“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.” –Steve Jobs
One of the nice things about operating a passion platform like Doobert is that you get the opportunity to embrace new volunteers and organizations that share a common vision where animals are treated with respect, love and compassion.
I had the opportunity not too long ago to talk with the founders of a new organization called FurBae who like many of us, stumbled into the world of animal rescue in quite a unique way. Jenni was traveling to Qatar where her sister works for the airlines. While on her travels, she and her sister noticed that while there was love and compassion for dogs, many of the residents would keep them for a few years and then turn them into animal shelters much like you would turn in your car at the end of the lease. She and her sister knew they needed to do something but with so many dogs without hope for adoption in the country, what options did they have. They knew nothing about animal rescue but felt in their heart that something had to be done so they decided on a seemingly inefficient approach of transporting dogs from Qatar to the U.S. mainland, and then ultimately up to Seattle where Jenni and team could find them loving forever homes.
If it’s been a while since your world geography class, and if the only map you ever look at is your local waze route to work, I should tell you that Qatar to Los Angeles is 8200 miles and more than a 16 hour flight direct. As you might expect, the animals have to travel in the cargo area and like many other rescue dogs are frightened and unaware of what the next step in their journey entails.
In my discussion with the FurBae team they shared a story that unfortunately is all too common in the animal rescue world, in that they had been chastised by other organizations for their seemingly inefficient way of rescuing animals. After all, there were plenty of animals in the U.S. already that needed saving, so why would you transport them from other countries and spend more money transporting one animal than could be raised by adopting out dozens?
I listened to the stories and reassured them that not all of us in the animal rescue industry feel the same way or operate by the same approach. I acknowledged their love for animals, their desire to do something, and their initiative and drive to get started immediately and learn more as they go. I could feel their passion as they shared their story. I could hear their conviction as they explained how they encountered resistance and vowed to fight through, and my heart was filled with joy as the conversation went on, knowing that there was something we could do together to help save more animals.
We encounter many people in our lives and in our profession, we interact with many more that have a common bond for animals. It’s hard sometimes to not want to impart the wisdom and reality of animal rescue on those newbies that are just joining the movement. It’s difficult to not want to criticize their approach as inefficient, non-sustainable or even impractical. But I implore you to celebrate their passion first. Use their passion to refill your cup until it overflows. Bask in their energy to re-energize your core for why you do what you do. We’re all united in a common bond for animals even though we may approach it from different angles.
