I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to work with everyone.

Even as just an intern, I could feel everyone’s dedication and enthusiasm in working together for the sake of the animals.

I really love this group.

The following is merely my personal and limited opinion. If you don’t like it, you can skip it and treat it as garbage (enter at your own risk).

As far as the internship system is concerned, I won’t comment on how much interns should be paid, because it’s just like being in a relationship: both sides are willing, and each gets what they need.

Whether it is worthwhile depends solely on personal opinion, which is neither objective nor rational. I am not highly educated, highly capable, or particularly outstanding. Therefore, even if the pay were only 200, I would still be very happy to have this internship opportunity and to join this family of people working together for animal protection.

But there are some things I want to say to our leaders.

Intern, Chinese dictionary: personally practicing and carrying out tasks in the field; English: practical training (Dr.eye). Simply put, it means learning, not creating. Therefore, recruiting interns is not about having someone produce plans or come up with solutions.

Interns are mainly supposed to “participate” in this large project and contribute a little of the value they possess.

They are not supposed to be handed problems and told to figure everything out themselves.

If these are things interns are expected to do, then what do we need full-time employees for?

Also, leaders, you should understand that, as leaders of a “public welfare” organization, guiding people means winning their hearts.......

For those willing to work for a “public welfare” organization, I think money is a relatively minor factor. What matters more is that sense of dedication, perseverance, and drive.

I imagine there are many associations in even worse situations, and many that do not pay anything at all. What made this experience disappointing and upsetting today was not the money, nor the association’s mission, but that you only made me feel as though I was exchanging money for a title. Perhaps that is the case. I have never been a boss, so I don’t know how hard “you” work. I am not rich, so I don’t know “your” troubles. I am not “highly” educated, so I don’t know “your” thoughts.

I am just a newcomer who knows nothing.

Finally, I want to say something that may not sound very pleasant—my observations over the past few months.

If “you,” the leaders, do not want to invest more of the association’s resources in the adoption department, you might as well shut the adoption department down.

I think that, for an association to reach the outside world and touch people’s hearts, the department that makes the greatest impression is the adoption department.

That is because it showcases tangible results. It is the point of closest contact with the public. It is what rescues dogs from dire circumstances.

It is the best testimony. Yet the adoption department feels as though it is merely an auxiliary department. There are many miscellaneous tasks, and it feels as though we are merely plumbers.

Dogs come and go, and we become nothing more than drivers taking dogs to the vet or errand runners,

rather than participants and catalysts who help dogs move from suffering to happiness.

Therefore, I sincerely suggest that you shut down the adoption department. That is what “public welfare” means: we do as much as we can.

It is not enough to keep rescuing dogs. That is extremely irresponsible. Every dog we rescue, no matter how long it takes, becomes our responsibility.

These are our precious companions. If you really want to rescue a large number of dogs, you might as well open a dog shelter.

Rescuing and finding homes are two very different levels of difficulty.

Whether a “public welfare” organization succeeds or fails is entirely in the hands of its leaders.

If you define yourself as someone who connects with people, then please make good use of your connections instead of saying that you feel like you are doing direct sales and selling favors.

If you define yourself as everyone’s good friend and the driving force behind this association,

then please make sure you understand what every department actually does, what makes it difficult, where the expertise lies, and where help should be provided.

Do not assume that the painstaking work everyone has done can be performed well and easily just by following an SOP.

If that were the case, why would we need these people? We could just hire part-time workers or volunteers for everything.

I still want to say that I love this internship opportunity and I love dogs, but I know my own shortcomings and that I am not a good fit for your association.

Volunteers, I’m counting on you.