Mission Statement
We are a group of volunteers who started helping to re-home local animals in need. A few of us got together and started Our Best Friends Rescue so we could work together and be able to save more lives as a group. As time went on we started to grow little by little. Some people stayed, some branched out on their own and so many more came on board to help save the lives of the voiceless.
Many animals are left in shelters due to changes in life circumstances, they are dumped because their caregiver and companion goes into a nursing home, some other type of facility or passed away and the family doesn’t want to be bothered. Others are dumped because of their age or health. Some are just unwanted, like a gift to someone that didn’t really want a pet, a child where a divorce is happening and the parents want the child to be happy, some are considered an accessory until it needs veterinary care or grooming.
Some people just think of them as property. Some only like puppies. We could go on but we think the gist of it is pretty clear.
Our mission is to save as many of these poor babies as we possibly can. Whether it’s getting a frightened dog out of a shelter or heading off the shelter all together and just taking them into the rescue. Most of the dogs we take in are products of neglect, abuse or ignorance. Most did nothing wrong in any way to deserve getting thrown out like garbage. Most are in need of medical care and all are in need of love and understanding. Patience is important to help them blossom and become the dog they were meant to be. Some don’t even know how to be a dog! So that’s where the importance of home foster comes in. Our dogs are properly accessed to see what the best environment for them will be. Some have never lived inside others have be so abused they are afraid of anyone that goes near them. Our dogs are rehabilitated to the best extent possible. And then we start looking for their forever home.
Some of the dogs we take in are severely handicapped and have no other chance but us. These dogs are considered permanent foster pups. Unless an adopter is specifically looking for a special needs dog and are stellar in every way these dogs stay with us for the rest of their lives.
Some of the animals come in for nothing more than hospice care and to have a place to rest their heads for the remainder of their days while being loved and nurtured. When their time comes to cross the bridge we stay right by their side. No creature should have to pass alone and frightened.
We advocate against cruelty, neglect, backyard breeders, puppy stores and other issues that cost animals their lives. We also advocate for local low cost spay and neuter so that we can alleviate unwanted litters, as well as advocating for low cost euthanasia so that when a person on a fixed income has to let go of their precious companion, a heartbreaking experience at best, they don’t have to leave them in a shelter to be put to sleep on a metal table under blaring fluorescent lights with strangers who don’t care a lick about them.
So in looking back on this mission we all take so seriously and are so passionate about, it’s about love. Love for the ones who can’t help themselves. They are the ones that we stand for. It’s because once you’ve seen how cruel people can be you can never unsee it. So on we go.
Pattie Lazarus
President
Our Best Friends Animal Rescue Inc.
