Many groups conduct extensive interviews, draw up detailed contracts and even do home inspections. The pressures are tremendous, if not heartbreaking. There are too many pets for too few homes. The big-picture problems never really change despite individual success stories. Burnout is common.
Some rescuers even start to loathe mankind.
Take two dogs and find them homes. Then do some more. But it's often hard for animal lovers to pace themselves, with an estimated 4 million to 5 million pets put to death every year, according to the Humane Society of the United States. In Sacramento County, about 30,000 pets are destroyed annually. Established groups experience enough success stories to keep them going through tough times.