Rescues are the New Crack – How to Prevent Animal Burn-Out

Helping rescue animals is addictive.  It’s not too hard to figure out why. Seeing an animal go from frightened and abused to happy and well-loved is an incredible high. When you think about how many there are still needing help, and how few there are of you, it’s easy to start over-extending yourself. And as well-intentioned as this may be, you’re no good to anybody if you run yourself ragged. Consider this post your guide to avoiding dogaholics/cataholics anonymous and ending up on Animal Hoarders.

Time: The more animals you take in the more time it takes up; walking, cleaning, grooming, playing, training, vet visits and more. If your circle of friends starts to fade away, or you find yourself neglecting other important duties, consider scaling back the number of animals in your house at one time. Consider also that you have to divide your attention between all these animals as well as your own. Ask yourself – is everybody getting all the one-on-one time they need to be well-socialized and emotionally healthy? How about your lover/roommate/kids? If somebody comes to you asking for cuddles or other attention, are you  able to accommodate them?

Money: If you lose your house or can’t pay the rent, where will the poor little dears stay? Make sure you’re not donating so much of your money that you have none left to sustain a reasonable lifestyle for yourself. If you haven’t yet used up all of your free time, consider organizing a fundraiser instead. This is something you can do with friends and family too, which is great because chances are they might kind of miss you by now.

Sanitation: Are the animal beds laundered, the floors washed and vacuumed, and the yard clean, or is the whole thing starting to become a smelly poo-filled mess? Sanitation is extremely important for both you and your critters, so if things are starting to get out of hand you need to take a step back and get things back under control. Nobody wants to get rescued from one filthy house only to end up in another. Clean that shit or scale back your rescue efforts.

Emotions: Yes, it’s an amazing feeling when your foster pet finds their loving forever home. But it can be a painful one, too. Consider it your heart’s growing pains. If you’re not careful it could break. Your animals want you to be happy just as much as you want them to be, so make sure you’re able to keep yourself in a positive state of mind, for their sake and yours. Sometimes you just need a bit of a break, and that’s ok!

For anyone devoted to helping animals in need, you are amazing and I thank you. Let’s support each other by making sure we’ll be able to continue doing so for as long as possible.

Drawn and Plastered Grows More Than Ever at Pet Sematary!

It was a dark and stormy night, but all was warm and convivial inside our newest venue, Pop Soda’s Coffee House and Gallery! The venue was absolutely perfect, providing more space for the artists to work, and a gorgeous environment for our photographers to shoot in. With paintings on the walls, books on the shelves, comfy couches all around and the usual delicious drink specials, we couldn’t imagine a better place. We even had an art studio as a dressing room!
The most notable feature of all brings us to an exciting announcement. Drawn and Plastered will now be a primarily all ages event, the very first of its kind! Because we feel no one should be excluded, and young people have a lot to offer to the art community, we couldn’t be happier, and you don’t even have to give up the booze (that part still just for those over 18 of course). This should not only allow a whole new group of people to participate, but also makes it easier for those with kids who would like to bring them along. Win-win for the win!
Animals were of course included as well, so there certainly wasn’t anyone missing. A beautifully plumed bird perched on a swing, a cat and werewolf prowled together among the artists, a spider queen ruled over her domain, a lizard planked, and the evil Dr. Lazarus did her best to make their lives a nightmare, turning the event into an artist’s dream. And while our models were beautiful on the outside, you were ALL beautiful on the inside, raising money for animals in need at the Winnipeg Humane Society. Jennifer Swan won her second prize since we first began, and is now the proud recipient of a photoshoot with True Charisma Photography. We can’t wait to present the WHS with their donation later this week.
Speaking of the evil Dr. Lazarus, Drawn and Plastered has a second announcement: The addition of our fourth core family member, Sarah Putnam as model manager! She’ll be helping us take on the duties of assisting the models throughout the night, so it’s easier for them to do their jobs, and therefor easier for you to make use of them. Thanks to her and our new MC Chloe, the modelling was absolutely the best we’ve ever had, so we can’t wait to have them back on a regular basis.
And finally, the announcement of November’s theme. It may be getting cold out, but get out your bathing suits and start teasing those beehives, because this November Drawn and Plastered Stars in Pink Hawaii!