Have you ever come upon a dog in the road, sick, hungry, all alone, barely moving, and left for dead? How did it make you feel? Did you just drive away? Did you stop and try to help? Did you not know what to do or which way to go? Most people don't. They want to help, but don't know how. That's where we come in. We come to the bad situations, the beaten, scared, hollowed out souls that have forgotten how to be dogs. 

As a rescuer I have seen many bad situations that dogs are faced with. I have seen flea and tick infestations so bad that the dogs have no color to their gums, yet they wag their tail when I approach. I have seen broken bones and bodies yet I still feel the lick of a tongue. I've seen sadness in their eyes, yet a smile on their face. This is when you know there is hope. To see all the bad things that an animal (not just dogs) can go through, and know that the animal still has hope, how could you just walk away?

This is not an animal problem, it is very much a people problem. Animals did not do this to themselves. We as people, a community, a town, a county, a country have done this to them. No one person, rescue, shelter, or even group is going to fix this problem that we have all created. It is going to take an army. An army of rescuers. Will there every be enough people, enough homes, enough money, enough love? With 3 years spent in the life of a rescuer I say no. There will never be enough. For every dog that gets a home there are 10 more waiting to take it's place at the shelter. 

How can you help in your area? You have little to no money to give? You have no room for more animals at your house? You have time. Even an hour. Help a neighbor to keep their dog that's running loose by offering to help build a fence with them. Go to your local shelter or rescue. Offer to scoop some poop, walk a dog, brush a cat, set out a bowl of kibble. Most of the time it is the same people doing these jobs every day of the week, month, and year. You think they don't get tired? You think they don't need a break? I promise you they would welcome the helping hand that you could offer even if only for half an hour. When you are "really" involved in rescue work you only wish that you had that extra 15 minutes to play with the dogs. Instead in that 15 minutes you have to answer the phones, texts, emails from people with strays, surrenders, the broken, and the bleeding. And you wonder, who answers the calls when you can't? What happens to those dogs, cats, horses, goats, small mammals? Do you really want the answer?

Go today. Don't wait. Tomorrow may not come for some of these animals. Volunteer that 5 minutes before work, after work, during lunch. You will find that 1 small dollar, 15 short minutes, might just change the life of an animal who only wanted a friend for a second.