PocketAngels Rattie Rescue - The humans of PocketAngels

PocketAngels Rattie Rescue - "Because All Life is Precious"

Hello!

Our names are Duane & Lanyce Suddeth.

We are the directors of PocketAngels Rattie Rescue.

We are frequently asked why we do what we do in regards to rat rescue.

We have many stories as to why but that is pretty lengthy to try and put on a web site! Instead we decided to put some of the things together on one page of our site that we felt best described not only WHY we do this but how we feel about it. :-)

Rescue – What it is & What it isn’t

Rescue IS - a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job.

Rescue ISN’T – something that can be done part-time.

Rescue IS - all about putting the animals’ needs and safety first.

Rescue ISN’T – about hand-holding people & making sure their feelings aren’t hurt.

Rescue ISN’T – numbers game – its not about fast turn out between time of surrender and time of adoption.

Rescue IS – getting to know and helping to each little life that you commit to.

Rescue ISN’T – a viable way to make money. You will lose THOUSANDS of dollars every year.

Rescue IS – knowing that you will forego regular hair and nail appointments, shopping trips, new clothes and going to restaurants…because once you’ve committed to saving a life, you MUST have the funds to do so

Rescue ISN’T – about lots of fuzzy creatures who love you and good feelings from finding them homes.

Rescue IS - seeing first hand the horror of abuse, neglect and starvation. It’s working endless hours on a daily basis for MONTHS or longer just to get a little animal to not bite or squeal in terror from only being picked up

Rescue ISN’T – about making tons of friends who all respect what you do

Rescue IS – cleaning up other people’s mistakes and all the while dealing with the nasty looks and comments because you choose to ‘rescue vermin’ or ‘rescue disposable pets’

Rescue IS – staying up for 3 and 4 days and nights continuously trying to nurse a baby ratlet because someone else HAD to breed b/c their rats were cute – but then realizing that a litter of 18 was too much work so they surrendered them when they weren’t even weaned yet. Its about loving that sweet soul and wanting desperately for it to live and learn that life can be good….yet still having to bury that sweet soul in the end

Rescue ISNT – going on weekend trips and spur of the moment vacations. When youre a rescuer, you’ve made a commitment to these tiny creatures that depend soley on YOU to be there.

Rescue ISNT - adopting out every animal that comes through your door

Rescue IS – realizing that the possibility of every animal you take in will live with you for the remainder of its life and you will be completely responsible for every aspect of its care for the duration of its life.

Rescue IS – dealing with the unkind remarks and flat out anger from people who think you are tactless and cruel when you tell them things that they don’t want to hear in an effort to benefit their animals (or the animals that they are trying to help).

Rescue IS – burying an animal long before its time because the owner wouldn’t listen and understand about its specialized needs and care, or worse, because they wouldn’t adhere to a proper protocol of quarantine

Rescue IS – rewarding because you are helping souls live at best a contended life, and at worst, a life simply free of abuse.

Rescue ISN'Tabout you -- it's about the animals.

Rescue IS as heartbreaking as it is rewarding.

Rescue IS – spending countless hours on the computer, the phone, reading books, and talking to qualified people in an effort to understand the intricacies of the animals’ health

Rescue IS – saying no when your facilities are full and you know that if you take on one more animal, that all the animals will suffer for it. It’s saying no when your heart is screaming yes and when you KNOW that this little animal is the one that will suffer.

Rescue ISN’T – non stressful. A rescuers stress level is immense. But their control of it is even larger

Rescue ISN’T – about other people realizing how wonderful you are and how much you do. Most of the time, that is overlooked. And some of the time your efforts are either ridiculed or used against you as another’s excuse to be verbally cruel.

Rescue IS – saying no when someone wants to adopt from you that you just cant get comfortable with and then Rescue is saying yes to accepting the mean, angry and hurtful replies you receive from that decision.

Rescue IS – saying yes. Yes to giving up the ‘extras’ in life. Saying yes to knowing youre going to suffer when an animal travels to the bridge. Saying yes to no sleep, because there is an animal who needs you. Saying yes to the wonderful adopters out there and then (even though you are happy that the animal has found a stellar home, crying your eyes out when it leaves yours.

Rescue IS – having tons of fear but overcoming it to fulfill the responsibility you’ve committed to.

Rescue IS– about strength. It’s about the strength that you know you have and then finding 100 times more when it is gone.

Rescue IS – about choices and standing behind the responsibilities that result from those choices.

Rescue IS – about determination. It takes more determination to do what we do than most people will ever know or understand. And it’s not exactly easy to do it alone…especially when getting a lot of guff from humans.

Rescue IS – about lack. Rescuers see lack in all of its incarnations. It’s ugly and unnecessary. We force ourselves to see it when others turn away even though it’s no easier for us to look at it.

Rescue IS – about love. Enough said.

Rescue IS – about hoping for a better tomorrow while making today as good as possible.

I AM a rat rescuer – and I AM damn proud of it.

Support a Rescue - Save a Life.

Thank you.

I am an Animal Rescuer

I AM an Animal Rescuer.

My job is to assist all of God's creatures.

It is not a job that I receive any monetary compensation for,

And my job requires me to work 20+ hour days,

365 days a year…

Even so, I AM an Animal Rescuer.

I was born with the drive to fulfill their needs

and the ability be their voices .

I take in helpless, unwanted, homeless souls

without planning or selection.

I have bought food for them with my last dollar.

I have scritched a body full of sores with

a bare hand to provide relief & comfort.

I have kissed the dirty, bloody faces of those who

were beaten and/or starved.

I have hugged many who are vicious from fear.

I fight LOUDLY AND TIRELESSLY for those who are

used for vivisection in labs in the supposed

‘name of medical science’.

I watch the videos & look at the picture that most people cannot so that I may better educate myself.

I AM an Animal Rescuer.

I have fallen in love a thousand times

and I will fall in love a thousand times more.

For every time that my heart is warmed,

I know it will be broken 10 times that amount.

I have walked into shelters & pet stores, words blazing,

to take into my care the mistreated soul that no one else wanted. And I have wept, broken hearted,

into the fur of a lifeless body too many times to count.

And I know I will do this again. And again.

And again.

I will continue to do and redo all of this.

Everyday. Without fail.

Why?

I AM an Animal Rescuer.

I rescue those whom others refer to as vermin.

I’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on those

whom others see as replaceable or disposable.

I’ve driven uncounted miles to ease the suffering

of those who will not live.

I withstand the pokes, jaunts & judgments of those

that think what I do is a joke;

And even worse, those that truly hate me for what I do;

as well as for whom that I do it for.

I will take those jabs & judgments wordlessly,

saving my words for those who cannot speak for themselves.

I AM an Animal Rescuer.

I know of no soul unworthy of my time.

That includes YOURS.

I will take your animal in when your situation changes,

When your child grows tired of the novelty of a pocket pet,

When you become ill or unemployed.

I will continue to do so even when all the others around me say that ‘I must say no’ or that ‘I cant save them all’.

And maybe those things are true…but I saved this one.

I AM an Animal Rescuer.

I believe in the Rainbow Bridge;

Ive seen it reflected in another person’s dying animal’s eyes.

I know that it exists & I know as a rescuer

that I have a place there too.

I will love those souls there, that I loved here

and rejoice in seeing them again.

I AM an Animal Rescuer..

We are a very small but determined few.

And despite the overwhelming odds,

we ARE making a difference.

A necessary difference.

Nothing is more rewarding than saving a life.

There is no higher recognition than watching them thrive.

There is no greater joy than seeing a little one play

whom only days ago, was too weak to eat.

By the love of those whom I've had the PRIVELEDGE to rescue, I have been rescued.

A thousand times over.

And I know what true unconditional love really is..

For I've seen it shining in the eyes of so many..

Grateful…for so little.

That is my applause; that is my reward.

I receive few others. I require no others.

But would appreciate a kind word of support...

at least from time to time.

So yes; I am a rescuer….and I have never been

more proud than when I am speaking those words.

I am the voice of those who would not be heard …

and for them I speak loudly & without apology.

Our work is never done. Our home is never quiet.

Our bank accounts are usually empty.

And our hearts may frequently be broken…

But our souls are always full.

We ARE Animal Rescuers

And we believe completely that ALL Life is Precious.

The Rescue Rainbow Bridge

Unlike most days at Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray, damp as a swamp and as dismal as could be imagined. All the recent arrivals were confused and concerned. They had no idea what to think for they had never experienced a day like this before. But the animals who had spent some time waiting for their beloved people knew exactly what was happening and began to gather at the pathway leading to the Bridge to watch. They knew this was something special.

It wasn't too long before an elderly animal came into view, head hung heavy and low with tail dragging along the ground.

The other animals on the pathway...the ones who had been at Rainbow Bridge for a while...knew the story of this sad creature immediately. They had seen it happen far too many times.

Although it was obvious the animal's heart was leaden and he was totally overcome with emotional pain and hurt, there was no sign of injury or any illness. Unlike the other pets waiting at the Bridge, this one had not been restored to his prime.

He was full of neither health nor vigor.

He approached slowly and painfully, watching all the pets who were by now watching him.

He knew he was out of place here. This was no resting place for him.

He felt instinctively that the sooner he could cross over, the happier he would be.

But alas, as he came closer to the Bridge, his way was barred by the appearance of an Angel who spoke softly to the old animal and apologized sorrowfully, telling him that he would not be able to pass.

Only those animals who were with their special people could pass over the Rainbow Bridge.

And he had had no special beloved people – no forever family…..

not here at the Bridge nor on the Earth below.

With no place else to turn, the poor elderly animal looked toward the fields before the Bridge. There, in a separate area nearby, he spotted a group of other sad-eyed animals like himself...elderly and infirm.

Unlike the pets waiting for their special people, these animals weren't playing, but simply lying on the green grass, forlornly and miserably staring out at the pathway leading to the Bridge.

The recent arrival knew he had no choice but to join them.

And so, he took his place among them, just watching the pathway and waiting.

One of the newest arrivals at the Bridge, who was waiting for his special people, could not understand what he had just witnessed and asked one of the pets who had been there for some time to explain it to him.

"That poor animal was a rescue, sent away when his owner grew tired of him.

The way you see him now, with graying fur and sad, cloudy eyes, was exactly the way he was when

he was put into the shelter.

He never, ever made it out and passed on only with the love and comfort that the shelter workers

could give him as he left his miserable and unloved existence on Earth for good.

Because he had no family or special person to give his love, he has nobody to escort him across the Bridge."

The first animal thought about this for a minute and then asked,

"So what will happen now?"

As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the all-invasive gloom lifted.

Coming toward the Bridge could be seen a single figure...a person who, on Earth, had seemed quite ordinary...a person who, just like the elderly animal, had just left Earth forever.

This figure turned toward a group of the sad animals and extended outstretched palms.

The sweetest sounds they had ever heard echoed gently above them and all were bathed in a pure and golden light.

Instantly, each was young and healthy again, just as they had been in the prime of life.

From within the gathering of pets waiting for their special people, a group of animals emerged and moved toward the pathway. As they came close to the passing figure, each bowed low and each received a tender pat on the head

or a scritch behind the ears. Their eyes grew even brighter as the figure softly murmured each name.

Then, the newly-restored pets fell into line behind the figure and quietly followed this person to the Bridge,

where they all crossed together.

The recent arrival who had been watching, was amazed. "What happened?"

"That was a Rescuer," came the answer.

"That person spent a lifetime trying to help pets of all kinds.

The ones you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of such unselfish work.

They will cross when their families arrive. Those you saw restored were ones who never found homes.

When a rescuer arrives, they are permitted to perform one, final act of rescue.

They are allowed to escort those poor pets that couldn't be placed on Earth across the Rainbow Bridge.

You see, all animals are special to them...just as they are special to all animals."

"I think I like rescuers," said the recent arrival.

"So does God," was the reply.

*Please support your local animal rescues AND the rescuers that run them.

One kind word of support can go even further than the largest donation.

Thank you.