A Calling, Not a Job
Sara Chen doesn't have a dramatic origin story. She didn't grow up on a farm, didn't study veterinary medicine, and wasn't raised by a family of animal activists. She was a high school science teacher who, one rainy night, stopped to help a dog limping near her neighborhood park — and never quite stopped after that.
That was over a decade ago. Since then, Sara has personally coordinated the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of more than 200 dogs through the volunteer organization she co-founded: Second Street Animal Rescue.
What a Volunteer Rescue Coordinator Actually Does
Most people imagine animal rescue as dramatic moments — pulling dogs from floods, coaxing frightened animals off ledges. And yes, those moments happen. But Sara is quick to explain that the bulk of the work is far less cinematic:
- Fielding calls and messages from people who've found stray animals
- Coordinating transport to vet appointments and foster homes
- Managing a network of volunteer foster carers
- Fundraising to cover medical expenses
- Screening and supporting potential adopters
- Following up with adopted families for weeks or months afterward
"It's logistics, mostly," Sara says with a laugh. "Spreadsheets and group chats. But every spreadsheet row is a life."
The Hardest Part of the Work
Asked what the most difficult aspect of rescue work is, Sara doesn't hesitate: "The ones you can't save." Despite every effort, some animals arrive too ill, too injured, or too traumatized for recovery. Knowing when to let go — and making that decision with compassion rather than guilt — is something no amount of experience fully prepares you for.
She also speaks candidly about volunteer burnout, a serious and underacknowledged problem in the animal rescue community. "You care so much. And caring so much, constantly, without enough support, wears people down. We lose good volunteers to burnout every year."
Her advice to new volunteers: start small, set boundaries, and remember that sustainable help is better than exhausted help.
What Keeps Her Going
Sara keeps a wall in her home she calls "The Wall of Wins" — printed photos of every dog she's helped rehome, sent by their new families. It now spans an entire hallway.
"When a really dark week hits, I walk down that hallway. There's Max, who arrived with three broken ribs and is now running on a beach in Portugal with his family. There's Biscuit, who was so feral we weren't sure she could ever be touched — and now she sleeps in a child's bed every night."
How You Can Support Rescue Volunteers
Rescue workers like Sara operate largely without formal support structures. Here's how everyday people can help the helpers:
- Donate directly to small, local rescue groups — they often have less funding than large organizations but do enormous work.
- Offer to foster — even for a week or two, giving an animal a home reduces the pressure on rescue coordinators dramatically.
- Share their adoption posts — visibility is everything when it comes to finding the right home.
- Check in on the volunteers themselves — a message of appreciation costs nothing and means a great deal.
Sara Chen is one of thousands of people around the world who give their evenings, weekends, and emotional energy to animals who have no one else. They don't ask for much. But they deserve to be seen.