Not my dog or cat. This is a stock photo.
I am the proud “mom” to five adopted shelter cats. Over the years we have had many cats and dogs (even a hamster!) that we adopted from our local shelter. One of our cats was a feral kitten we took in and raised.
I can understand why people want pure bred animals, but for me, personally, I would much rather “adopt than shop.” There are literally millions of dogs, cats and other animals looking for their “fur-ever” homes in shelters and at pet rescue facilities around the globe.
Homeless animals are not just an issue here in the United States. It’s an issue in every country.
There is a local rescue group where I live that rescues dogs and puppies from the Caribbean countries, flies them to New York, and send them out to rescue groups and foster homes, in hopes for finding these beautiful creatures a home.
If you read my blog frequently, you might recall that we had five cats and a dog. Sadly, our dog passed away two years ago and our two boys (cats) last summer. We had just our three girls, but recently adopted two more kittens (two more girls). I haven’t posted about them as of yet. Let me introduce you to Emma and Loca.
Emma
This is Emma. She’s 11 months old. She’s a big goof ball! We has so much personality.
Emma is a Polydactyl. She has extra toes. Cats normally have five toes on their front feet, and four toes on their back feet. Emma has extra toes on her back feet (five instead of the normal four). Her front feet look like she has extra toes, but actually, she doesn’t. She has five toes on her front feet. Her front feet are actually a deformity (possibly from inbreeding as she was a feral kitten). As a result, she’s a little klutzy and she tends to get caught on things.
Loca asleep on my husbands leg.
This is Loca. Loca means “crazy” in Spanish. This little muchkin is NUTS! But we love her.
We adopted Loca as a friend for Emma. Our older cats – Kitty (18), Padmé (16) and Bella (9) wouldn’t play with Emma. Bella has on occasion, but Bella has severe asthma and can’t run around enough to keep up with an active kitten. So we went back to the shelter and adopted Loca.
They look like sisters, but they are not. They are also 7 month apart in age. They are BEST friends. They are always together. They even sleep together. Adopting both of them was a great decision. They have already provided us with so much love and entertainment (kittens are fun to watch).
If I had the money I would open my own rescue facility. There are still so many beautiful animals out there who are in dire need of homes. Shelters are busting at the seams and it’s not easy for them to take in all the animals. It’s so bad that locally they trap feral cats, neuter/spay them and release them back into the wild. They don’t have the homes they deserve, but at least they can’t have more kittens. The kittens are taken in by fosters until they can find them homes. Sometimes that takes many months, and longer.
It breaks my heart. I believe that ALL of God’s creatures deserve love, respect, and appreciation and those considered pets deserve a loving home to care for them until their time is up on this Earth.
There is a book that reflects how I feel about animals. It’s called Mutual Rescue: How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too. It’s written by Carol Novello.
It’s a wonderful thing for people to rescue animals. Finding a forever home can change an animals life for the better. But what about the person rescuing the animal? How does it change THEIR life?
Mutual Rescue explores how much WE get from the animals we rescue. We not only recuse animals, but sometimes, animals in return rescue humans.
It’s true! All of the animals I’ve ever had have always given me unconditional love. After a rough day at work, or a devastating loss, the knowing look form your dog, or your cat purring as it rubs up against you, does more for you than anything else.
I have always referred to being with my pets as “fuzz therapy.” And I’m not alone – science has even proven that animals have a profound effect on us – in a positive way.
Mutual Rescue explores not only how people rescued animals, but how animals in return rescued them, through a series of true stories. Have some tissues handy because some of them will really tug at your heart strings.
Mutual Rescue was inspired by Carol’s own personal experience and years in the animal-welfare industry. Carol is also the founder of Mutual Rescue™, a national initiative that highlights the connection between people and pets in order to inspire and support life-saving efforts in communities across the nation and world.
“In a recent survey,” Carol writes, “60 percent of doctors said they prescribe pet adoption, and a staggering 97 percent believe pet ownership provides health benefits.”
Isn’t that amazing? I would love for a doctor to “prescribe” me to adopt a pet to help with whatever is bothering me. I’d take adopting an animal over medication any day.
Watching Emma (L) and Loca (R), makes my heart smile. They are such little goof balls, but at the same time, they are so loving toward each other, as well as my “human” family – including me. The same applies to our other cats, as well as our Goldfish, Fishy.
Some of the stories from Mutual Rescue have been turned into short films. You can find them on the Mutual Rescue YouTube page.
The short films are around 5 minutes each (give or take).
The book is available on Amazon, as well as other book retailers.
Whether you are an animal lover, or just curious, Mutual Rescue: How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too. is an interesting read, especially the parts about scientific research. It’s truly very interesting.
If you are interested in learning more about Mutual Rescue, visit MutualRescue.org. They are also found on social media.
Have you ever rescued a pet? Do you think they rescued YOU in some way? Feel free to explain your story. I always love to hear from readers.
Author Carol Novello. PHOTO SOURCE Amazon author’s page.
Kimberly
*I received a free sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
