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Rescue 'Burnout' ???????????

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper
How do you Rescues stop yourself going completely bonkers with all the stress running a Rescue involves ?
Hearing about all the dreadful cases you encounter:cry: and the all too many idiot humans you have to deal with :evil: must push you to the very limits much of the time.
Do you have specific coping strategies ?
Do you have to be a certain type of personality to be able to cope with all the :censored: without ending up being Sectioned or Imprisoned !!

I really dont know how you all keep going but thank goodness many of you do

:)
 
My coping strategy is to be optimistic (not just with the rescue but in all aspects of life). It also helps to have a good team that you can rely on.
I have been involved in rescue for 15 years now and still believe there are more nice people out there than not.
 
My coping strategy is to be optimistic (not just with the rescue but in all aspects of life). It also helps to have a good team that you can rely on.
I have been involved in rescue for 15 years now and still believe there are more nice people out there than not.

I think I fail on all of the above. I am definately a 'glass half empty' person and I am so badly lacking in 'people skills' :oops:
Mind you, you already know that !! :lol:
 
Jane
I think you are amazing and do a fantastc job with all your buns and the others you take in.

I don't know how you do it either

It must be so hard running rescue centres and I admire anyone who can do it.
 
I really look up to people who can do this! Donna and all those at ARC are complete angels. They obviously care so much and are such lovely people. Donna has no problem welcoming people in to her home and I think she is one of life's true angels!

I, one day, hope to run a rescue and I hope I will be able to be half as good as all the rescues on here!
 
Jane
I think you are amazing and do a fantastc job with all your buns and the others you take in.

I don't know how you do it either

It must be so hard running rescue centres and I admire anyone who can do it.

I dont deal with the people. I have no problem with relating to and communicating with Rabbits. Its Humans I cant seem to understand.
Also, my mouth is usually one step ahead of my brain. Not good when tact and diplomacy are called for............:oops:
 
I really look up to people who can do this! Donna and all those at ARC are complete angels. They obviously care so much and are such lovely people. Donna has no problem welcoming people in to her home and I think she is one of life's true angels!

I, one day, hope to run a rescue and I hope I will be able to be half as good as all the rescues on here!

I think Donna is a Saint !! I have never ever heard her loose her temper with anyone and she always sees the good in people. Heck, she even puts up with me !! :)
 
i dont have a stratergy .... i just plough on regardless ...

its certainly hard work and upsetting ....but it has the good points too ...

theres nothing makes we smile more than a card / photo / e mail from someone who adopted from us to say how the buns are doing ... happy endings make it all worthwhile...or at least bearable :? :roll:
 
its strange i love getting new bunnies to foster but then i have to think why they have come in the first place and it makes me feel guilty,i must admit ive been quite good in letting them go to good homes, but jims going to be my hardest one to let go, its the ones you bring back from the brink and spend so much time with thats hard, and it makes me cross i couldnt do what donna does and pick the unwanted ones up, i would lose it, but then if i dont have any bunnies, donna always lets me pop up anytime for fusses, and her dogs have to get a fuss too, or i get the brown eyed look :lol:

must admit everyong thought i was mad when i had 19 bunnies in and around my house one week:lol: i did get a little stressed but it was fun at the same time :D
 
Well I think you are all stars as I am 100% certain I could never do it.
I just couldn't keep my cool with some of the people you have to deal with :oops:
 
i dont have a stratergy .... i just plough on regardless ...

its certainly hard work and upsetting ....but it has the good points too ...

theres nothing makes we smile more than a card / photo / e mail from someone who adopted from us to say how the buns are doing ... happy endings make it all worthwhile...or at least bearable :? :roll:


I have a montage on my wall of some of the bunnies I rehomed sent by their owners and I still get phone calls & emails about them....last year I had xmas cards too :love:
 
i've been bonkers for years :roll:
some people handing over rabbits have good reason,sometimes its not their fault, as for the others:? well i bite my tongue plenty of times just to make sure we get the animal handed over safely.
the thing that keeps me going is to picture in my mind all the unwanted,unfed,cold,miserable and desperatly lonely animals out there:cry:.makes tears come to my eyes at the thought but its what gives me the get up and go that i need, especially on freezing cold, wet and windy days.
 
I don't have a stratergy either, I just get on with it. As for the idiots (sorry I mean people:oops:;)) you deal with I just humour to a point then tell them and David always says I'll go and sort the dogs out which meand he is close to wanting to thump them:lol::lol:
It is the best feeling when you know the rabbits are going to their forever homes and have got that second chance and thats what makes it worth while:D
The network of rescues on this forum helps to as we can whinge to each other and know what we are all feeling because sometimes it can be stressful and nobody can really understand:D
 
Im not a registered rescue just do small amounts of rescue work I can. I find you need to know your limits of how much you can handle if you work alone. I dont have helpers, just little old me so have to turn away sometimes if im full to my limits. Its emotionaly draining esp when you get bad cases in, its also financialy draining as all have to be seen by a vet regardless and most have illness or injurys of some sort :( Yes its hard to bite your tongue. As i work mainley alone its me who does collections from houses and have to watch as they hand over a animal in horrific neglected conditions, often makeing me wrench :( Sometimes I will get calls from the vet asking me taking in what they have had left behind there, at least they have been treated 1st, most just uinwanted, or taken in for treatment and not collected due to cost of vet bills :( Some i collect direct from a scene, ordeal, from streets in boxes or on parks. Its difficult work.

Coping stratorgys, I dont have any really. I plod along, the reward is those you can make better and safe and even better for those who find homes again :D

The sad part is, you cant save them all, you cant take in every single one, though i do try, but sometimes I just cant due to lack of space and mass cages. Currently im working 6 am too midnight which consisits of cage cleaning, medicating, feeding and free ranging and playing or taming. Im at my limit now so im hoping I dont get any calls and have to say no :(
 
Well chloe covers most of the day to day stuff so probably goes more crackers than most of us but generally I'd say........

as many helpers as you can get
lots of friends that you can grumble to & ask to fundraising events
plentiful pizza and tea
sticking to your limit and not going over that (erhum!!!!)
Not being afraid to ask for help/advice from other rescues
Positive thought and/or prayer.
 
another good thing about volunteering for a rabbit rescue i can talk non stop about bunnies without them getting bored, im sure ive burnt a hole in my best mates and my mum ear now,
 
I have such admiration for people who run rescues, the emotions you go thro from anger to love to sad i'm not sure i'd be able to cope :roll: i have a friend who use to foster and place old dogs, she's fostered over 1,000 dogs and helped them on their way :love: she can't do it now due to ill health :(

Can i ask have you ever been out to do a home check and ended up reporting them instead? :(
 
1 way is to look at the donations coming in as a sign of encouragement from people who cares. Needless to say, there are people who don't care about animals.

But on a side note, I feel it's important for us to promote spaying on all female rabbits, as much as possible. If we can get the mesg. out to the general population, it'll reduce any rescue center's work load.
 
Echo what everyone else says..it helps to be mad!

I have some wonderful fosterers who mean we can take in more animals.
The rabbits that are at my own house..currently 30 including permanents and one in for bonding..are my sole responsibility..I don't have any helpers come here..so clean outs, feeding, checks, meds are me...aswell as vet runs, feed store visits etc..I also do all the local homechecks and I pick up all incoming animals ..don't have any day of the year where I'm not "rabbiting" as my hubby callls it...often to be found outside at midnight checking on bunnies in my pjs.

Very draining emotionally..fianancially (Honeybunnies was set up by me and is not linked to any other charity)..and physically...

But once your are involved in animal rescue its hard to stop..
and as others have said the happy endings really help:D
Here's one..last year we rescued 17 animals who would have been used for live bait or been killed as surplus stock.
I was sent this pic of one of them..Cranberry..who has obviously made herself quite at home..she is the bun on the right!:D
crnne.jpg
 
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