Become a Real-Life Superhero

Changing someone’s life – for the better – is easier than you might think. Anyone can be a hero. Next time you see an animal in distress, please don’t just walk on by.

Here are a couple of stories about animal rescues that we found really inspiring – and we hope you do, too! Our programmes manager, Yvonne, was out walking with her rescued dog, Zack, when she discovered this cutie:

Zack found her on the street between two cars. I was convinced that she was dead even after I had tapped her, but Zack refused to leave. Then I saw her blink. She was freezing cold and just skin and bones, but I got her warmed up and gave her a meal every three hours through the night. Miraculously, she’s survived. The following day, I went back to see if I could spot her nest in the hope that I could return her after a couple of days of feeding, but I found it close by in pieces, so that was obviously how she had ended up on the ground. She’s a wood pigeon, and when she’s fully recovered, I’ll be sure to take her back to where I found her to release her.

During the same week, PETA France’s Isabelle also intervened to save lives. Here’s her story:

I was walking on the Champs-Élysées and saw a man begging with a big dog. Next to him was a bird cage with two terrified puppies squashed inside it. They were curled up together and clearly deprived of food and water. I called the police and alerted them to this ill treatment of animals. They were as shocked as I was and took the puppies away from the man.

The puppies were badly infested with fleas and worms and were traumatized and apathetic. At home, I bathed them over and over again and gave them plenty of food and water – they jumped on it as if they’d never had a proper meal before! The next day, I took them to the vet, who told me that one of them was so skinny and dehydrated that she was lucky to be alive.

Reporting cruelty to an organisation such as the RSPCA and stopping to disentangle an animal from a sticky situation may not seem like super-human feats, but for the animal you’re assisting, they will make you a hero.

Here are some other day-to-day actions that can save lives:

• Help out a pigeon trapped in netting.
• Assist an injured wild animal – but read this advice from the RSPCA first.
• Rescue a dog trapped in a hot car.
• Adopt a companion from an animal shelter.
• Turn your garden into a hedgehog haven.
• Help a family of frogs across the road.

These are just a few suggestions. But there are so many more ways that you can – and perhaps already do – help animals. If you have your own inspiring story, please share it in the comments below.