Ummm, would you and your volunteers like to come give me a hand at MY place?
I'll accept!
tamara stickler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: MC wrote: "so if we see good
people getting in over their heads, or in temporary
trouble (sickness, having surgery, loss of volunteers or fosters), we
really need to help them out--in the end, it benefits everyone. it's
when people refuse to acknowledge or accept help that bells need to go
off. i'm not talking about folks who just don't want to burden others,
but those who flat-out refuse any assistance, insisting they can do it
themselves when clearly they cannot..."
I agree. That's what scared me about the woman who originally agreed to take
Simms. After seeing her place, I called her back and told her I had five
volunteers lined up who had agreed to come help her finish insulating the
garage where she kept the felv+ cats, build new cat trees and levels for them
and her healthy foster cats and even help her husband build the larger shed he
told me he wanted to build for the healthy foster cats that she had. I told
her all her hubby had to do was get us a list of the materials he needed, give
us a weekend or two when it would be good for them, and we'd be there.
She declined. "Oh no, we are perfectly capable of handling this on our own,
thank you. We don't need any assistance." (This from the woman who was
telling me a week earlier that she could really use some help.) Her husband
talked to me when I went back to pick up Simms to place him with Anne and told
me he really appreciated my offer to help, and wishes his wife would have
accepted...but, she is just so driven...she can't help herself and its all I
can do to keep up. I really wish she'd cut back, but she'll do what she wants
to.
...every time I see a news report about an animal collector whose been
busted...I think it must be her...but not yet. Perhaps she did accept
SOMEONE'S offer to help.
T
TenHouseCats <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
well said.
what's really sad is that, with the in-fighting that goes on, people
are sometimes afraid to ask for help when they need it. or if they DO
ask for it, it's either used against them, or they don't receive it.
it IS hard to learn to know your own limits, to say 'no,' especially
when we do know what the alternative is, especially for the FIVs and
FeLVs. but if we burnt out, and don't care of ourselves, we ultimately
end up not being able to take care of ANY of them....
so if we see good people getting in over their heads, or in temporary
trouble (sickness, having surgery, loss of volunteers or fosters), we
really need to help them out--in the end, it benefits everyone. it's
when people refuse to acknowledge or accept help that bells need to go
off. i'm not talking about folks who just don't want to burden others,
but those who flat-out refuse any assistance, insisting they can do it
themselves when clearly they cannot...
the only way this works is if we work together.
MC
On 2/5/07, Kelly L wrote:
> At 01:20 PM 2/5/2007, you wrote:
>
>
> Maybe just letting people know to really check out ANY place where
> you cat ends up...and make appointments to do follow ups, I
> personally do home checks when I adopt out any kitty or dog, and I do
> follow ups, One of my kitties. Little came back to me this week, I
> kept in very close touch with the adopters and it just wasn't working
> out so I went and got him,I thanked the very nice people for
> recognizing that it was not the best situation,,,,and making sure
> LITTLE cane home and of course refunded them the adoption fee,,,,and
> offered to let them come visit Little any time,
> All of this is time consuming but necessary.
> We have a local rescue I would not leave an animal at,,,,She is
> overburdened and cannot say no,,I try to help her, and she does the
> very best she can, Would I turn her in or alert others.. I would
> never turn her in as the animals are fat and vetted and warm in the
> winter, It is not ideal, but beats the hell out of the
> alternative,,,,They are not caged and they are loved and she does
> work her butt off getting them adopted, Not to my standards, but then
> realizing there is a chance they get out and get hit by a car, Yup
> that could happen, or they could have been held in a shelter and then killed,
> We do our best, I see so much animosity amongst rescue groups it
> makes me sad sometimes,l
> Kelly
>
>
> >here i go being terminally libra again--ON THE OTHER paw.....
> >
> >this is a pretty closed list, with people particularly attuned to the
> >needs of special-needs cats, so not as public as some.
> >
> >many, many of us in rescue had heard things about angel wings, and we
> >did nothing. we didn't want to cause trouble, we didn't want to make
> >false accusations about a place that had once been a really good
> >place; we ignored a LOT of warning signs.
> >
> >there needs to be a middle ground between doing nothing, and rushing
> >to judgment. i'm not sure what it is, but i don't want another angel
> >wings. if you're in rescue, you CONSTANTLY hear of rescues and
> >sanctuaries that turn out to be bad, and that fooled a lot of
> >people.....
> >
> >MC
> >
> >On 2/5/07, Kelly L wrote:
> >>
> >> At 11:51 AM 2/5/2007, you wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> We can and should only relay facts as we personally know them, and do our
> >>best to do it privately if at all possible, If we have misgivings, it is our
> >>duty to protect the animals, We all have different standards. My cats have
> >>dirt to play in and bushes,,,and it is comfortable for the ferals to have
> >>their seclusion, Someone else might not like it, They are litter boxes and
> >>grass I need to clean,,,,The cats love it,,,Regardless, I have just seen to
> >>many good rescues hurt my well meaning people imposing their own standards
> >>on others,
> >> We can email each other off list . and I do it frequently if I do not it is
> >>suited to the group.
> >>
> >> Kelly
> >> www.kellyscats.zoomshare.com
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>Hey, I understand. I can understand where both the person who had
> >>volunteered to take Simms and Rude Ranch, are coming from. RR has a
> >>business to protect for the sake of the animals under its care, and they can
> >>only continue if the people who entrust the animals to them continue to help
> >>pay for the cats care...I get that. And I understand this woman who agreed
> >>to help me, doing so out of the goodness of her heart b/c of her love of
> >>animals...I understand and respect that. As for the conditions on her farm
> >>and the charges under her care, since they were not up to MY standards, as I
> >>believe I would want to live, so I found another alternative for the charge
> >>under my care.
> >>
> >> While I believe that perhaps I should have alerted AC, I didn't because she
> >>IS working with all these other rescue organizations. All these places,
> >>people, who start with the best of intentions do good work. The level of
> >>"good" is relative to each individual's personal reality.
> >>
> >> IF what she had said was true about RR shifting cats onto her, which she
> >>seemed very proud of- to be able to help...I felt it MIGHT help someone
> >>reading about RR to understand that there may be a POSSIBILITY that a cat
> >>placed with them, might not stay with them, and if sent away, might not wind
> >>up in a place as nice as their's. I admitted in my e-mail that I had no
> >>personal knowledge of the workings of Rude Ranch, only relayed my experience
> >>with someone who claimed to...and because she knew them by name and seemed
> >>joyed to help them & because several other rescue operations I had spoken to
> >>recommended her to me, I had no reason to believe that she wasn't telling me
> >>the truth.
> >>
> >> But as saying even the least little thing bad about a place can cause harm,
> >>so can saying a place is wonderful ....
> >>
> >> My only intention with my original post was to caution. I know I have
> >>dropped animals at "WONDERFUL" shelters in the past, places I personally
> >>supported financially for years...then eventually volunteered there only to
> >>learn awful things about the running of the organizations (again...NOT
> >>referring to Rude Ranch, I've never been THERE)....but...If a place seems
> >>TOO wonderful, its often too easy to reliquish the care of a beloved animal
> >>to it and not feel any guilt. Whereas IF all the facts were researched,
> >>perhaps a better place/person could be found if just given a little more
> >>time and research.
> >>
> >> I had/have no intention to villify people who care and are trying to
> >>help...even when they've lost their way. EDUCATION to those trying to place
> >>felv+ cats is the best security for the animals, whether education on the
> >>disease itself, or on HOW to investigate anyone or place where one might
> >>leave an animal who is trusting you to care for them.
> >>
> >> I never said RR was bad, or absolutely did shift animals onto an overloaded
> >>foster home, I just relayed what little information I personaly heard from
> >>someone who claimed to have a good, working relationship with RR. So that
> >>if anyone had seen them on Animal Planet they wouldn't automatically assume
> >>them to be the "be-all-end-all" (which they may actually be-who knows) just
> >>because they were on tv. Speaking as a rescuer myself, who is more than
> >>willing to help others ...I prefer to do so when they've exhausted all other
> >>avenues...and NOT be their first call...being too good at what you do, can
> >>get you in WAY over your head.
> >>
> >> T
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> TenHouseCats wrote:
> >> exactly..... it only takes one person with their own agenda to cause
> >> irreparable harm.
> >>
> >> we were once contacted by someone who wanted us to take her two FeLVs,
> >> from quite a distance away. as FeLVs don't do really well on long
> >> transports, we tried to work with her on more local options. every
> >> place she went to, she found major fault with, yet every time we tried
> >> to set up transport arrangements with her, she has one excuse after
> >> another about why it wouldn't/couldn't work. i had many long emails
> >> and phone calls with her, and finally, she just stopped responding.
> >>
> >> about two months later, she started posting hissterical messages about
> >> these same two cats on the lists. again, i wrote and reminded her that
> >> we were willing to take them--on the lists, she wrote really nasty
> >> letters about how i'd never responded to her before, and that if it
> >> had been up to me, those cats would have been dead by now, then she
> >> went on about how she wasn't going to send them to a place where the
> >> cats lived in cages in tiny rooms all their lives--which was not at
> >> all the case where we were--i'd sent her many photos of our
> >> facilities..... when i reminded her, off list, of our phone calls and
> >> emails, she went back on the lists, saying that i was harassing her
> >> and that she was going to tell everyone to have nothing to do with our
> >> sanctuary and that if she ever heard from me again she'd report me for
> >> stalking.... i reported HER to all the lists she was posting on,
> >> actually.....and considered sending her the bill for the long-distance
> >> phone calls i'd made to her....
> >>
> >> some people will never be satisfied, and sadly, some people really do
> >> exist solely to make trouble for others.
> >>
> >> MC
> >>
> >> On 2/5/07, Kelly L wrote:
> >> > I do not know personally of the place but be careful when saying
> >> > something negative like that on line, You could really hurt someone
> >> > trying to help.
> >> > I have a small sanctuary and would never allow anyone in here with
> >> > out an appointment, There are many many crazy people out there
> >> > unfamiliar with what it takes to manage multitudes of cats...All it
> >> > takes is for one cat to vomit in a corner and another boy baby to
> >> > spray someones shoes.. Yup it happens. I know of two wonderful caring
> >> > rescuers ( not hoarders) who lost al their cats when an novice cat
> >> > person decided it was messy etc,,,,they called the authorities and as
> >> > a result I imagine many cats lost their loving home and perhaps their
> >>lives,
> >> > for a person getting rid of cats for any reason, why do they expect
> >> > others to be able to do what they themselves are willing to do,,I
> >> > have both FIV and FELV....
> >> > I do recommend that any time a cat is placed a home check is in
> >> > order,,that is common sense.
> >> > Kelly
> >> > www.kellyscats.zoomshare.com
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors!
> >> Maybe That'll Make The Difference....
> >>
> >> MaryChristine
> >>
> >> AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats
> >> MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> ICQ: 289856892
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Get your own web address.
> >> Have a HUGE year through Yahoo! Small Business.
> >> No virus found in this incoming message.
> >> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> >> Version: 7.1.411 / Virus Database: 268.17.25/669 - Release Date: 2/4/2007
> >
> >
> >--
> >Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors!
> >Maybe That'll Make The Difference....
> >
> >MaryChristine
> >
> >AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats
> >MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >ICQ: 289856892
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >No virus found in this incoming message.
> >Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> >Version: 7.1.411 / Virus Database: 268.17.25/669 - Release Date: 2/4/2007
>
>
>
--
Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors!
Maybe That'll Make The Difference....
MaryChristine
AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats
MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ICQ: 289856892
---------------------------------
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