10/22/2026
Adoption Is Not the End of Our Responsibility. 🐾❤️
There is something about animal rescue that I believe deserves a much bigger conversation.
Why do some rescue organizations treat adoption as the finish line?
At Best Friends and Hens, Inc., we believe adoption is not the end of our responsibility to an animal. It is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to that animal AND the family who welcomes them home.
When someone adopts a dog from our rescue, they don't simply sign paperwork, pay an adoption fee, and disappear into the sunset.
They become part of our extended rescue family. For the LIFE of that dog.
We are here when the honeymoon period ends and behavioral challenges emerge. We are here when an adopter has questions about nutrition, training, anxiety, medical concerns, or the sometimes complicated process of helping a traumatized animal adjust to a new environment.
We are here when life gets difficult.
Because here's something I wish more people understood:
A successful adoption isn't measured by how many animals leave your rescue. It's measured by how well those animals thrive after they leave.
Rescue animals often arrive carrying histories we may never fully understand. Some have experienced neglect, abandonment, starvation, abuse, or prolonged instability. Others have simply never been taught how to navigate life inside a home.
We cannot reasonably expect every adopter to possess the knowledge and experience of someone who has spent years working with these animals.
And we certainly shouldn't shame them for asking questions or needing help.
That's where WE come in.
As rescuers, we have a responsibility to educate, encourage, and support the people who open their homes to the animals we've promised to protect.
And yes, sometimes an adoption doesn't work out.
Relationships end. People become ill. Financial circumstances change. Behavioral challenges become more than a family can safely manage.
That is why every dog adopted through Best Friends and Hens, Inc. has a place to return if their family can no longer care for them.
We don't want our dogs passed around, abandoned, surrendered to shelters, or placed into potentially unsafe situations because someone was afraid to tell us they needed help.
We would rather have an honest conversation and help find a solution than discover an animal we once rescued has fallen through the cracks.
Does this mean we can solve every problem, pay every expense, or magically make every adoption successful? Of course not.
But it means we remain invested.
It means we answer questions.
It means we provide guidance.
It means we don't forget the animals who once depended on us simply because their names have moved from our available-for-adoption list to our happily-adopted list.
Animal rescue should never become a revolving door where the goal is simply to move animals out so more can come in.
Every animal is an individual. Every placement matters. Every family deserves the opportunity to succeed.
I don't believe rescue ends when an animal finds a home.
I believe rescue succeeds when that animal has a safe, loving, permanent home, and the people caring for them have the support they need to keep it that way.
And if that home can no longer be permanent, our commitment doesn't evaporate.
We made a promise to that animal long before an adopter ever came along. An adoption doesn't cancel that promise.
That's what rescue means to me.
That's what Best Friends and Hens, Inc. stands for.
And that is a standard I will continue to uphold, regardless of how much easier it might be to do otherwise.
Because rescue is not about how many animals we can place. It's about how many lives we can truly change. ❤️🐾
— Lindsey Gorman
Founder & Director
Best Friends and Hens, Inc.
