The animal rescue circles of South Africa are so selfless and giving of their time and their hearts that we thought we would honour them; the rescuers.
South Africa (28 October 2021) – A recent encounter with a harrowing animal rescue situation inspired a thought that we just had to share. We love supporting animal rescue charities, but this post is for the rescuers!
We need to do a 7 pm applause and vuvuzela celebration for animal rescuers. We don’t know how they do their jobs every day and don’t turn into heartbroken messes. While we celebrate our frontline heroes, we should remember the animal welfare heroes too. They save animals all day, every day!
They see the worst of humankind and still face the world. So next time you drop a donation of dog or cat food off at your local shelter, take a treat for the humans who help too.
This article is dedicated to the vets, nurses, inspectors, animal rescuers, fundraisers, adoption advocates, donors and every living soul that is moved to support and save animals.
We have a few suggestions on how you can give back this festive season. When dropping off your next cat or dog food donation, consider a small gift for someone who works with the animals.
- Comfy slippers for their tired, busy feet.
- A mug filled with love to warm their hearts after a long day. Include some lovely sachets of coffee, tea or hot chocolate along with a bar of nice chocolate or cookies. This is a great one to do in bulk.
- Create a DIY spa pack, add a nice hand cream, face mask and bath bomb.
- Bake something delicious and drop it off for all the staff to enjoy. You can call ahead of time to make sure there are no food allergies.
- Find out if the staff at your local animal rescue have a place to sit during their breaks, offer to plant a tree, donate a bench or even put up an umbrella for them to enjoy.
- Donate food parcels to people working with the animals. Most shelters will have a team that feeds, bathes and cleans up after the animals. Call ahead of time to make sure each person gets something.
- Donate your time and help take the load off of the people who need you most! By helping, you take a little burden and stress off their shoulders. Call and see how you can help. Have photography skills? Offer to take photos for their adoption profiles. Good at social media? See how you can boost their social presence. Great at networking? Help with fundraising and creating fun events.
These are just a few ideas you can use; let us know in the comment section if you have anything to add. And if you are an animal rescuer, we thank you for all you do!
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