Pawssionate about Animals.

Everyone has their own reason for adopting a pet. Some people adopt for companionship, to have an exercise buddy, to help minimize the stress, for protection, and some people adopt to get training on building a routine before they start a family. I often say I did not rescue my pets, they rescued me.

My parents had pets but they were never allowed in the house. Did you go through a similar childhood? Dogs were raised outside in the elements (extreme hot and cold weather), eating table scraps or spoiled leftover food, most times they lived their whole life tied to the tree or fence and with minimal human interaction. The more aggressive the dog the better. Our dogs would die fast and I am sure they were never vaccinated, given heartworm treatments and neither spayed or neutered. We were extremely poor so there was no money for that. I don’t think it was intentionally, I truly believe this is what my parents were taught to do. I never understood why they were treated that way. As I grew older, I wanted a pet. I would always find strays and bring them home. My parents would find a way to get rid of the dogs before I came back home from school the next day. The story was the same “I haven’t seen it in a while, it must have gotten away or someone took it from the yard.” We didn’t have a fence so all I could do was cry. I lost count of how many dogs found me on the way home from school and they ended up “leaving” on their own.

My parent are old fashioned. I believe they do care for animals, but it is challenging for them to break the cycle. They were taught a certain way, and they pass that on from generations to generations. They see animals as dirty and their only purpose is to protect the house.

Although I couldn’t adopt a pet while living with my parents, I did as soon as I moved into my own place. My first pet was found at my workplace. I took him for the night while his owners could be found but no one ever claimed him. He turned out to be one of the best dogs. 17 years later, he still wags his tail everytime I grab his leash to go for a walk. The second one, was on his way to the shelter for excessive barking and I decided to take him. He is still barking at age 17. The third pet, was given to a neighbor as a birthday present. I overheard the conversation of abandoning the 8 week old puppy at the school playground so one of the kids would take it home. I decided to take the dog home. He had mange and brittle bones which caused a severe broken hip. His surgery was expensive, but we were able to save his back leg. Now, he is living the best life. The fourth pet came to my house and knocked on the door with her tail. She did this every night, until we started taking care of her. She was malnourished and full of mange as well. Today, she is beautiful, smiles showing all her teeth, full of life and is my drama queen. My last one was rescued by my sister and she could not keep her so I took her in. It is a lot of work and responsibility taking care of my whole pack, but I am committed to take care of them until they cross the rainbow. We have three senior dogs with health problems. We have to cook for them a special diet (rice, chicken and veggies) every other day. They all have their own personalities just like us. I am pretty lucky to have a spouse that supports my love for animals and helps me with the commitment without ever complaining when I find a new stray.

I have rescued so many and have found them homes. Since I can’t save them all, I donate to nonprofit organizations, contribute on emergency cases and help to network other strays found by friends and family members. I am constantly educating my family and neighbors about how to treat and care for their animals. Some welcome the information and others still have a hard time understanding why go out of the way for an animal. They think spaying and neutering is abusive, but not keeping them tied to tree with a tight rope/heavy chain and no shelter. Some believe that letting them roam in the streets is giving them freedom. The worst is when they don’t bother to give them a collar and tag with their information to return them home.

I used to get upset when people would judge what I do, questioned the number of rescues I have, or wondering why I don’t have kids instead of adopting dogs ( this is a great topic for my next post.) but now it doesn’t bother me at all. When we live life according to others expectations we are not living life for us. In fact, you are reading this post because I am living life on my own terms and with pawssion to change the cycle when it comes on how we treat animals. My parents have spent more time with my dogs and have come around slowly.

My goal is to show that animals no matter the breed are freaking amazing when trained properly and their loyalty should be rewarded with love, compassion and shelter. Vaccines, heartworm prevention, annual checkups, proper exercise, spay/neuter and basic needs is not a luxury but a necessity to give them a full happy life. Pets are good for the soul. I personally love coming home and getting bombarded with love, wet kisses and wagging tails. They are my greatest therapy after a rough day. Pets give us so much unconditional love and it feels great knowing we are taking care of God’s creatures.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

Anatole France