Our mantra is that the animals are our clients, and we will find the best homes for them. Some of our animals have led terrible lives. Some have been crated for their entire lives, only allowed out of the crate to take care of elimination (and sometimes not even then). Others have been chained outside without shelter and often with limited food and water.

We have rescued animals that have been left in abandoned houses, tied to trees in the woods, dropped on major highways. There is no doubt that those of us who participate in rescue take a very dim view of people who treat animals so badly. But the other side of the coin is that we meet so many others involved in rescue as well as adopters who are wonderful, caring people. We could not survive in this endeavor if we were not optimistic about human nature.

We rescue animals! That means that we do not rescue perfect animals. We rescue puppies, kittens, old dogs, old cats, animals that are ill with heartworm or cancer, blind, deaf, with only three legs. We rescue animals that have lived in a loving home all their lives, but we also rescue animals that have been beaten, starved, and abandoned. Each of these animals has different needs. There is not a “one size fits all” philosophy in rescue. Not everyone is open to the minor accommodations needed by a blind animal, can devote the necessary time to care for a puppy, or is equipped to nurse a sick cat back to heath. That’s why we have adoption applications and why we interview our Volunteers devote countless hours, with their only return the joy of seeing a pet go to a good home. The idea that we would keep this from happening is patently absurd. The more animals we place in good homes, the more we are able to take in from the shelters. But we will never rescue an animal from a bad environment and place it in another bad or inappropriate environment.