Welcome to the Cray Cray World of Rescue

Buckle Up, It's Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride

It started out innocent enough. Rescuing saves lives. I want to save lives. And since I've always had a connection with animals from my younger years, I finally gave myself permission to do it openly. The seed was planted with an incredible experience rescuing a wild baby grackle in 2012. And when that seed sprouted with Seymour, our very first rescued stray cat in 2013, I knew there was no turning back.

(Sanchez 2012 - looking for help)

Sanchez flew away once he was able, and came back for a visit 3 different times as he grew into a big strong grackle.

(Seymour 2013)

Seymour was adopted and still remains with his new family who just adore him. 

Labor of Love

Leaping a year forward and I'm still insanely devoted to being a rescuer. However I'm no longer looking through rose colored glasses at what it entails.


Let me first tell anyone out there looking to do the same, be prepared for LOTS of manual labor. Loving animals is not enough to rescue, rehabilitate, reunite or re-home animals. I guess that's why they call it a "labor of love". I spend 80% cleaning up pee, poop, throw up, laundry, and grooming. Did I mention cleaning?

The remaining 20% is spent nurturing, teaching, playing, reprimanding, marketing, networking, investigating and yes...loving animals. It is the most rewarding yet exhausting thing I've ever done in my life. Rescuing animals puts my corporate job to shame.

That's why, to do this successfully, it takes planning and forethought. While it would be easy to take in every animal needing help, it would be fiscally irresponsible, without a business plan that can make it all work. Many a rescue have found themselves in over their heads and it's the animals that suffer when this happens. 

Social Media (aka Social Madness)

One of the most draining aspects in the rescue world is social media. While it has the ability to ignite a fire of momentum to help propel you to a new level of rescuing (which equates to more lives saved), it comes with a plethora of cray crazies ready to demonize, lie, and slander all in the name of "rescue". Who would have ever thought that an industry made up of kind-hearted souls, who have so much compassion that it motivates them to rescue an innocent and voiceless animal, can be the same heartless people spreading malice even when we are all suppose to be operating under the same cause. "Rescuers" and "animal advocates" yielding posts on Facebook like a knife, ready to jab at a moment's notice and without any regard to facts or repercussions. 

This aspect of the rescue world is not for the meek. It requires tenderness AND strength. You must be able to stand up and stand your ground, without becoming jaded by the abuse you'll witness, suffered by animals AND good people alike. You must be able to look past the ugliness if you want to be in rescue, or you will find yourself in the pitfall of distrust. Without trust in humanity, how on Earth can we ever save the lives of animals? After all, PEOPLE are who adopt and foster the very animals we are trying to save.

And as if social media and peer bullying isn't enough, you must also be ready to fight city hall. Another lesson learned living the rescuer dream. Our local government plays a HUGE part in what happens in the rescue world. Talk about cray crazies! Antiquated laws, governed by old school mentality makes for a great drama when they meet with a group of animal advocates. But that's another blog worth of information.

So why do I still want to be a rescuer?

You tell me...

 

 

 

So We Now Have a Blog

I say "we" because the House of Zen is more than just a rescue group. It's a village where people can come and find tranquility. It's a place of healing for our animals as well as those that visit.

Currently we run a mini House of Zen, on a small piece of property with many limitations. Because of these limitations, we are unable to rescue as many animals as we would like. We do not believe in overextending our resources, which would only put our vision and the animals at risk. We are a small group now, with BIG PLANS for the future.
So please continue to follow our journey. We will use our blog to keep you updated on our progress, as well as provide wellness content to help you take care of your own furry four-legged companions. And as we continue to advocate for our shelter animals against city hall, we will keep you posted so you can add your voice to ours. As Michael Jackson so poetically sang, "if you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change." We can't make this world a better place without you!

If you're interested in investing, contact us at hozsanctuary@gmail.com and we’d be happy to send you our business plans. To donate, click here.

Welcome to the House of Zen...So happy to have you a part of our village.