10/28/2026
BEHIND THE SCENES OF AN ANIMAL RESCUE
There is so much that goes on behind the scenes of our rescue that many people never see. Every single day we are busy doing far more than just saving animals. On top of everything we do for Healing Heart Rehab, I (Joy) also work a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job. I wanted to share just some of what our day-to-day lives look like.
1. Rescuing and rehabilitating animals. Providing daily care, feeding, cleaning, medications, training, socialization, veterinary appointments, and helping broken animals heal physically and emotionally.
2. Finding forever homes. Taking photos, writing adoption bios, advertising, reviewing applications, answering questions, and working to find the right homes for the animals in our care.
3. Networking animals we cannot take in. Just because our rescue is full doesn’t mean we stop trying to help. We spend time reaching out to other rescues and sharing animals in desperate need.
4. Supporting our local animal shelters. Spotlighting shelter animals, networking with rescues, and helping reunite missing pets with their families through posts on our personal pages.
5. Scanning found pets for microchips. Helping identify owners and reunite lost animals with their families.
6. Trapping dumped and missing animals. This can take hours, days, or even weeks of monitoring, setting traps, checking cameras, and working to safely capture frightened animals. Many times this work happens late at night.
7. Helping pet owners in need. Providing food, supplies, medications, and assistance with medical needs when we have the resources available.
8. Marketing and promoting our rescue. Managing social media, creating posts, making videos, updating our website, and constantly working to get our animals noticed.
9. Fundraising. Planning fundraisers, finding sponsors, requesting donations, and raising the money needed to keep our rescue operating and provide medical care.
10. Answering messages, questions, and comments. Between our rescue pages and personal pages, there are countless messages, comments, and requests for help that we try to keep up with daily.
And this is only a portion of what goes on behind the scenes! We don’t get paid to do this work. We do it because we love animals and believe their lives matter. We have our own families, jobs, homes, responsibilities, and personal lives to manage just like everyone else.
Some days we are exhausted. Some days we are overwhelmed. Some days we feel like there simply aren’t enough hours to get everything done. There are days when we are trying to save one animal while receiving messages about ten more needing help.
Rescue doesn’t end when we leave the kennels. It doesn’t stop when we clock out of our regular jobs. There are phone calls, messages, emergencies, paperwork, medical decisions, and animals depending on us every single day. We aren’t sharing this for sympathy or recognition. We are sharing it to help people understand just how much work goes into operating an animal rescue and how much happens that the public never sees.
We are human. We have limits. We cannot save every animal, answer every message immediately, or meet every request for help. But that doesn’t mean we don’t care. We work hard every single day, and sometimes it is overwhelming. Yet we continue because every animal we help deserves the chance at a better life.
To everyone who adopts, fosters, donates, volunteers, shares our posts, or simply offers a kind word of encouragement, thank you. You are helping us continue doing work that is not always easy.
Healing Broken Hearts One by One. ❤️🐾
— Healing Heart Rehab
