Planning Ahead And Winding Down.  

All my life I’ve rescued animals. I’m hard-wired for it. It’s all I know. Couldn’t stop if I tried. And that’s my dilemma. Having devoted the best and most years of my life to saving animals’ lives in volume, I’ve grown to an age where I no longer can keep up the pace. I have to make peace with this reality and learn to start saying no. This is turning out to be the toughest lesson of my life.

Because when do you decide to stop? This is life we’re talking about. With all the precious little lives in line at your doorstep in desperate need of refuge, at what point do you say ok you are the last one in, the rest of you don’t get saved? I don’t have it in me to shut the door. But still I have to – I have to figure out how. And to do it without the gut-wrenching guilt that hits me point-blank in my heart when I even think about quitting rescue.

For starters, I need to recognize that I am not the only person in the world who rescues – there are many others who have the same heart and dedication. And even more will come. Once I can get that through my head, I should be able to move forward … I think.

So I’m trying to approach the concept in baby steps. Instead of just quitting cold turkey, how about just cutting back a little?  And as I make that adjustment, assuming I do, then maybe I can cut back a little bit more. After all, I know me — I could never stop entirely. God forbid I ever start living my life selfishly.

Why Is It Important To Plan Ahead? 

One of the reasons it’s important to reduce my involvement in pet rescue at this stage of my life is when I consider what will happen to the pets in my home when I pass?  What will become of them, and the promise I made to each of them that they will always be safe and cared for? Can I trust the folks that step in and close out the details of my life to also care thoughtfully for the pets I leave behind? One thought that hits me quickly is the fewer rescues I have at that point, the easier for folks to find homes for them when I’m gone. Makes sense — placing a dog and two cats at one time is easier than placing ten dogs and 17 cats.

I’ve seen over and over and over again the backwash of broken promises and lives lost because there was no planning ahead, and no one willing to pick up the baton when a pet rescuer passes. Time and again the animals are left wallowing alone inside the rescuer’s home, often without food and water, until someone is forced to “deal” with them so the house can be sold. Then they get dumped at shelters because there is still no one to be bothered to love and care for the little souls left behind. It’s bad enough they’re suffering the loss of their beloved human, and now they’re tossed like garbage, probably for at least the second time. They were, after all, rescued to begin with. God bless them, they go from treasured to trash in the time it takes their rescuer to breathe her last breath.

My Aha! Moment

I am the Founder and President of Milagro Senior Pet Refuge. I still run the day-to-day operations, and I still have rescue seniors in my home. But about two years ago, I woke up to the need to get my rescue affairs in order. After decades of watching senior pets be abandoned when their rescuer or owner passes, and everyone offering up excuses why they can’t possibly be bothered to take the poor babies, I realized I want to be the exception.

But I couldn’t get past the guilt that would tie me in knots every time I tried to say no to a new rescue. I always ended up still taking them in.

Then it dawned on me – I could transition from fostering to networking. This way, I’m still advocating and saving homeless pets. But, by networking, I’m finding other homes for them. This way, I can satisfy my heart that I’m still helping, and at the same time I keep the number of pets in my home from going up. Also, now when a rescue pet that’s already in my home passes, I don’t go out and fill that spot like I used to. So my numbers are beginning to come down now naturally and somewhat comfortably (as in less guilt) to a more manageable level for my age, without me feeling as if I’ve given up on my heart’s work.

Let This Be My Legacy

No doubt I will always struggle with guilt – because, after all, the need for rescue is so profoundly great. But, by networking, at least I’m still in the game, and pets are still being saved on my watch. And when I do pass, I pray that those who have promised to care for the handful of rescues I have left will come through for them, and love and cherish them as I did. And I pray that my little rescue organization, Milagro, carries on and keeps saving the precious little souls that come to us for help. That’s the happiest legacy I can hope for.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie.   ?

About jeannie:  I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.