08/02/2026
I have recently heard we don't care about dogs...why? We held a boundary and walked away from a situation where our help was criticized and critiqued by someone not doing rescue. "They love when it's a yes"....is such a common phrase we rescuers know too often. Rescue by nature is hard but don't be the person to make it harder.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1FvKxSCzHV/
📖❤️ Sunday Thought
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt…” — Colossians 4:6
Grace.
It’s something we ask all of you to extend to one another.
Today, we’re asking you to extend a little to the people trying to help your dogs. 🐾
Every single day our inbox fills with messages. 📩
“Can you take my dog?”
“I have to move tomorrow.”
“My dog had another litter.”
“My dog bit someone.”
“My landlord said it has to go.”
“My family doesn’t want it anymore.”
And every single day, we have to answer some of those messages with the hardest word in rescue…
❌ No.
Not because we don’t care.
Not because we hate dogs.
Not because we don’t want to help.
If that were true, we wouldn’t spend nearly every day rescuing dogs. ❤️🐕
The truth is much simpler.
🐾 Your dog is not the only dog. 🐾
Behind your message is another message.
And another.
And another.
We have waiting lists from shelters.
We have waiting lists from owners who reached out weeks or even months ago.
We have dogs already committed to rescues.
We have kennels that are full.
We have transport schedules already planned. 🚐
And we cannot place dogs that display aggression of any kind. That isn’t because we don’t care about those dogs. It’s because we have a responsibility to protect our volunteers, our fosters, our transport partners, our rescue partners, adopters, and the other dogs in our care. 🛡️
Every decision we make has to be based on what is best for all of the dogs—not just one.
Rescue isn’t first come, first served.
It isn’t loudest voice wins.
And it isn’t about who gets the angriest when we say no.
We also refuse to become animal hoarders.
We’re not going to take your dog just to place it in a kennel indefinitely with no plan, no rescue commitment, and no quality of life. That isn’t rescue. That’s simply moving the problem from your house to ours.
Here’s the part that’s hard to hear:
Your dog is your responsibility—not ours.
We’ll do everything we reasonably can to help.
🤝 We’ll network.
📞 We’ll make calls.
📋 We’ll submit your dog to rescues.
💬 We’ll offer advice when we can.
But we cannot promise to take every dog, because no rescue can.
So today, on this Sunday, we’re simply asking for a little grace. 🙏
The next time a rescuer tells you they can’t take your dog, don’t assume they don’t care.
Assume they’re carrying the weight of dozens of other dogs they’re already trying to save. ❤️
Most of us aren’t saying “no” because we don’t want to help.
We’re saying “no” because, at that moment, we simply can’t.
And if there’s one thing we wish people understood, it’s this:
❤️ We don’t wish fewer dogs existed.
🐾 We wish more people accepted responsibility for the ones they already have.
May we all extend a little more grace—to rescuers, to one another, and most importantly, to the animals who depend on us. ✝️🐾
🇺🇸 The Grit Factor
