Feral Paws Rescue: Running A Rescue!

 by Paula Hunsaker

In the world today, running a 501(c)(3) non-profit rescue isn’t an easy job. There you are faced with so many heartbreaking facts! We live with faces of death daily from High Kill shelters. One day you see perfectly healthy animals at a high kill shelter, and the next day you go into the shelter only to notice that those precious faces have been euthanized. Time is so short for the animals at the high kill shelters. 

We get overwhelming phone calls daily of humans wanting to dump an animal. It’s beyond overwhelming at times. How cruel humans can be dumping a long-time animal they have had in their life for years, but now that it is getting older, they don’t want it anymore. Or now that kitten season is upon us in the rescue world, people wanting to dump their animals because they are pregnant. Why didn’t they just get the animal fixed prior to this happening? It’s so sad for just a simple thing as getting the animals spayed/neutered (S/N) would end this world of overwhelming kitten season. In the long run it’s much cheaper to fix the animals instead of feeding and caring for babies! Don’t tell me you can’t afford it!

Cat's story below

There are programs out there that will help you in the cost. If you truly want to do the right thing you will search and find the programs. Rescue groups are now preparing for the rush in the upcoming kitten season. This is so overwhelming to every rescue group. So many moms and babies will be euthanized at high kill shelters due to the public not doing the right thing in getting the animal S/N! I personally go to the shelter to take photos and get updates on animals waiting to die if rescue doesn’t step up to get them out of the shelter. It’s also frustrating when the public calls to dump their animals at a rescue and getting rude and disrespectful when rescue informs them that we are full and can’t take in another animal. Then they want to bash a rescue for not taking their animals. It would be a blessing that instead of a surrender fee for dumping their animals at a high kill shelter – they need to volunteer at a high kill shelter! Let them see the truth behind dumping their beloved pet at a high kill shelter. See the faces of who will die that day. Humans really need to wake up and face the facts of what will happen to the animal they dump at a shelter. Or the people who take in a supposed pet, which in fact belongs to someone else, and in fact they know who the animal belongs to. People that do this are very ugly humans.

I take photos at the high kill shelters of animals that will die maybe in a day or three days at most and send them to another contact that posts them on Facebook. To get the word out these animals are in danger of being killed. Then there are other groups posting the urgent photos on lost and found animals in hopes to find the owner. This is just an endless road rescue travel daily. Or when a rescue gets the animal ready for adoption and the public calls all upset saying the rescue has their animal, that the rescue had saved from death at a high kill shelter. I personally ask these people why didn’t you go to the shelter and look for your animal? It just comes down to being too lazy to look at the shelters.

Sometimes the fact is that we have the cat up for adoption isn’t their cat after all. Why people don’t microchip their animals is beyond me for that is a way to help find a missing animal. Such an easy process to do to keep contact with their animal if it’s picked up or turned into animal control. Every animal that enters a high kill shelter or rescue is scanned for a microchip to try and locate the owners. Why do people go out and trap a cat that has a tip ear and dump it at a shelter? These cats are part of a TNR (trap, neuter, return) program; they have been fixed and are being cared for by a caretaker. Leave these tip ear cats alone!!

I personally went into the shelter to take photos of cats that were going to be killed. I noticed this one big orange cat laying on a blanket. Very sadly wasn’t eating and very withdrawn and depressed as many are at the shelters. I took a photo of it and sent it to Brenda Bethel that posted it on Facebook for local rescue groups to know about this cat. Kat Soto posted it on the lost animal’s page for our area on Facebook. Within minutes a possible owner contacted Kat Soto about the cat. Kat told them to go to the shelter and look at their cat because it will be euthanized soon. This cat was so depressed from being away from his home and family and was taken into the shelter by a hateful neighbor. Not eating, withdrawn, depressed just laying there in his cold kennel. Staff did give him a warm blanket to lay on. Staff had told me that this cat had given up. So, they were moving forward with it to be euthanized right after “stray hold” is up. The possible owner went to the shelter and found that it was their cat. 

They took their cat home that day. Before leaving the shelter the family had their kitty Micro-Chipped. Once the cat was back with its family that had been looking for their cat started eating and was coming out of its depression. It is times like this that make rescue work, that is so hard on rescue and tugs at the rescue hearts daily, rewarding when there is a happy ending to an animal going back home. Just to think, if I hadn't gone to the shelter that day and taken the photo and Brenda posting it on Facebook and Kat sharing it with lost animals in our area, this poor baby would have been euthanized at the shelter due to being so depressed, missing his family. How horrible that a neighbor took and dumped him at a high kill shelter.

My saying to people that react negatively: Just walk in my shoes for one day in the world of rescue, and see what all we do and have to put up with, and then tell me why one animal isn’t worth the effort! Rescue is 24/7, and many dedicated people give it their all. We certainly do here at Feral Paws Rescue Group. 

Check out the Feral Paws website to learn more about them, and keep an eye on their Facebook Page. They are based in Fresno, CA.

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section on Kings River Life, and the Pets section here on KRL News & Reviews. Check back every month for another animal rescue adventure from Feral Paws. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to a local animal rescue. We also have a special Facebook Group for our pet articles--join and never miss a pet article.