-worth, often unfortunately to the detriment of the cause they are trying to address.
I am talking here about the small, independent rescues and charities. There is some unknown force that often works between them to alienate them from the main concern, that is to do the best for the animals.
On one hand, many rescues are getting slated by people that they have turned-down as a potential new home for a certain dog and rather than find out the reasons behind the decision other people are jumping on the bandwagon to slander them as being dictators. However, not ever situation is right for every dog. The pros and cons have to be weighed-up carefully because a dog in rescue has already gone through enough and to then place them somewhere unsuitable is not in the best interest of the dog, no matter how fantastic the home may seem. The last thing a rescue wants it for a dog to be returned.
Then there are the people that see themselves as above everyone else. They are the dictators. They decide the fate of the dogs in their care not on logic but on how they can get the most publicity for themselves as being a do-gooder. They make personal choices about who they like and as such favour them if they apply, regardless of the times before that they have returned a dog because it didn’t fit-in with what they want, often without giving it a long enough period for it to have a chance to settle.
Alongside all of this are the unsung heroes, the ones that quietly get on with it. The ones that never seek publicity, never want to be in the limelight and are there simply for the animals that come to them for help.
Every case is a judgement call for those involved … in an ideal world everyone would work together for the good of all animals and support the rescues involved. That said, in an ideal world they would be no need for rescues in the first place.