Homeless that is...

Mr Wilson made it home, but he didn't do it on his own; lots of people were involved in his rescue, without whom we would never have known how wonderful a scruffy little mutt can be.

Those people continue to do the thankless work of rescuing homeless pets. Prior to my exposure to the world of pet rescue I thought that people involved in the "business" were a little off center, maybe a few sandwiches short of a picnic and in all likelihood passionate, over the top advocates for the forgotten, cast off, abused, downtrodden and miraculous little creatures that we share our world with; 9000 of whom are euthanized every day, day after day.

Turns out I was right.

And without these passionate people it would be worse. Lots worse. People like myself turn a deaf ear to the plight of the unwanted pets in shelters, puppy mills, or in homes where they are abused, mistreated and left to fend for themselves, which often means an untimely death.

I spent well over two decades working as a firefighter/EMT in an urban environment. During that time I saw kittens left to die in litter boxes, Pit Bulls scarred and bleeding from pulling on their restraints, houses full of dogs and cats, fighting over what little food there was as the dead bodies of their fellow animals rotted where they dropped. And what did I do?

I went home after reporting my findings, and hoped that "somebody did something."

Well, somebody does do something. And those people do so without the fanfare, the accolades or the money. And they do so while the rest of us turn our backs, and think they're weird, or over the top, or misguided in their belief that they can save them all.

But we can save them all. And it's about time I got on board. I'm learning about this world, and figuring out where I best fit in. For now, I'm taking care of Mr. Wilson, and at least one homeless pet is no more.

Homeless that is.