The rescued animal arrives with a history that kindness cannot demand on introduction.

Good intentions do not entitle anyone to trust on the first day. An animal that has been somewhere hard brings that somewhere with it, and the fear it shows is information about a past you were not present for. Kindness offered with an expectation of quick reward is really a request, and the creature can feel the difference.

The same holds for people arriving in your life with a history you cannot see. Offer steadiness that does not depend on being met halfway, and let the pace of trust belong to the one who has more reason to be careful.