A band of brothers. A team of true believers. That’s what their website says, and that’s what they bring to the war on animal abuse. These bad biker boys like to take a more in-your-face approach to animal rescue, and you can bet that if you find yourself on the business end of one of their investigations, it won’t go well for you. (1)
Tough Cases For Tough Guys
Fiercely devoted to the lives of all animals, Rescue Ink is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit rescue organization. Comprised of beefy bikers and even beefier weightlifters, honorable veterans, former police officers, homicide detectives, and even lawyers, they all come together in the name of saving sentient beings of all stripes.
In the past they’ve helped rescue horses, pigs, fish, chickens, even snakes… if an animal needs help, Rescue Ink is there.
How do they know which cases to focus on? The short answer is that they take the most heinous, out of control ones. They encounter some breathtaking situations, things that are hard to conceive of. People come to Rescue Ink when the typical avenues are no longer an option, or perhaps never were. Sometimes they end up not just helping animals, but young family members who have been victimized too, who have found themselves in harm’s way. (2)
With names like Big Mike, Jimmy the Bull, and Alley Cat, you best believe these guys aren’t big on chit chat. They take their work seriously, and often that work is to even the score on behalf of someone who has been wronged.
On one side of the equation, this work involves reporting violent pet owners to the authorities and supplying evidence to support their case. On the other side, it involves taking responsibility for the animal itself and finding it a forever home.
It’s a one-two punch to the gut that this cycle of abuse needs.
Soft And Strong
But Rescue Ink isn’t only about the single case or single animal, and it’s not always about preventing dog abuse. Toby Franks, for example, one of the Rescue Ink gang, has been doing TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) for several years now. He has spayed or neutered, vaccinated and returned over 500 feral cats from neighborhoods and back alleys. He can be found in the areas most people don’t go – but that’s where the neediest cats are. (1)
A single cat can have several hundred kittens over the course of its life, so this is the kind of grassroots work that will have a ripple effect over the coming years.
This world needs more guys like Toby.
One of the most wonderful things about who these guys are doesn’t have much at all to do with Rescue Ink itself. Here is a group of men, a band of brothers, who are not afraid to show their heart. Big, burly, rough guys who prove that you can (and maybe should) embody both: soft and strong.
Rescue Ink is proof that you can be tough and sweet. You can fight for the little guy, even as you fight through another 10 reps. Tough doesn’t have to be mean. In fact, tough might be the sweetest thing you’ve seen in a really long time.
