You know you're a rescuer if ...

• your vet thanks you for putting his kids through college.
• your vet's staff recognizes your voice on the phone and asks “How many are you bringing in today?”
• the entrance to every room of your house has a baby gate across it but you don't have toddlers.
• crates are considered part of the furniture.
• your dogs are eating premium dog food and you're eating peanut butter sandwiches.
• there is a collection of leashes at every exit of your house. And a couple of spares in the car.
• you look around the living room and think “I can fit three more crates in here if I get rid of the sofa.”
• you know every rest stop and restaurant within a hundred mile radius of your home.
• you've had more canine riders in your vehicle than Greyhound has had passengers.
• friends call your cell phone and ask where you are and how many dogs you have with you.
• you have a book of baby names but don't have children.
• you can temperament test a dog but have no idea why most of your family isn't speaking to you.
• you have more dog food bowls than dinner plates in your kitchen.
• people don't ask how you are; they ask how the dogs are.
• every time someone asks you to participate in a fundraiser you wonder if there's a way to do something similar to raise money for rescue.
• any time somebody is giving something away free, you wonder if there's any way the rescue group can use it.
• your heart sinks every time you receive an email or voicemail from an animal shelter. You wonder if there's any way to squeeze “just one more” into your household.
• no matter how many times you clean it, your car still has the underlying aroma of dog.
• your credit cards are maxed out and but you haven't bought yourself anything new in months.
• any “extra cash” you have is donated to the group.
• every time you bring home yet another foster, the resident animals look at you like “Here we go again.”
• you feed and walk dogs in shifts.
• you've declined an invitation to go out because you've spent so much time on rescue-related business lately that you need to spend some quality time with your own dogs.
• you've been late for work because a new foster wouldn't cooperate.
• you park your car in the driveway because you have an emergency foster in your garage.
• people know you as that “dog person”.
• you have let a foster dog sleep on the bed to help it adjust to it's first night in your home.
• you can successfully integrate a new dog into the household but forget the name of the person you're introducing to your friends.
• you keep a supply of extra collars, in a variety of sizes, on hand.
• you remember the name and markings of every dog that's ever been through rescue but can't recognize members of your own family.
• you can maneuver through a room full of dogs with ease but you can't walk across the street without stumbling.
• you've spent a sleepless night worrying about a dog in need of rescue.
• you know the location of every animal shelter in every county in the state.
• your family, friends, and coworkers avoid you because they're afraid you're going to ask them to foster “just this once”.
• all of your free cell phone minutes are used for rescue-related calls.
• you have taken time off from work to pull or transport a dog.
• you handle rescue-related issues even when you're on vacation or home sick. There is no such thing as a day off.
• you have driven halfway across the state to help a dog, but you won't drive across town to pick up a pizza.
• you will prepare a nutritious, high-protein meal for a sick dog but won't open a can of chicken soup for yourself when you're feeling under the weather.
• you have cancelled appointments because a rescue emergency has come up.
• you eat more meals in your car than in your kitchen.
• you drive an SUV or station wagon but don't have any kids.
• you spend your free weekends at adoption events.
• your whole life revolves around the dogs and you wouldn't have it any other way.

 

(Author unknown)