Rescue Journal

the facts of life

Carol  ·  Feb. 17, 2012

look...if you want to be involved in rescue, you better be prepared for stormy weather. every captain of every boat has probably earned the right to navigate rescue's unpredictble waters in the way that feel most comfortable to them...personally. in the vast fleet of rescue, there is everything from the queen mary (best friends) ..to the workhorse search and rescue ships or fishing boats trolling the oceans to the simple canoes/row boats paddling around the peaceful pond to see what they too can do.
and whoever is making decisions for the boat...big or small... is the one responsible. and just like in the shipping world, there are certain high and low sea rules...like you do not ram another boat on purpose, no matter what they do.

there is a continuem in rescue..those at the beginnng of their journeys and those near the end...and a bunch in the middle. there are the risk takers and the cautious..the experienced and the novice..and every single one is operating their boats with unique and personal beliefs and philosophies.

we all learn new things as we sail along..some learn faster than others..some get better at the whole rescue thing than others..some get good at some things but continue to suck at others..it is the way of the world.

but there is a code on the water and in rescue and that is..you captain your own ship. it doesn't matter how stupid or dangerous another captain is..blowing them up doesn't work.

every registered rescue has a board of directors who are also responsible so if you have a complaint or a concern, politely and respectfuly direct it to them as well...give the group the chance to work problems out together if they so choose.

but the bottom line is..what other rescues are doing has nothing at all to do with me...(unless i end up personally having to rescue their animals cuz they have left them hanging somewhere and are now knocking on my gate because they have no rescue safety net...)

i try to avoid the ones who are driving their boats around in maniacal high speed, creating waves that can capsize the unwary..and i try to avoid the boat rage ones who are in such foul moods, they don't give a shit who they sink cuz the whole freaking ocean revolves around them....and i try to avoid the novice boat drivers til they actually learn how swim cuz i don't really feel like getting pulled under in trying to rescue them!

there is a prevailing attitude in rescue that it is the captains that are the most important aspect in all of this..when in fact it is the cargo that is precious. and it is each captain's primary responsibility to keep their cargo safe..it would be nice if everyone concentrated on that one thing only.

battles at sea sink ships..sunken rescue ships drown animals..don't tell me anyone wants to feel the thrill of victory when there are bunch of dead animal bodies bobbing around the victor's ship.

janice and i were talking about the stanley park petting zoo animals...yes the activists won and the zoo was shut down...and the newspaper now tells us that many of the goats ended up in the slaughterhouse. not what anyone intended but it is what unfortunately happened...those goats are no longer at the zoo...now they are dead.

the moral of the story is..in rescue or advocacy..guns rarely work. it takes communication, negotiation and well thought out planning to help the animals without just torching their only floating ship.

Comments

Allison

Janice and Carol -- very well said and I agree with both of you. All we can do now is to hope others learn from this tragedy.

Janice Gillett

That whole shut down STUNK - the fact reeks of all that was cared about was shutting down a zoo by over zealous AR groups and not what was best for the animals who had called that there home for years. Friends torn apart and given away to anyone with there hands up. And if it were cats and dogs ending up as fur coats after leaving this zoo , the media would be all over it and there would be a public uproar.

This is the proverbial ship wreck by cranking the wheel and taking an uneducated inexperienced short cut and killing everyone in the boat.

They should of grandfathered the animals living there for there natural life -not allowed them to replace them. But the real crime here was by the irresponsible party who sent off these trusting animals without references checks, no home checks and really not giving a dam to what happened to them .

Sorry for my rant but the consquences were paid by the animals who lived there life in peace up until then and that is unforgiving to me.

Carol

who ever placed the goats are the ones responsible..it should have been ensured that the new owners were financially secure enough to care for them..and if something unforeseen did happen, the goats could and would be returned. that is the important parts of their original placements that didn't happen for them...and that is why the goats who gave such warm and fuzzy pleasure to folks visiting the zoo for so many years are now slaughtered and dead.

whoever placed them dropped the responsibility ball on them.
too sad.

shelagh

the local langley paper had a story about him, and he
gave them to people on craigslist, and thought they
were getting homes on hobby farms. He did not send
them to auction, so the story states, so there may
be more to the story. He couldn't keep them because
he was having financial issues of his own.

Sheryl

I'm not sure it's the Activists that are to blame. Personally, I'd blame Trevor what's his name for promising to give them a home for life and then turning around and sending them to slaughter.

Allison

Isn't there a saying...

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"?

Well, I know those poor goats have gone to Heaven, but those particular activists better watch out 'cause the score is now: Hell -1; Activists - 0

Fiona

I so agree with you Carol. When I heard about the park being closed my first thought was "what about the animals?" The activists think what they are doing is for the benefit of the animals but it seems it did not end up that way. So sad that they get tossed around in the waves.

carly

Heres a perfect quote for todays blog.My dad used to say to us, "It's My boat!I'M the Captain!"