Why I Read

​Reading has probably saved my sanity on more than one occasion. As I sit here with a book in my lap and a small emaciated dog at my feet, my thoughts go back and forth from the reality of my day and the riveting adventure that can be found between the pages of the book in my hand. Today has been a day of highs and lows in animal rescue. I've seen people and pets at their best and at their worst. I've had sobbing people beg me to take their dogs because they couldn't afford critical veterinary care and I've had tiny puppies literally tossed to me by an "owner" who couldn't care less what happens to them. I've had to make some hard decisions because donations aren't flowing in the way they used to and I've been blessed by an unexpected donation of cat food. I delivered pet food to an elderly homebound woman and left her home feeling both overwhelmed and inadequate because I couldn't do more for her. I took in a cat who belonged to a domestic violence victim who hadn't left her abuser because he threatened to burn her cat alive if she did so that she could go to a safe shelter. We will hold her cat for her until she's ready to start over. I spend my days weighing what I can do, what needs to be done, and then oftentimes desperately trying to find additional resources so that those two points can intersect. Animal rescue is not for the faint of heart. You can't be emotional about it. You can't take things personally. You have to understand that even though you will try your hardest, you can't save them all.  And above all, you have to understand that animal welfare is connected to human welfare. You can't choose to just impact one and not have a plan on how to address the other. To do so would result in an endless cycle of frivolous activities and missed opportunities. Animal issues are people issues and until we start to address both and their underlying causes we will forever be spinning our wheels.

So, here I sit. My old rescue Basset sleeping on the couch next to me and a small frail terrier laying on a bed at my feet because I couldn't say no even when I should have. For tonight, I plan to reset and lose myself in a good book with a story that will always have a happy ending. A story that may contain loss or sadness, but in the end, the hero will triumph.  This is how I recharge so that I can do it all over again tomorrow. Somehow, at the end of a day like this, getting lost in the relationship of Doc and Elizabeth in Operation: Fallen Angel makes the world seem all right again for at least a little bit. 

By:
Christy Fischer
Executive Director
Wichita Animal Action League
waalrescue.org. ​