OK, this doesn't have anything to do with FeLV, so I apologize.....but a few
incidents happened at the shelter today that really made me angry, and really
made me sick of the way animals are treated in our society - as disposable
property, with no feelings, no thoughts, no value. An inconvenience, to be
tossed aside when necessary.
First, a woman called and said that there was a cat lying in her carport that
must have been hit by a car. She said, "We're afraid she's going to die there,
and she can't seem to move her back legs." Stray, injured cat....I called our
animal control officer and she headed on out to pick the cat up. Turns out, it
was the woman's cat, and not a stray, she even saw the cat get hit! - same old
story, the owner doesn't want to deal with the problem, doesn't want a vet
bill, so she calls the county to handle it, forgets about it and goes about her
day. My officer told her, "This is your responsibility, not mine - you get that
cat to a vet." Later on, the caller once again rang up animal control: "If I
have a cat that's been hit by a car, can I bring her to you?" NO, lady, what
don't you understand - this is your animal, she is your responsibility, TAKE
HER TO THE VET.
Then, later, the door opened and a young woman came in with a cat in a crate.
He has serious health problems; he's old and has some sort of issues with his
teeth, he's in a lot of pain and needs steroid injections and some other stuff.
I remember speaking with her two months ago about the cat, gave her some phone
numbers of vets who might be willing to work with her on the cost of treatment.
Anyway, she wanted to drop him off so we could euthanize him on Tuesday. I
tried to get her to take the cat to her own vet, tried to get her to understand
that it would be inhumane and cruel to leave him in a place with strangers, to
sit in a cold metal cage, to die on a table and be tossed in a black trash bag
and thrown into the dump like garbage. Naturally, she had no money - but if
you're a good client, chances are your vet will euthanize for free or next to
nothing; my vet has never charged me to euthanize an animal. And she had months
to prepare for this, but
she's moving in with her parents tomorrow and they're allergic, and of course,
like the other person, she didn't want to deal with it. Finally she said to me,
"I'm leaving. I don't like your attitude. Bitch." I wanted so badly to follow
her out the door, slap her face & tell her what I thought of her, but I need my
job.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but still, it appears that this
attitude has become more and more prevalent. Those of you who work in shelters
or who are involved with rescue know exactly what I'm talking about. Someone
will always be there to pick up the pieces and clean up after your mistakes, so
why even try to do the responsible thing? One resident surrendered 4 kittens
last week and called today to ask if they'd been adopted. They had all gone out
to a rescue. After hollering, "Praise Jesus! They're safe!" she asked me, "So,
the next time I have kittens, should I call this rescue directly or do I have
to go through you?" Aaaargh! Don't let them be born! Come here on euthanasia
day and then ask yourself if you should be producing more kittens!
Thanks for letting me vent.
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