Laura, I'm so sorry you've had such a tough day. I do TNR with feral colonies and understand how frustrating it can be.
You make a difference for these animals. Please try to focus on the good you do when having to deal with so many dimwits. Sharyl --- On Sat, 9/4/10, LauraM <[email protected]> wrote: > From: LauraM <[email protected]> > Subject: [Felvtalk] No way to treat a friend > To: [email protected] > Date: Saturday, September 4, 2010, 8:05 PM > 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. > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
