BUFFALO, N.Y. — William Shakespeare wrote in the 16th century, "The quality of Mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."
The interpretation of this line is that mercy is freely given, not forced. For those who rescue animals that is most certainly true.
In the case of Buddy's Second Chance Rescue in Buffalo, that mercy is extended to dogs that are genuinely in need. They are saved from kill shelters in the southern part of the country.
"Our mission is to save one until there are none. So we are looking to save as many dogs as possible from euthanization in mainly the southern states," said Julie Starr, founder of Buddy's Second Chance Rescue.
Shelters across the country face problems with overpopulation. Over 6 million dogs and cats are surrendered to shelters each year, 95 percent being healthy and adoptable. Sadly, almost 2 million of them are euthanized.
Starr says that over the past 8 years, Buddy's has saved almost 5,000 dogs.
"We just started in June pulling from one of the top kill shelters in the country that's on the border of Mexico in Laredo Texas," Starr said. "They intake about 20 dogs a day, which means that pretty much 20 dogs a day would get euthanized, because there's no space."
Every couple weeks the rescue takes dogs from the kill shelters and brings them to Western New York.
"We try to do about 30 dogs on average, sometimes more, sometimes less," Starr said. "And once those dogs are picked and a date is set we pay the transport company to bring the dogs up to us."
Once they're safe here, they live with foster families until they can be adopted into their forever homes.
"Our fosters and our volunteers are the heart of this organization, Buddy's wouldn't be Buddy's without them," Starr said.
Adopting a dog is a lifelong commitment, but Starr says it's one that offers an infinite return.
"Before you go into adopting make sure you know that it's not going to be a month, a year, this is going to be for their life," she said. "They're not like children, they don't become self sufficient, you will always have to take care of them. But like I said, it's worth it and the love you get in return is definitely worth it."
For more information on how you can volunteer or adopt, click here.