An animal rescuer’s pledge
By Lindsay Stordahl / ThatMutt.com
I, an animal rescuer, will remember that in order to show true compassion for animals I cannot lose compassion for people.
I will never deprive a dog of life or love because of something trivial like a lack of a yard. The definition of a good home is not the same as defining my own home.
I will not place unnecessary blame on pet owners as a whole. I know that most people, like me, love animals. I recognize that our animal sheltering system is set up to fail. I will not hide behind excuses such as “pet overpopulation,” “not enough good homes” or “we can’t save them all.”
I will never condone the killing of a healthy, non-aggressive dog.
I will not use kill and “euthanize” interchangeably. Killing is killing. Euthanasia is an act of mercy.
I will stand up for feral cats. They are wild animals that are not suffering and should not be killed or “rehabilitated.”
I will remember that dogs and cats have emotions, but I will not assume their emotions are the same as my emotions.
I will speak out.
I will remember that no one is perfect, including myself.
I will do the best I can.
This is a personal pledge, but if you agree, just leave a comment, share the post or print it out. Better yet, write your own version and post it to your own blog or Facebook page. Or write it in the comments.
Thanks for all you do to help animals!
Suzy
Monday 15th of April 2013
I'm so happy to be living in a time when the attitude toward animals is truly changing. This is an easy pledge to take and/or rewrite for yourself. Thanks for posting. Go Adoption!
Nancy's Point
Thursday 11th of April 2013
I like your pledge. Your compassion shines through. And perfection is over-rated anyway.
Lindsay Stordahl
Thursday 11th of April 2013
Thank you!
Dawn
Thursday 11th of April 2013
Very nice! I like the one saying a good home does not mean a home like my home. It seems a bit ironic to require a yard but also require a dog be an indoor dog. My Labrador Maya spent the first couple years of her life living in a one bedroom apartment. Now that she has a yard, she uses it mostly for potty. We'll play in the backyard sometimes. But Maya would much rather go for a walk or to the dog park.
Lindsay Stordahl
Thursday 11th of April 2013
I agree!
Ally
Thursday 11th of April 2013
How's going!! Well, I want to tell you that I'm new in my neighborhood and in my new house will not let me have pets and I thought I could to be walk dogs and began to gather information about it and I found you. Your blog is amazing and for sure its gonna be help a lot! So, I just wanted to ask you something, because I really care if I put aads and publicity around my neighborhood and then I have problems with taxes .. I don't want to have problems .. you could help me with this question? Thank you very much!
Lindsay Stordahl
Thursday 11th of April 2013
Hi Ally! Best of luck with your business. My ebook on how to start a dog walking business will answer any questions you have.
http://www.thatmutt.com/ebooks/dog-walking-business/
Pipa
Wednesday 10th of April 2013
The no one is perfect one resounds with me. We all do what we think are the most important parts when it comes to animal rescue, or do the bits that we can. We can't do everything. As an example of this - I have a friend who is nearly vegan and she occasionally criticizes me for continuing to eat meat. I snapped one day and told her that she's not perfect in the animal welfare scene either - she bought an expensive pure-breed dog that has known medical issues (like most pure breeds), feeds the dogs meat so she's still 'perpetuating the industry' and doesn't do any of the rescue-related stuff I do. We both care about animal welfare, just go about doing it differently. I should say that I'm not particularly fussed about the things I pointed out about her, I just pointed them out because I thought she was being hypocritical. No matter how perfect you think you are, you'll have as much "dirt" as someone you're criticizing!
Lindsay Stordahl
Wednesday 10th of April 2013
Yes, good points!