A Day in the Life of a Teenage Rescuer

by John Flores

Journeying through the aisles I have to keep myself focused as to why I am here. Screams of desperation and stares pleading for life pierce through me. Knowing I cannot save each one of them scars me eternally. This part is never easy but it is a reminder why I am here. To help those who are separated from the world by a cold barrier. Ensuring their fear of loneliness and death, they are outlanders. I am in the middle of the mess irresponsibility has created and I can only help so much, its havoc is too great.

As I keep pushing through I avoid making eye contact. Telling them to their face that today I am not there to save them but to save another is one strength I do not possess. One step at a time I get closer and the cries for help get louder.  Surrounded by suffering, I feel as if I can break, but I do not falter.

Finally reaching my destination, I see them. Small, cold, abandoned, motherless. Having been put to death upon arrival if we did not come for them, to give them the chance at life they deserve. As we drive the four orphans home I think of naming them after the stars. They will be symbols of hope and guidance, leading them to bright futures.

For a week the two brothers and two sisters strive. Now tragedy strikes, one sister no longer has the energy to feed from her bottle. I hold her as she shouts cries of pain and gasps for breath to fill her fragile lungs. Being with her was hard but I couldn’t let her die alone, she would die in loving arms. She fought hard and died within three hours…on my chest, over my heart. The next day her brother followed her lead.

The sensation of failure washes over me. I could not save them. Though they have died there’s no time to cry, there’s still two who are breathing; non-stop feeding and nursing. The brother and sister are healthy. Their survival is clear. They will reach adulthood.

The job is not always easy and like most things, it must be done. This way of life is physically and emotionally straining but it’s the life I choose to live and fight for.

* This was written by my 17 year old partner in crime. She let me read this to look over before she turned it into her English class. As soon as I read it, I told her I was posting it today. Without her, I would not be able to foster, rescue and care for the animals that came into my life this year. She’s my personal assistant, my life coach and most of all, she’s one of my best friends. While most teenagers would rather go to parties she spends her free time at the rescue and caring for abandoned dogs. As she enters her senior year in high school, this aspiring wild life veterinarian wants nothing more than to go to Paris for her senior trip. She’s just a tad bit short and I would love nothing more for her than to see her go. Please check out the link below and maybe you can help her out.

— Click Here to visit to Paige’s GoFundMe page — 

John Flores

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