In 2025, Dr. Stacy Wentworth and her husband Todd decided to focus their efforts on helping those within their immediate circle—patients, friends, family, and loved ones. As part of this mission, Dr. Wentworth joined the board of a local animal rescue foundation, an organization she has supported for over a decade. The foundation has rescued and adopted out over 500 animals, including a variety of species, from dogs and cats to horses and pigs.
Despite their success, Dr. Wentworth discovered a significant challenge: the lack of foster homes for animals, particularly larger dogs. After considering the request to take in foster dogs like a Great Dane or a Great Pyrenees, the Wentworths decided to begin fostering. Their first two fosters were Missy, a labradoodle who quickly found a loving home, and Benny, a 90-pound white lab who had spent his early years in a kennel with little human interaction.
Dr. Wentworth was struck by a thought—why were these dogs, purchased as puppies by people who could afford them, being surrendered so easily? The experience led her to reflect on personal responsibility, societal expectations, and the importance of making commitments that aren’t so easily abandoned.
Her thoughts expanded beyond fostering animals to the larger concept of community. She contrasted this with her reflections on the recent measles outbreak, particularly among unvaccinated children. Some parents who had chosen not to vaccinate their children sought help from healthcare professionals when their children fell ill with the virus. Dr. Wentworth questioned whether, when the stakes are high, people are relying too much on the healthcare system to absorb the consequences of their personal choices.
This theme of community responsibility is highlighted in a broader societal context, as Dr. Wentworth pointed to disturbing incidents of violence against healthcare workers—nurses, doctors, and other professionals who are often the last line of defense for those in crisis. If the safety net that healthcare workers provide were to disintegrate, she pondered, what would happen to individuals who rely on it? Would personal choices—whether about vaccinations or adopting a pet—change if people were more aware of the strain on the systems they depend on?
Dr. Wentworth’s essay ultimately asks the difficult question: Does being part of a community require individuals to sacrifice their well-being for the collective good? And, more urgently, what happens when the unspoken bonds that hold a community together begin to fray? If these systems break down, what happens when we can no longer rely on others to mitigate the consequences of our actions?
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