Never

"I would never..."

It seems to me a lot of people who pride themselves on being animal folks are forgetting how to relate to their fellow humans. I have heard "I would never..." an awful lot recently. Whatever happened to putting yourself in someone else's shoes and trying to see their point of view? You may still not have made the same decision in their position, but trying to understand why they have acted as they did surely means as a decent human being you can offer support and sympathy.

"I would never give any of my dogs up."

Never is a long time. Anyone who cannot come up with any scenario where they may have to face this possibility either lacks imagination or leads a truely charmed life. Yes there are people who get rid of their dogs all too lightly, who buy a puppy on a whim and kick them out for growing too big or too inconvenient. But this isn't about them.

What if you were injured or ill, reliant on carers or hospitalised for a long period of time? What if you lost your job during this time, and you couldn't afford a dog walker?

I have only spent a few weeks on crutches at a time, but that was enough to teach me that being able to walk my dogs isn't something I should take for granted. If I hadn't lived where I did and been able to hobble out to a secure field and let them run, what life would they have had for those few months? And what if it wasn't months but years?

"I'd never give up a dog for biting."

For biting who? You? The postman? Your children? How many times? I have never yet come across someone willing to rehome their child in order to keep their dog, so if a dog is not suitable to be around children, and the owner does not have the skills, time or resources to make that dog suitable, then rehoming can be the best choice for everyone.

What if the dog was fighting with your other dogs? What if you got caught in the crossfire and ended up in A&E and your other dog ended up at the emergency vet? Is forcing those two dogs to live together for the next 10 years really the best option? However careful you are there will be a door left open one day, or a bit of toast dropped, errors that trigger a fight and possibly injuries. With all the management and behaviour work in the world some things are not fixable, and living with tension and stress is not easy.

"I would never live somewhere that didn't allow me to keep my dogs."

I've always flippantly said I would live in my car if I had to, but I know that would not be a long term solution, it would not be fair on my dogs. Many of us are lucky, as I know I am, there are people who would take us in, my parents, other family members, some good friends, I would be very unlikely to be truely homeless. But what if you were?

What if you had no parents, no job, no money? What if your partner has left you with two children under 5 and a dog, you are offered emergency accommodation but are not allowed to take the dog, do you turn it down and risk losing your children to foster care, or would you rehome your dog? One of the first dogs I remember booking into a rescue centre was that exact situation. The owner knew the dog was young, healthy and friendly, and going to find a new home really easily. She was looking at months of instability for herself and her children. She cried buckets, I don't think for a moment she took that decision to part with the dog lightly, and she deserves credit for having the courage to give the dog a brighter future.

"I would never be able to do your job."

I'm no saint, I don't do this job as a penance, I do it because I believe in what we set out to achieve, to help and rehome the animals, responsibly, and to provide backup for when things sometimes don't work out. But don't forget we get to see the happy endings, that is why I do it. And if you don't think you could do it because you love animals too much, I would say you are wrong, you probably couldn't do it because you don't like people enough.

It is people who have cared for these animals through their lives so far, people who are in tears at feeling forced to give them up, people who will donate the money to fund the rescue centre and people who will offer these animals new homes. Focussing on the sad puppy dog eyes is only half the story, and you sell yourself short as a human being if you cannot see the human side of the story.