It is a harsh, never ending battle. It is often brutal and heart-breaking, and even when things turn out well, it seems there is another deluge just around the corner.
Yes, the odds are against them. But they don't stop trying. Every dog, every cat, every pet they can save and help place in a good and loving home, makes the struggle worthwhile.
These are the unsung heroes. The ones who give up their time and energy, as volunteers or for very little pay, the ones who keep hope alive for the pets that have been abandoned, for the animals that have been abused, for the companions that have been neglected.
They post pictures on Facebook. They clean the shelters. They provide food and supplies. They man weekend events where pets can be adopted. They raise money to pay the bills. They open their homes to foster animals.
Most of all, they love. They open their hearts and souls to the lost, the broken, the unwanted.
Every time they succeed in making room in the shelter by adopting out and moving pets into loving homes, they are flooded with more animals that take their place. Every day relieves one heart break only to be replaced by another.
I have seen volunteers burn out. I have seen them throw themselves heat and soul into the battle, only to reach a breaking point where they can't absorb anymore. They have to move themselves away from the effort, either temporarily or permanently, because they just can't handle it anymore.
No matter what they do, it just doesn't seem to get better. Because not every one has the same attitude about animals as they do. For every person who seems to get it and care, there seems to be ten more who just don't.
They are fighting against people who don't care, who don't view those in our charge as worthy of extra attention. People who casually abandon their pets, who let them roam loose and if they stick around, that's fine, and if they don't, well, they just don't. People who don't see animal abuse as a problem because, well, they really don't feel the same way humans do and besides, they're just property, to do with what you want. Who's to tell you how you treat your property.
People who don't take pet ownership seriously, and willingly abandon their pets when they don't feel like things are working out. Fido not working out? Just leave him on the steps of the shelter - they'll take care of him. People who don't think neutering/spaying is vital to controlling the animal population, and let their roaming pet fuel the overpopulation problem.
No matter what these unsung heroes do, they are drowned in a tide of indifference and cruelty. It will take education to turn things around. It will take a greater sense of empathy and caring than many currently possess. It will take pastors persuading those who think pets are of lesser value. They should be teaching love and understanding and caring from the pulpit, not the idea that God put animals on the planet for us to do with as we will, even if that includes abuse, neglect and abandonment.
Find those who are doing everything they can to reverse this unfeeling horror, and thank them for all that they do.
And then join them.
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