11/11/2025
PLEASE take care of your local area before importing/exporting. Never mind the HIGH risk of moving diseases such as heartworm.
Are Things Really ‘That Good’ Here?
I had a conversation today that really made me think. Someone mentioned a rescue whose main focus is bringing animals into our state from areas that are “in worse shape” than we are. They said they’re thankful that things are “so good” here that we can help so many out-of-state animals.
And while I absolutely believe every animal deserves a chance- no matter where they’re from- I think it’s important to talk about what’s really happening right here in our own communities.
Because the truth is, things here aren’t as “good” as people think. Every single day, there are countless messages from people begging for help- for sick strays, dumped pets, and kittens being born outside. And more often than not, those cries for help are met with, “I’m sorry, we’re full.”
Just today, while that conversation was taking place, I had four 2lb kittens who had just been spayed and ear-tipped, and were about to be released back outside with their colony. I reached out to multiple local rescues, and every one of them said the same thing: “We’re full.” And truthfully, so was I. But I couldn’t look the other way when they were right in front of me.
Our local shelters may not be euthanizing for space, and that’s something to be grateful for- but it doesn’t mean animals here aren’t in crisis. It simply means they’re being turned away instead of being taken in. The suffering still exists; it just happens quietly, outside the shelter walls.
Helping out-of-state animals isn’t wrong. It comes from a place of compassion, and we need that. But I also think we need to be honest about the growing need right here at home. If we continue overlooking the local animals who are struggling- the ones right in our own neighborhoods- we risk heading down the same path as the places we believe we’re “better off” than.
Our shelters and rescues are doing the best they can with limited resources. But awareness matters. Change starts when people realize that behind every “we’re full” are animals who never got their chance- not because they weren’t adoptable, but because there simply wasn’t space.
If we want to prevent crisis, we have to start caring as much about the animals here as we do about those elsewhere. They all deserve help. But so do the ones in our own backyard.