Re: OT: Need feedback please

[Nina]

Okay, for what it's worth, here's my 2 cents...  What Belinda is trying to convey with this letter needs to be said.  I don't think the way she said it was rude, but it is a harsh light of reality that most people, (as Diane points out), are completely ignorant of.  I think the fellow that wrote back to Belinda has other issues that don't involve finding his cat a home, he obviously has a chip on his shoulder that Belinda didn't put there.  My only suggestion is to tone down the graphic content of the letter.  I'm remembering the letters that the ASPCA used to send out.  The ones with the pitiful pictures of abused and neglected animals on the envelopes.  I never opened them, I put them quickly into the trash with my eyes closed.  I always felt guilty not being able to look at the images, not being strong enough to read about their plight.  Maybe it's because I've seen those faces first hand, maybe I'm more faint of heart than most, but it wasn't until they changed their tactics and started putting the "after" shots on the cover of their request for contributions that I opened them and sent what money I could.  If we're going to reach the people that are open to listening to the message, we have to do it in a way they can hear.  We have to be diplomatic and assume they have some feeling for the animals they are looking to place and they just aren't aware of the dangers that lurk out there.  It's an opportunity to educate, but first we have to figure out a way to get them to listen. Nina Rosenfeldt, Diane wrote: I totally agree, what Belinda said needed to be said.  But people get so ornery when they think you're telling them how to take care of their pets.  I've politely confronted people leaving pets in the cabs of their cars or out in the bed of a truck without water on very hot days, and they just get all "f*** you" and all you can do is say, well fine, I guess you don't mind your doggie's brains getting boiled.  Although on the flip side, I've written privately to people trying to freecycle pets and told them about the ghouls who hang out on lists for all the reasons stated.  One person obviously would have liked to keep her pet, but there was a problem with her kids, or something, so I suggested things she could try.  She, at least, was polite in her reply.    One day we just happened to stop at a Petco on the day of a pet fair, and there was a table manned by the local no-kill, HOPE Safehouse.  Young couple with toddler girl in stroller come up to ask if they take surrendered pets.  (They do, actually, but the worker could see what was coming and said no.)  Young couple says their dog tried to bite their daughter....because she was bothering it.  Worker, who has heard this sooooo many times, snaps, "Maybe you need to train your daughter," and they just look at her like she's from the Planet Zorg.  That never occurred to them.  There's so much people don't know about "animal stuff" -- how quickly they can die in cars, how kids need to be TAUGHT to treat them, how there are predators out there worse than any coyote.  They all think they come with this innate knowledge of how to "have" a pet.   Diane R.