Many years ago, long before SAINTS, i worked with other rescues as a volunteer. One of them became my mentor, i learned so much about what was good and right with rescue and what was ugly and hurtful in rescue and this set me on my course that has led to today. My mentor and I had a huge falling out and I became persona non grata and while my personal feelings about her didnt change, my professional view most certainly did, we had become the yin and the yang.
When I opened SAINTS I was told that when she heard the name of my new rescue she laughed and said "of course she named her rescue that, she always thought she was a saint."
I never defended myself against this until today. and my defense is not to clear me or my so long ago agenda, it is to protect SAINTS because this is important for all of us to understand.
The saints here are the animals, and the name was chosen because I believe they are saintly. Many of these animals have had brutal lives, many have been used, abused, neglected and betrayed. from the moment of their births until their ultimate deaths their sole purpose was to endure the fickle fingers of mankind. And no matter how badly used were they, no matter how much suffering they endured, every single one of them laid down their anger, their hurt, their feelings of betrayal and found at least someone to love and trust again here.
Not one single human saint has ever stepped foot on SAINTS, we can't be saints, we are too much human. We bring our baggage of past experience with us. We can try to keep that sometimes toxic luggage locked but occasionally it leaks out the seams. We do not easily trust, we turn our backs on forgiveness, we rarely take responsibility for the angst we sometimes create. Its not that we are bad or evil people, it is that we are flawed, frightened and over thinking human beings.
This is why we can never be saints, but animals can. We cannot diverse ourselves fully of the past and historically we sometimes make the same mistakes. Animals live in today and if today is better than yesterday, animals can embrace and enjoy it, they accept that life just got better and are happy with that.
But for some reason we humans want more, we are not always satisfied when we are surrounded by good things, we sometimes need to start rewriting history, making it more in line with how we think it SHOULD be. Its not because we want to hurt others, its because we hurt inside ourselves and we need someone else to blame.
My mentor's rescue went deep into the dark side and I am sure she had a long list of those that were to blame.
But what she never understood but was able thru example teach me were these 3 things..humans and ALL living things universally are naturally flawed and each of us are individually responsible for our own personal flaws and finally we humans have choices, and when we choose we are responsible for those choices we make.
The difference between animals and humans? animals don't get choices. They just get us and that's why they get to be saints.
Hi,
In my opinion, your mentor is very wrong. You provide a place for senior animals, abandoned animals, sick animals, and to those animals where the owner had to surrender their furry friends to live out their lives in comfort and happiness. What is so admirable is your modesty and guilelessness which is so evident by the care, love, and medical attention that you, your staff and all the volunteers give to the animals. Your intentions are to help the 'saintly' animals, but many will agree with me that the people at Saints Rescue are true Human Saints! Thank each and every one of you and bless all of you for your love and kindness to the animals.