Doing God's Work - my little rant about Dog Rescue

http://www.wimp.com/researchdogs/
(this video can't be embedded, so if you click the link, it will take you away from my blog - click the back arrow to return).

This is a wonderful video of beagles that are released from a lab and a life of being research animals. They are taken by a rescue group to find homes. The video shows their first experience in the sun and walking on grass.

I admit I don't know much about this kind of thing, but they don't look physically too bad. Mentally I am sure they have not done well, but I am a bit surprised at their calmness and trust in people. The video advocates we buy products that have not been tested on animals. I would do that - if labels were clear to me.

This is not a sad video - it is very touching and actually will lift your spirits. I don't normally post this kind of thing and would not post it if it was over the top "emotional blackmail."

I do think it is worth sharing because the people who do this kind of rescue really are doing God's work in my opinion. I hope someday that I can rescue a dog or two, and pay them back for all of the goodness they have shown me in my lifetime.

I have breeder friends who tell me that EVERY dog  needs a good home - including dogs brought into the world by breeders and this is very true. However, most of these pups do have good people looking out for them for a lifetime. Dogs that need rescue were born into a bleak world where no one has their back. Who knows what the circumstances were behind them. I just know they are a dog - much like my own dogs - and we can't stand by and let them suffer and die.

Yes - others argue - we should be putting our money and effort into helping children or the homeless. And I agree that people who do this are also doing God's work. Some people rescue horses. Some rescue reptiles. Others try to save old buildings.

Everyone who has a passion for doing something that is positive and with compassion raises the consciousness of the world we live in, making it a better, kinder, gentler and happier place for everyone. It is all tied together. If you save a dog, you make the world a better place for everyone in the big picture. When we work together to make our own corner of the world better, there are many, many benefits to our community and to society.

Some day the circumstances and the dog will present themselves to me and I will join in the rescue fraternity. For now, I can only rant.

And I will make sure my own dogs watch this video tonight, to know how lucky they are!