Shebas
A lot goes into helping these unwanted animals.
A lot of hurt.
A lot of anger.
A lot of worry.
More sadness than the ordinary person can bear. 
Enough fear to break the strongest man.
Friendships. 
Marriages.
Homes.
Hopes...
The list goes on. Rescuers lay awake at night, thinking. Worrying. Praying. Reliving.
They cry hard when a life ends long before it should have.
They cry even harder when one makes it to the other side where they will be wanted, where they will have the life they should have had from the start. It doesnt happen as often as it should, or as fast as we want or need it to. Especially when we know that for every one that makes it, ten more have alreay filled its place. 
Rescuers stretch their bank accounts, their families, their relationships, their sanity, until there is no more to stretch. The financial burden of these animals, the dogs and cats that are thrown away like trash for someone else to clean up doubles -sometimes triples - what it would have been had their owner taken care of their pet responsibly.
Rescuers put a lot of effort into the abandoned, abused and neglected animals other people walk on past,  as if by not looking at it, it doesn't exsist. 
A lot goes into all these animals. A lot of someones life goes into these animals. No rescuer starts their day hoping there will be plenty of victims to save. 
 Rescuers give up their freedom, their dreams, to save the ones that cannot save themselves. 
Is it their choice? Is rescue a choice, or is it a calling? 
 Could you choose to walk past an elderly lady while she lay bleeding to death? Could you choose to turn away from the little child that had been set on fire? 

A rescuer can't choose to walk away from the helpless. 
A dog, a cat, are just as helpless as the old, the frail, and the very young. Just as an infant cannot speak the words to ask for help, neither can a dog. Does that mean the need is not present, or that help does not need to be given?
The souls of the silent scream just as loudly as the ones that have voices. Only God's chosen few hear those screams. God opens the ears of the ones He can use.
Rescue is the God given ability to heal the wounded, to hear what others cannot. Not as physicians or miracle workers, but as servants of God, doing God's work. 
Everyone can help save lives. Adopt, foster, advocate, donate. 
Maybe you've been blessed with a lot of free time? Volunteer. Take a rescue dog for a walk. Maybe God is trying to use you by blessing you with a little extra some where that in some way you can use to bless another. 
Look at your world from a different angle. There IS a way you can help. 
If you can't do anything but donate a few dollars, you're doing so much more than you could ever realize. Every dollar saves a life. Every single dollar makes such an enormous difference. Never ever think that it doesn't. 
Donate to a small local rescue. Doesn't matter how much. Just do it. Only good can come from good and good only comes from God. Do what good you can, and you'll see it multiply, you will see the blessings it brings to your life. 
Po Box 120 •  Prentiss, MS 39474  •  shebas [ at ] rescueteam.com