Oh, so you are one of those rescuers

On Sunday I took my doggies to a local park. It's a lovely but fairly busy place - near a main street with lots of traffic, has multiple sports fields, always lots of people with young children, in a lively residential area. And, of course, a place where a lot of dogs get walked (hopefully all on leash since there is no off-leash, secure area in the park). We were there early in the morning, before all this activity had really picked up.

And all of a sudden I see a sweet Golden Retriever strolling through. No leash, no human. And then a second one. The dogs are clearly buddies and they are just roaming through a field. Obviously, this caught my attention and I went on alert. What's going through my mind? Well, obviously these dogs are not simply homeless - they are clean, well fed, and appear calm from a distance. But given the area, it would be so, so easy for the pups to have managed to sneak out through the door of a house or a car and wandered into the park without their owner's knowledge. And all it would take is one strong smell that takes them toward the main street and they could be hit by a car!

Alright, action time! I'm right next to the solid chain link fence of a ball field so I tie the leashes of my two dogs securely through the fence. Yes, I am thankful I have them on plain leads instead of retractable leashes because this would be impossible to do with retractables. I ask them to stay (ok, they only kind of listen) and I start strolling toward the two Goldens, slow enough that I don't scare them in case they are shy.

I was within a few feet of the animals when a man approached us. I asked if those were his dogs and it turned out he was the owner indeed. I expressed relief that they were not lost and explained that I had been heading their way to make sure all was ok. He looked a bit perplexed at first (obviously not grasping that he was not being responsible in this case). Then he looked at the AAI cap I was wearing and said: "Oh, you are one of those rescuers, huh?". I proudly replied "Yes, I am!", wished him a good day, and went back to my pups.

You may say it to me with a dismissive attitude. You may ridicule me for it. You may consider me too emotional or think I am wasting my time. But I will ALWAYS be proud to be called a rescuer and will ALWAYS do what I can for those whose life and safety may depend on me speaking up.