For me I try to concentrate on what I have done to help rather than my hopeless inability to change everything

In a dream world I would take all the animals back to my great big house with my acres of land and we would all have great lives. Sadly in my real world this will never happen but that does not stop me feeling guilty.

I am not feeling sad about the animals in the shelter but my Inability to help them all. To stop this sad feeling I have to think what I have done, I might have made a donation or bought something at the shelter shop. This has made a difference although maybe only a small difference I have still helped.

Once we are capable of being able to visit animal shelters without feeling guilty it can be a very rewarding experience for us.

Many people and families these days do not have the luxury of the time or space to have a pet. An afternoon at the shelter can help the family interact with animals and also helps the animals by the donations and the interactions which you have with them whilst you are there.

This is Spud, he is an 11 month old Spaniel something cross. He is my pet Dog that I adopted from the Dogs Trust. We have a mutually beneficial relationship, he needed a home and I wanted a pet. He is my second rescue dog the first was a great companion for 14yrs.

Two men were walking toward each other on an otherwise deserted beach. One man was in his early 20s, the other obviously much older. The smooth damp sand was littered with starfish, washed onto the land during high tide. They were stranded there when the tide ebbed. Thousands of starfish were doomed to die in the warm morning sun.

The younger man watched the older man pick up starfish one at a time and toss them back into the ocean, giving them a chance to survive. The young man thought, “Why is he doing that? How foolish. He can’t save them all.”

As they came near one another, the younger one felt compelled to point out to the older man the futility in his action. “You know,” he said, “you can’t save them all. Most of them will die here on the sand. What you are doing really won’t make any difference.” The older man studied the young man for a moment. Then he bent down, picked up a starfish and tossed it into the water. He smiled at the young man and said, “It made a difference to that one.” Then he walked on, picking up starfish and tossing them back into the sea.