Sarah Aitken has been rescuing animals for more than 30 years. Today she works with Maggie’s Mission (maggiesmissionrescue. org), a Medina County-based organization that relies entirely on volunteers and foster homes to care for dogs, cats and horses.
Many of the dogs and cats are saved from urgent situations throughout Northeast Ohio, as well as from overflowing shelters. Horses and donkeys, such as the ones shown, often come from auctions where they were to be sold for meat.
Sarah says animal lovers can easily find a place to volunteer that suits their interests and time.
“Many groups, including Maggie’s Mission, have many options for volunteers. Maggie’s Mission shows pets at PetSmart in Montrose, Pet People in Strongsville and various other locations throughout the year. We always need volunteers to sit with a pet at these events, and they are only a couple of hours each. We also have the need for computer-savvy volunteers to help with inputting information and transporters to transport pets from shelters or to and from vet appointments.”
Her own interest started as a teenager. Birds, turtles, rabbits — if an animal needed help, she was there.
“When it’s in your blood, you can’t really walk away from it. You can take a break, but it draws you back in when you see a face that’s in need of help, and you know you can be the one to make a difference,” she says.
“We need more compassion in our world. We have domesticated these animals and it is our responsibility to take care of them properly.”
