Pretty simple for most people but as the husband of a rescuer I'm never really sure about the answer. When I left home today we had 15. When I get home tonight it could be more. I'm never really sure. I mean yeah i know the ones that are our forever dogs. I can even remember all their names if push come to shove, but I'm never sure of the count. This is part of being married to an animal rescuer. Its an odd little world. I'm not on the front line. I don't live and breathe it like most of the crazy wonderful people that are. I just sit on the sidelines and reap the rewards. I sit and listen to my wife's half of conversations. I hear things like " what color is his poo? can you send me a pic?" Now unless you have some sort of sex life that requires specialty equipment and quite possibly back-up, chances are this is not something you're used to hearing.
As an observer, I'm continually amazed by the people that do this stuff. Not just the dedication and hard work. That kinda goes without saying. No, I'm impressed with the special kind of crazy that one needs to move in the rescuers circle. You can usually spot a rescuer, by the subtle signs. Small jewelry shaped like their specialty, a few random i love my (insert pet here)items and the fact that they are being pulled behind something that looks like it's already died and been brought back to life by someone named Igor. Because one of the things about rescuers is that they take in the broken animals. The hurt or scared or just plain difficult to love, and they love them. See that's the thing about rescuers. Underneath the crazy bumper stickers and buttons and smells. Thats what they do, they love. Even if they only have the animal for a day or week or life time. they love them. They somehow manage to return the love that all animals give unconditionally. And the thing that amazes me is that the love continues long after the animals have found a home. I can usually tell the signs, small bites taken out of clothing, scratches, missing digits, and of course the smell. But its the look you learn to recognize. The look that says they have seen all the cruelty that people can muster thrown at the most innocent of lives, and they are not happy about it. Oh, and by the way would you mind if this incontinent dog uses your foot as a restroom because hes really a lovely little person and that will clean up a treat when it dries.
These quirky crazy wonderful people are doing things that would amaze someone in the field of logistics. The alert will go up. there is a dog in Sheepstestickle Tennessee that needs to get to his new home in Bucksnort Flats Wisconsin. And the machine goes to work. Suddenly the computers and phones light up. We'll so and so is going almost to Tn., can someone give this dog a ride to the Walmart near the freeway? The next thing you know this little life has gone across the country in 15 different vehicles and is now on my wifes Fb page with his new forever folks. The networks that are used are far beyond my understanding, but lets just say this, if these people ever decided to use their powers for evil instead of good. The world wouldn't stand a chance. These people don't do this for a living, there is no money to be made, no awards given. They do a tough job because it needs to be done. They dont seek fame or honor, they just want to make the world a little better. They take the sad and turn it into happy. Its as simple as that. So ok my house smells funny and my furniture is covered with hair and duct tape and this is why we can't have anything nice, and yes i can now differentiate between 14 different types of poo, and yes sometimes i have to drive 14 hours to bring this Schnauzer to a rest stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but i would't change any of it. No a single wacky smelly moment of it.
So how many pets do we have? well as animal rescuers we have thousands. Each one that comes into our lives is loved forever. Even if they only stay a day, they are forever our animals now. They have left their mark on our hearts. Luckily we can usually find someone to feed them and give them a place to live, but they are still ours.
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