15/02/2026
I debated hard about whether or not to post this but I feel like someone needs to say it. Although MART wasn’t involved in the rescue of Harley, we’ve been watching, chatting with the rescue groups involved and sharing posts all along. Most of the people who do this type of work in the maritimes have been trained the same way, even trained by each other, use similar techniques and generally agree on how things work with lost animals. We support each other. We sometimes disagree and roll our eyes and swear under our breath about each other but I believe if one of us needed assistance from the other, none of us would deny helping however they could.
Rescue work, in all its forms, is hard. As lost pet professionals, we deal with pet owners who are frantic, devastated and sometimes uncooperative due to their panic. We are empaths so we understand their panic. We also feel the fear the pets must feel. We risk upsetting wildlife and scaring them and we feel that too. We face the possibility of never recovering a pet and never knowing what happened. We find pets too late.
Our biggest obstacle in lost pet recovery is people. Usually well-intentioned, unknowing, untrained people who believe they’re helping, and want to do something (because it’s easier than waiting.) We understand it! It doesn’t make it any less frustrating for us but we understand it. And we’re used to dealing with those people.
What’s killing me now, though, watching the aftermath of Harley, is the people not involved in rescue attacking any rescue group for celebrating the recovery of a lost pet, for sharing a post, for congratulating the effort. The name-calling and vitriol from keyboard warriors who have no idea what happens behind the scenes is disturbing. And uncalled for. It’s also dangerous, because being on the receiving end of that kind of abuse is exactly the reason people leave rescue work. It’s one more thing that adds to the burnout.
If you are one of those people who doesn’t have the training or experience but seems to have all the opinions about who did what and whether or not it was right, please stop. For the sake of making a point, you could be the final straw that causes a rescuer to simply throw in the hat and quit rescue.
You may not care about that, but out there somewhere a frantic pet parent and terrified lost pet will need a rescuer. There already aren’t enough of us. Please don’t be the reason we can’t help more pets. Please.
