A letter from rescue people...

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:43 pm

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Idiot

We receive an extremely high volume of inquiries and requests to accept surrendered animals. To help us expedite your problem as quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:

1. Do not say that you are, "considering finding a good home," or, "feel you might be forced to," or, "really think it would be better if," you unloaded the poor beast. Ninety-five percent of you

already have your minds stone-cold made up that the animal will be out of your life by the weekend or holiday at the latest. Say so. If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're going to waste

a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn't possibly work for you. For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the cat.

2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your co-worker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who "get rid of" their animals. "Get rid of," is my least favorite phrase in any language. I hope someone, "gets rid of" you someday. I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist. After all, you can get counsellors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc., for your ADHD daughter. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don't tell me this big long story about how, "We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just killing us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we've tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can't ... ."

You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you're going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don't waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.

3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit. I don't care if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals who really need help, and I have no room to shelter your pet because you decided you no longer have time for your 14-year-old Lab. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home. Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old shepherd-mix weighing 75 pounds. I am not lying when I tell you big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost always completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle Dixie or send smoke signals with their blankies. What you don't realize, though you're trying to lie to me, you're actually telling the truth: Your pet is a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, you do not care, and I can't fix that problem.

All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing they were indeed very, very special.

4. Finally, just, for God' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think if you just mumble your cat is, "high-strung," I will say, "Okey-doke! No problem!" and take it into foster care? No, I will start asking questions and uncover the truth, which is your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more time.

And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine." those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully he is a good dog or cat, telling him truthfully we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life. How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask?

Do not ever dare to judge us.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:49 pm

WOW! Im sorry. My dogs aren't trained one bit, maybe just house trained but thats my own fault and I dont care if they pi$$ed all over my bed, I'd put a pea pad down and sleep on the floor. Or if they tore up every peice of furniture I owned I would throw a sheet over it. I love them so much and life without animals is a life I cant imagine. But Im sorry for all of the sad $hit you have to go through.

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:53 pm

See? THe black one is like 60 pounds heavier now!

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minks · Post by **minks** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:58 pm

Wow it sure makes ya wonder why some folks bother to get a pet in the first place. Crikey

minks · Post by **minks** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:59 pm

minks wrote: Wow it sure makes ya wonder why some folks bother to get a pet in the first place. Crikey

PS Jr Minks has her cat trained to sit... truth it's cute. But he ain't takin a trip to any shelter anytime soon even if he meows 20 hours out of the day

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:07 pm

Oh, the ending is so sad. That is very true. That is why I got Hamilton from a rescue shelter, someone didn't want him! He is such a good bunny!

All the poor innocent animals....................

minks · Post by **minks** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:10 pm

chonsigirl wrote: Oh, the ending is so sad. That is very true. That is why I got Hamilton from a rescue shelter, someone didn't want him! He is such a good bunny!

All the poor innocent animals....................

all my pets in my adult life with exception of the current dog were rescued. Bless their souls they have been and were glorious companions to us and our kids.

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:15 pm

DesignerGal wrote: WOW! Im sorry. My dogs aren't trained one bit, maybe just house trained but thats my own fault and I dont care if they pi$$ed all over my bed, I'd put a pea pad down and sleep on the floor. Or if they tore up every peice of furniture I owned I would throw a sheet over it. I love them so much and life without animals is a life I cant imagine. But Im sorry for all of the sad $hit you have to go through.

I'm sorry to YOU, DG, and anyone else... I didn't mean to imply that this

was my letter... just a really good one. To make people THINK. Not you

guys.

There are lots of innocent animals out there but bless you for rescuing.

We all work to help the ones we can!

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:18 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: :yh_brokeh That ending got me a little weepy.

Me too. Its so sad.

I believe in the RSPCA motto "A dog is for life, not just for Christmas"

But my brain-dead MIL is too stoopid to remember that and bought her other grandson a puppy because 'he wanted one'! He's 5 for God's sake and they live in a 2 bed flat with 5 kids in a tower block in London! There's no room to swing a cat, let alone have a dog!

All the kids promised to love it and walk it! It took 2 weeks before they all grew bored with it! Now they're talking about 'getting rid of it' because no-one bothers to walk it or see to it and MIL already has 2 dogs and 2 cats and has no room for any more! That poor puppy! Why can't people be grilled about pet welfare before they're allowed to treat animals so carelessly? But then I suppose some people are careless with their kids as well. Sometimes the world can be such a horrible place. Thank god for FG and proof that there are wonderful people to balance out the morons!

Sorry, gripe over! :-5

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BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:25 pm

Don't even get me started.....:-5

venus · Post by **venus** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:01 pm

I am a huge animal lovva and over the years have helped many a stray..

there have been great big smiles and laughter and many a good ton of tears shed aswell. When one of mine from kitten(pj) passed and an adopted stray, who l swear was the pj(kitten) coming back..(Booma)

I have never been able to walk past an injured animal, we even try to rescue the animals my own dear flufies bring home from time to time. From mice to birds and even a very large beautiful dragon fly..nicknamed gilbert.

Our own sweet millie was a rescue, she looks like a kitten but is fully grown, when she was found she literally was dying, her body, hearing was shutting down. We nursed her back to health.. I ask you who could throw out an adorable lady like this..The vet told us she was so small from living on hte streets for so long and not having proper nutrition, she wont get any larger now only plumper..:p

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chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:09 pm

Oh Venus, your kitty is so cute!:-4

venus · Post by **venus** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:09 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: She's beautiful, Venus... what gorgeous eyes. She looks like a lovie, too.

thats why we thought she was deaf.. apart fromthe tail which is splogy she is all white. Her eyes are so pale they look white too, only a tiny hint of blue..

I swear she looks like she has had a tail transpalnt, she doesnt meow either just gives a really sweet me!

hence the name mille, as in me ille:wah:

DesignerGal · Post by **DesignerGal** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:25 am

SnoozeControl wrote: That's the blackest black dog I've ever seen. Have any more photos?

You cant see them, but she has little white hairs on each side of her face that look like little grey old lady hairs. SHe is sooooo cute. Thats my baby.

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venus · Post by **venus** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 7:51 am

how adorable is that.....:-4