Some poems about animal rescue.

[Netty]

These bring tears to my eyes. i worked in animal rescue and me and a few co-workers would post these sad yet meaningful messages on our message board to remind us that we were making a difference. these are a few that i found during that time.

REMEMBER:
Rescuers are some of the most under appreciated people in this world.
They aren't like breeders where their names get strung up in ads, they are volunteers and caring individuals who devote their lives to animals people find "no more use for" or that just aren't working out in their home situation.
They take their time to care for the unwanted, the sick, the injured, the weak the hungry and the dying.
Without them so many animals would be left to face a cold hard end.
It is due to their efforts that allot of us have our pets.
If you have free time start to volunteer at a shelter or a rescue.
Remember you CAN make a difference in the lives of these animals.
You don't need to adopt them to do it.
Just being there to help out at a shelter/rescue can make a world of difference.


---------------------------

Rescue Angels

Tail tucked between your legs,
Confusion in your eyes -
I know it's hard to understand
That someone heard your cries.

When loneliness is all you know
And pain is all you feel
And no one can be trusted,
And hunger's all too real...

That's the time the Lord sees you
And lets you know He's there
That's when He sends His messengers
The hearts that love and care.

Yes, rescuers are angels
You cannot see their wings,
They keep them neatly folded
As they do their caring things.

The medicine to make you well
Good food to make you strong,
And finally to help you learn
That hugs are never wrong

The perfect place then must be found
The home where you can live
Secure and safe and happy
With joy to get and give.

When you reach your Forever Home,
Your place to feel whole,
The Angels smile, and off they go
To save another soul.

-author anonymous-

 

[Netty]

Choices:


The little orange boy stopped. Behind him, ratties were playing, chasing each other and wrestling in the warm sunshine. It looked like so much fun, but in front of him, through the clear stillness of the pond's water, he could see his mommy. And she was crying.

He pawed at the water, trying to get at her, and when that didn't work, he jumped into the shallow water. All that got him was wet, and Mommy's image danced away in the ripples. "Mommy!" he cried.

"Is something wrong?"

The little orange boy turned around. A lady was standing at the edge of the pond, her eyes sad but filled with love. The little orange boy sighed and walked out of the water. "There's been a mistake," he said. "I'm not supposed to be here." He looked back at the water. It was starting to still again and his mommy's image was coming back. "I'm just a baby. Mommy said it had to be a mistake. She said I wasn't supposed to come here yet."

The kind lady sighed and sat down on the grass. The little orange boy climbed into her lap. It wasn't Mommy's lap, but it was almost as good. When she started to pet him and scratch behind his ears like he liked, he started to chitter and chatter and grind his teeth in happiness. He hadn't wanted to, but he couldn't help it. "I'm afraid there is no mistake. You are supposed to be here, and your mommy knows it deep down in her heart." the lady said.

The little orange boy sighed and laid his head on the lady's leg. "But she's so sad. It hurts me to see her cry. And Daddy too."

"But they knew right from the beginning this would happen."

"That I was sick?" That surprised the little orange boy. No one had ever said anything and he had listened when they thought he was sleeping. All he had heard them talk about was how cute he was or how fast he was or how big he was getting.

"No, not that you were sick," the lady said. "But you see, they chose tears."

"No, they didn't," the little orange boy argued. "Who would choose to cry?"

The lady gently brushed the top of his head with a kiss. It made him feel safe and loved and warm-but he still worried about his mommy. "Let me tell you a story," the lady said.

The little orange boy looked up and saw other animals gathering around.

Cats--Big Boy and Snowball and Shamus and Abby and little Cleo and Robin. Merlin and Toby and Iggy and Zachary. Sweetie and Kamatte and Obie.

Dogs too--Sally and Baby and Morgan and Rocky and Belle. Even a lizard named Clyde and some rats named Saffron and Becky and a hamster named Odo. They all lay down near the kind lady and looked up at her, waiting.

She smiled at them and began:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A long long time ago, the Loving Ones went to the Angel in Charge. They were lonesome and asked the angel to help them.

The angel took them to a wall of windows and let them look out the first window at all sorts of things-dolls and stuffed animals and cars and toys and sporting events.

"Here are things you can love," the angel said. "They will keep you from being lonesome."

"Oh, thank you," the Loving Ones said. "These are just what we need."

"You have chosen Pleasure," the angel told them.

But after a time the Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge. "Things are okay to love," they said, "but they don't care that we love them."

The Angel in Charge led them over to the second window. It looked out at all sorts of wild animals. "Here are animals to love," he said. "They will know you love them."

So the Loving Ones hurried out to care for the wild animals. "You have chosen Satisfaction," the angel said.

Some of the Loving Ones worked at zoos and wild animal preserves, some just had bird feeders in their yards, but after a time they all came back to the Angel in Charge.

"They know we love them," they told the angel, "but they don't love us back. We want to be loved in return."

So the angel took them to the third window and showed them lots of people walking around, hurrying places. "Here are people for you to love," the angel told them. So the Loving Ones hurried off to find other people to love. "You have chosen Commitment," the angel said.

But after a time a lot of Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge. "People were okay to love," they said, "but sometimes they stopped loving us and left. They broke our hearts."

The angel just shook his head. "I cannot help you." he said. "You will have to be satisfied with the choices I gave you."

As the Loving Ones were leaving, someone saw a window off to one side and hurried to look out. Through it, they could see puppies and kittens and dogs and cats and lizards and hamsters and ferrets and parrots . The other Loving Ones hurried over. "What about these?" they asked.

But the angel just tried to shoo them away. "Those are Personal Empathy Trainers," he said, "but there's a problem with their system operations."

"Would they know that we love them?" someone asked.

"Yes," the angel said.

"Would they love us back?" another asked.

"Yes." the angel said.

"Will they stop loving us?" someone else asked.

"No," the angel admitted. "They will love you forever."

"Then these are what we want." the Loving Ones said.

But the angel was very upset. "You don't understand," he told them. "You will have to feed these animals."

"That's all right," the Loving Ones said.

"You will have to clean up after them and take care of them forever."

"We don't care."

The Loving Ones did not listen. They went down to where the Pets were and picked them up, seeing the love in their own hearts reflected in the animals' eyes.

"They were not programmed right," the angel said. "We can't offer a warranty. We don't know how durable they are. Some of their systems malfunction very quickly, others last a long time."

But the Loving Ones did not care. They were holding the warm little bodies and finding their hearts so filled with love that they thought they would burst. "We will take our chances." they said.

"You do not understand." The angel tried one more time. "They are so dependent on you that even the most well-made of them is not designed to outlive you. You are destined to suffer their loss."

The Loving Ones looked at the sweetness in their arms and nodded. "That is how it should be. It is a fair trade for the love they offer."

The angel just watched them all go, shaking his head. "You have chosen Tears." he whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So it is," the kind lady told the animals, "and so each mommy and daddy knows. When they take a baby into their heart, they know that one day it will leave them, and they will cry."

The little orange boy sat up. "So why do they take us in?" he asked.

"Because even a moment of your love is worth years of pain later."

"Oh." The little orange boy got off the lady's lap and went back to the edge of the pond. His mommy was still there and still crying. "Will she ever stop crying?" he asked the kind lady.

She nodded. "You see, the Angel felt sorry for the Loving Ones, knowing how much they would suffer. He couldn't take the tears away but he made them special."

She dipped her hand into the pond and let the water trickle off her fingers. "He made them healing tears, formed from the special water here. Each tear holds bits of all the happy times of snuggling and petting and shared love. And the promise of love once again. As your mommy cries, she is healing.

"In time, she will be less sad and she will smile when she thinks of you. And then she will open her heart again to another little baby."

"But then she will cry again one day," the little orange boy said.

The lady just smiled at him as she got to her feet. "No, she will love again. That is all she will think about." She picked up Big Boy and Snowball and gave them hugs, then scratched Morgan's ear just how she liked.
"Look," she said, "the butterflies have come. Shall we go over to play?"

The other animals all ran ahead, but the little orange boy wasn't ready to leave his mommy. "Will I ever get to be with her again?"

The kind lady nodded. "You'll be in the eyes of every rattie she looks at. You'll be in the brux and boggle of every rat she pets. And late at night, when she's fast asleep, your spirit will snuggle up close to her and you both will feel at peace. One day soon, you can even send her a rainbow to tell her you're safe and waiting here for when it's her turn to come."

"I would like that." the little orange boy said and took one long look at his mommy. He saw her smile slightly through her tears, and he knew she had remembered the time he almost fell into the bathtub.

"I love you, Mommy," he whispered. "It's okay if you cry." He glanced over at the others, running and playing and laughing with the butterflies. "Uh, Mommy? I gotta go play now, okay? But I'll be around, I promise."

Then he turned and raced after the others.

 

[Netty]

A poem about rescue... "baggage"


Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked in my warm new bed,
I'd like to open my baggage, Lest I forget,
There is so much to carry, So much to regret.
Hmmm...Yes, there it is, right on the top,
Let's unpack Loneliness, Heartache and Loss,
And there by my side hides Fear and Shame.
As I look on these things I tried so hard to leave
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain
I loved them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.
Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things, And take me right back?
Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage, to never repack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage, Will you still want me?

By Evelyn Colbath

 

[Netty]

DO I GO HOME TODAY?
(Author Unknown)

My family brought me home cradled in their arms.
They cuddled me and smiled at me and said I was full of charm.

They played with me and laughed with me and showered me with toys.
I sure do love my family, especially the little girls and boys.

The children loved to feed me; they gave me special treats.
They even let me sleep with them - all snuggled in the sheets.

I used to go for walks, often several times a day.
They even fought to hold the leash, I'm very proud to say!

These are the things I'll not forget - a cherished memory.
I now live in the shelter - without my family.

They used to laugh and praise me when I played with that old shoe.
But I didn't know the difference between the old one and the new.

The kids and I would grab a rug, for hours we would tug.
So I thought I did the right thing when I chewed the bedroom rug.

They said I was out of control and would have to live outside.
This I didn't understand, although I tried and tried!

The walks stopped, one by one; they said they hadn't the time.
I wish that I could change things; I wish I knew my crime.

My life became so lonely in the backyard on a chain.
I barked and barked all day long to keep from going insane.

So they brought me to the shelter, but were embarrassed to say why.
They said I caused an allergy, and then each kissed me goodbye.

If I'd only had some training as a little pup,
I wouldn't have been so hard to handle when I was all grown up.

"You only have one day left", I heard a worker say.
Does that mean I have a second chance? Do I go home today?

 

[Netty]

I Rescued a Human Today



I rescued a human today.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.
I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.
I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today.
Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past.
I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.
Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.
Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.
I would promise to keep her safe
I would promise to always be by her side.
I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.
I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved.
At least I could save one. I rescued a human today.



Author Unknown

 

[Netty]

I don't know how many times i have heard people say they wish they could take all these animals home, and while it would be nice, no one has that kind of time. Please make a difference get out there and volunteer. Offer to run bake sales, yard sale, etc to help raise money for your local shelter.

If you have kids it is a great lesson in humility to see if the shelter will let them go in and volunteer to cuddle kittens or play with puppies (not all shelters do but some do).

If you can't afford the vet care for an animal but have the time to properly care for one consider fostering for a local shelter. one more dog in foster is one less that meets it's end confined in a cage.

 

[dirtpoor]

Im so totally crying!

 

[Netty]

Im so totally crying!

I was crying while i posted them.

it's all good.
it means you have a heart and you care