A Day in the Life of a Chesed Volunteer

Why do we bother?How does our day go?

A call may come in from a local animal service. A dog has been hit by a car, it has a broken leg or hip. The owners were located, but don't want the pet back. After all, its broken. Easier to get a new pet. Less expensive too.

A volunteer goes and gets the pet. They change their day around, knowing some poor creature is probably in agony and will be put to sleep if a rescue doesn't step in. They give up their time to drive to the shelter, wait for the paperwork, load an injured, usually filthy and parasiteridden creature into their vehicle, and take it to a vet hospital. (The kind folks that refuse to claim their injured pets usually don't bother bathing them and protecting them from parasites). Once at the vet, the poor animal is examined, sedated, x-rayed, and its prognosis and future decided. Is it "fixable"? If the answer is yes, the process of rehabilitation begins. Recuperation can take weeks or months. The animal may have orthopaedic surgery. A lengthy stay at the vet hospital, followed by time in a foster home before it can even be put up for adoption. The time and resources of the volunteer(s) is freely given. Trips to the vet, training, everything needed to ensure this pet will have a second chance. And the hope that there is a home worthy of the suffering this creature has endured.

Multiply these scenarios over and over again and grasp what rescue means and the sacrifices our volunteers make. The sacrifices these "pets" make. In a perfect or even a more enlightened, "humane" world there would be no need for our services.