Animal cruelty & what you can do to help

At one of my random Petfinder searches, I stumbled across an organization that rescues animals that have been put on a euthanasia list for being injured or sick. A lot of people surrender their sick or injured animal to their local shelter because they are unable or unwilling to pay for them to get better.

M.A.I.N (or Medical Animals In Need) is a 100% volunteer organization that saves these animals, fixes them up and helps them find forever homes. Maricopa county (my new county) has the second largest shelter in the nation - taking in an average of 150 stray or unwanted dogs EACH DAY! This means that about 50,000 dogs and cats are euthanized in Maricopa county each year. People who are looking to adopt are looking for healthy dogs, and are usually unwilling or unable to adopt a sick or injured dog. These dogs don't stand a chance of being adopted, and that is where M.A.I.N steps in - saving over 150 dogs from euthanasia and provide new loving homes for them in 2012 alone.

I have been crying for 3 hours straight, watching rescue videos from M.A.I.N, realizing that most of these injuries are at the hands of another human. These dogs have been abused, neglected, starved, strangled, and all together broken. As I type this, I am listening to Izzie snore...she could have been one of these dogs. This could have been her life had someone who like me not adopted her. I remember crying the entire way (45 minutes) to the shelter to pick out a dog for my roommate - I couldn't imagine driving that drive knowing I needed to surrender Izzie, and I made sure to tell her over and over again that I would never leave her (she came to meet any new potential doggie roommates). I am at a loss for words looking at some of these injuries knowing that another person could do that to a living, breathing, full of love and life animal. It breaks my heart and amazes me at the same times, that these dogs are still capable of loving a human regardless of what they have been through.

Due to the graphic nature and upsetting images (trust me, I've seen the pictures and it is heartbreaking) - I decided to not share any pictures of the dogs that this organization has saved. If you want to read some of their stories, I suggest looking them up on facebook (Medical Animals in Need) or going directly to their website. It will break your heart and restore your faith in humanity all at the same time.

If you are able and willing - please consider donating to this wonderful organization as they are 100% volunteer based and 100% of your donations go directly to saving the lives of many dogs that are in need. Lets end animal cruelty, shall we!