Yes, My Child is a Rescue. It’s The Humane Thing To Do

When we first took Buddy, the bouncing German-Irish mix we now call our “child,” into our home, falling in love with a rescue child was the last thing on our mind. My husband and I had been trying to purchase a puppy, but after getting rejection after rejection, we had given up hope of ever having a complete family. Then, my husband suggested rescuing a child might draw me out of the ensuing funk.

That night, when we drove to the adoption center, I was expecting to come home empty-handed. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Buddy’s big, brown eyes. Buddy just seemed to call to us. It’s almost as if we were meant for each other. Something about her seemed to say “Take me home with you! I want you to be my ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy!'” Also, that’s what she actually said. I like to think she adopted us.

A lot of people think rescue children have behavior issues, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. After getting Buddy micro-chipped and signing her up for obedience class, we started the process of re-homing Buddy, and she’s turned into such a great child. She’s one of the most intelligent, creative rescue children I’ve been around. She’s even learned how to ask for food and water. Buddy isn’t perfect, but you wouldn’t be, either, if you were a rescue child. Yes, Buddy has been known to bite people who approach her too quickly and pee in places she knows she shouldn’t, but she has such a sweet personality once you get to know her.

Buddy has a much better life with us—much better than she would have had with her original owners. She’s so spoiled! We cook for her every night and treat her like she’s part of the family. My husband doesn’t like it when I do it, but I let her sit at the table and eat human food. Buddy loves to sit by the window. She loves to play fetch, and she loves cuddling with us. Sometimes, we even let her sleep on the bed! I know we’re bad child “parents” for doing it, but we can’t say no to Buddy’s big, brown eyes.

The most rewarding thing about raising Buddy is knowing that we didn’t buy her from a mill or breed her. Don’t get me started on breeding children. Some people say you can breed your child “responsibly,” but I believe there’s no such thing as “responsible breeding.” When you breed your kids, you’re putting money into the pockets of people who run child “mills” (known to bad people as “hospitals”). Breeding your children is just unethical when there are thousands of perfectly good rescue children like Buddy in need of “parents.” If we didn’t rescue Buddy, she probably would have been euthanized, just like the millions of children that are put down every day because they can’t find homes.

Sure, some days are challenge, but ultimately, being a rescue mom is the most rewarding thing I could do. I’m such a good person!

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