In a county with a dwindling population, it’s expected that some businesses will vanish and modest luxuries we once enjoyed may start to disappear. Humans with a traumatic injury or a complex health problem almost always are transported out of the county for tertiary medical care.

Similarly, I’m writing to you as a canine rescuer and animal advocate to express how frustrating it is in Chautauqua County to have a pet emergency after hours. This has been a significant problem with my adoption families, fellow canine rescue groups, and animal control officers for quite some time.

Imagine it’s a Saturday night, your dog had some sort of mishap, his leg is broken. You call the local veterinarian, and a voicemail prompt you hear is to put your animal in the car, (no matter the weather conditions), and drive to an emergency clinic in Orchard Park or Erie, Pa.

The first words spoken by these emergency clinics is not “What’s wrong with your dog?” It’s “we need your credit card”; typically for at least a $1,000 hold. It’s absurd, lacking in compassion, unrealistic, and purely an emotional game. They know most people consider their pets family.

To prove my point, I was formerly a volunteer firefighter. I’ve been to many house fires. People might have lost everything, but if you saved their dog, you were a hero in their eyes.

Former OBSERVER correspondent Ann Belcher published an article on the front page on or around January 2012 discussing how local first responders were implementing measures to provide basic first aid to animals involved in fires or related incidents.

I received a call at our rescue for a canine emergency recently late on a Saturday night. The situation was critical. I called every veterinary clinic in this county. Only one called me back in a timely manner and said, “he wasn’t equipped to perform euthanasia.” The second doctor called seven hours later after the dog had already passed.

In our county, we are comprised mostly of volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and other skilled first responders. They selflessly jump out of bed at night to go help a neighbor in need for free. Some of these first responders have been doing this for upwards of 50 years.

Dr. Bob Rogers, former owner of the Veterinary Clinic in Westfield often would come in after hours. At times he wouldn’t even charge for his services. He had a passion for what he did and he is sadly missed.

When we become overpopulated with animals who have been dumped, abandoned, seized for abuse, and the like, how can we as Canine Rescuers expect people to adopt?

Michael J. Petsch is Rescue Coordinator, Golden Retriever Rescue of SWNY, Inc. in Brocton.