I have to admit to being somewhat upset. Not for myself, I hasten to add, but on behalf of my friends in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. I’m talking about the amazing animal rescue volunteers, rehomers, fosterers – everyone involved in helping abandoned and injured animals in Spain. Regular readers will know how often I praise these people – they work tirelessly against terrible odds, risking their health, their relationships, threats to themselves, their families, their homes. I’ve visited them in Spain over the past few years and seen what they do, every day, every week, every year – no letup.
Into my Inbox this weekend came an email asking me to ask all associations to write ‘thank you’ individually to people who donate funds to appeals for help for vet fees, kennel fees, medication. Now, I know it would be nice to receive a ‘thank you’, but it’s not always possible. The sender of the email meant it kindly, so my response below is not to her but to those people to whom the sender of the email referred as ‘not now donating any more because they don’t receive thank you’.
Many rescues pass on thanks via their Facebook page, or in comments on posts on GN or PP. I agree it would be nice to receive an individual thank you, but we need to remember that volunteers are just that – volunteers – they have jobs, families, children, plus looking after dogs in shelters – exercising, cleaning and disinfecting kennels, feeding, water, visiting vets with sick/injured dogs. The smaller shelters/associations have problems with Internet connections in more rural areas.
They’ve suffered this year with floods, ruined bedding, mud-filled kennels. It takes ages to clean-up. In previous years they’ve suffered from heavy snow, dogs ankle deep in snow in their kennels, wet bedding….the list goes on…
They have home visits to organise if someone wants to adopt a dog; make transport arrangements etc. The volunteers don’t live on site, so have to spend time travelling to and from the shelters at cost to themselves – they can’t claim ‘fuel expenses’.
For me as with them it’s a case of priorities – first and foremost is that a sick/injured dog receives the necessary care and treatment it needs for recovery and the association receives money to help them. I don’t expect a thank you when I send a donation because I know just how desperately over-worked the volunteers are – plus the emotional and physical strain it puts on them.
I understand that money is tight for everyone – it is for me too – but I’m sorry some people now won’t respond to appeals for help. That’s their choice, but I say to them ‘could you do dog rescue in Spain? Maybe you would prefer to save the money you would have donated and get on a plane and go help in a shelter’.
Please reconsider your ‘not donating’ and please remember that it is the dogs which will suffer through lack of money to pay vet fees, etc – as always, the innocents will suffer.
Comments
9 responses to “Could you do dog rescue in Spain?”
Amen to that
Thank you for your support – youve seen what they all do, helped them, just as I have…little time for themselves. They are amazing people.
Why don’t people take it as read that the “Thank you’s” are there and very much appreciated while realizing these wonderful people don’t have a second to spare for that sort of nicety as much as they would love to, their lives are full to the brim, but mostly they give their all to the dogs that are desperately in need.. without whom they would die.. Which would YOU rather have.. a nice thank you.. or that time spent saving another dog… for me no contest!!!!
Thank you for your lovely comments in support of my feelings on the subject. Let’s take an example – this week two ladies drove in one day over 1,200 round strip across part of Spain to collect two special dogs they were taking under the care of their association. All in all, they were away from home over 20 hours. Who said ‘thank you’ to them? The dogs can’t speak.
Well said! We are involved in greyhound rescue & rehoming here in the UK and our work is easy compared to what the volunteers go through in Spain! We are eternally grateful to our small but dedicated group of volunteers who stand out in all weathers fundraising and promoting our homeless hounds. Animal rescue is a thankless task on the whole – but I don’t want peoples thanks, just their donations and offers of forever homes. However I would like to say a big THANKYOU to our galgo, Gangalf, who helped us raise some much needed funds for 112CarlotaGalgos last week.
thank you beryl!!! its exactly how you wrote it.
we always try to say thank you and usualyh do so, but sometimes people donate without giving a name or email where to write to, or they send a box with coats or collars without a readable sender address. how should be we able to thank these people? whe say a global thank you on our websites and facebook and show the pictures of our healthy and good looking dogs, thats the best thank you they could receive 🙂
yes Mo – photos of healthy, happy dogs is the best thankyou for donaters that they could ask for!!
Cannot believe people would ‘take it out on the animals in need’, just because they don’t get a personal ‘thank you’ do they not realise the work these tireless volunteers/foster ‘mums’ etc do, they do not expect ‘thanks’, they do it to help the ones who cannot help themselves, for the love + welfare, to help these dogs from dreadful situations. Come on you people, who expect someone who has worked probably all day + half the night to save another dog, or clear out the remains of flooded kennels etc etc to sit down + put pen to paper or fingers to the key board,just to make you feel so important with a personal ‘THANK YOU’. Of course what you do is appreciated + people will say to themselves + each other, thank God for this contribution, just give some thought to the endless work being done by these people + as Beryl said, if you really want to see what these people have to see + do, get on a plane + spend sometime helping them out, maybe then, you will understand a lot more……+ you will be THANKING THEM……
I hope that the people referred to who expect thank you and don’t now donate have read all these comments, and changed their minds.