Helpful Guide Lines for Rescuers
Hope it helps get you through those tough days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Rescue organizations experience high burnout rates, especially in
popular breeds. Several years ago, Barbara Pietrangelo, a breeder and
rescuer of Weimaraners in Pennsylvania, put together a set of
guidelines to help rescuers avoid burnout. She presented the list and
these comments to the rescuers gathered at the 1997 Rescue Symposium
of the National Animal Interest Alliance.
Helpful Guide Lines for Rescuers
Hope it helps get you through those tough days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Rescue organizations experience high burnout rates, especially in
popular breeds. Several years ago, Barbara Pietrangelo, a breeder and
rescuer of Weimaraners in Pennsylvania, put together a set of
guidelines to help rescuers avoid burnout. She presented the list and
these comments to the rescuers gathered at the 1997 Rescue Symposium
of the National Animal Interest Alliance.
* Recognize and accept that you cannot save every animal. "Rescue
work is an emotional roller coaster," she said. There is little or no
use in making it worse by giving yourself undeserved guilt trips."
* Stand by your convictions. "Don't try to second-guess yourself;
make your decision and stand by it."
* Use common sense. "If you have no room for just one more dog, don't
take just one more dog."
* Learn to say no. "Don't allow yourself to be coerced into saying
yes to something that you can't do and do well. That 'yes' could be
the very one that blows your already well-worn fuses. Say no, accept
the responsibility for saying no, and try to find someone else to
help. But say no and don't feel guilty because you did."
* Don't be judgmental. "Accept people for what they are. I used to
hate every person who gave up their dog. I used to hate every breeder
who wouldn't or couldn't take their dog back. Then I realized that I
was wasting so much time brooding and hating that I was giving myself
an ulcer. . You can't change people, you can only change what you
have control over."
* Learn to take action. "Put your time and effort to constructive
use" by contacting BCCC, the CCofC, the CKC, the SPCA, the media, the
provincial and local agencies in charge of animal care, when
appropriate and by sweet-talking breeders who won't take back their
own animals.
* Ask for help.
* Ask for money.
* Accept euthanasia in necessary cases. "Providing a humane end to an
animal's life is part of what we do."
* Learn to prioritize. "Make time for your family and friends. Make
time for your own animals. Please don't allow your friends, family,
and your own animals to fall by the wayside because of rescue. Keep
some time aside to have fun!"
* Be patient with callers.
*( Know when to quit. "The world got along after Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated. The rescue world will get along without you.
* You will know when it is time to quit. Some of the signs? Making
errors in judgment. Depression. You aren't feeling as good about
rescue as you used to feel. The signs are many and varied."
Those who follow these guidelines stand a good chance of a successful
stint in rescue.
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group May 2, 2003