I am an animal rescuer

Here's one of those emails that circulate around the rescue world, make us cry, and help us keep going on rough days. It's a self-stroke to the ego, but we need that sometimes. It also pretty much sums up my life. It is attributed to Annette Kincker, and I've edited portions of it for brevity.

I am an animal rescuer.

I will never bring about world peace.

I will not save the rain forest.

I'm not a brain surgeon and I'll never transplant an organ to save a life.

I don't have the ear of a powerful politician or world power.

I can't end world hunger.

I'm not a celebrity, and God knows I'm not glamorous!

I'm not looked up to by millions around the world. Very few people even recognize my name.


There are a lot of things that I'll never do or become, but today I placed a dog! It was a small, scared, bundle of flesh and bones that was dropped off in a shelter by unfeeling people that didn't care what happened to it, but yet who were responsible for it even having existence in the first place. I found it a home. It now has contentment and an abundance of love. A warm place to sleep and plenty to eat. A child has a warm fuzzy new friend who will give them unquestioning devotion and teach them about responsibility and love. A wife and mother has a new spirit to nurture and care for. A husband and a father has a companion to sit at his feet at the end of a hard day of work and help him relax and enjoy life.


I am an animal rescuer. I have bought dog food with my last dime. I have patted a mangy head with a bare hand. I have hugged someone vicious and afraid. I have fallen in love a thousand times and I have cried into the fur of a lifeless body.

I am an Animal Rescuer. My work is never done. My home is never quiet. My wallet is always empty, but my heart is always full.

[For those playing along at home, the pictures from the top down are: Teddy and Brady; the new rottie mix pup, named Rowdy by my mother; and Emmylou and Rocky sharing the bed.]