Dear Laura M., Rant all you want - it's good for your soul to vent - we all need it at times. I am in a lot better circumstances because I am a private rescue, no euthanasia, but I have to deal with picking up all the discarded animals and with those phone calls that always start with "I've got this cat...." and you know exactly what will follow. I've had cats dumped around my house, not noticing them until much later, eating leftover cat food that we put out for wildlife; only one, so far, was FeLV+ - and he's the sweetest cat - but we thought that he was feral until we got him another FeLV+ buddy. I honestly don't know how people can be so disgusting with their own cats, pretending that they're not theirs....I can't let any animal in distress just lying there, even if it costs me some money. I know a very wealthy woman whose teenage nephew lives with her. He had a 10-yr old Siamese cat that went to a very good vet for dental surgery - (had an abscess on two teeth), and died. She was ready to sue the vet, hysterical, calling the vet etc. It turns out, after I spoke to her, that the cat had the abscesses since about 1/2 yr ago....so why did it take so long to get her to the vet, why wasn't she on antibiotics pre-surgery, etc. yet, she rants and raves, when all along it was her own fault! It has to be extremely emotionally and physically draining on you to work at that place - I don't know how you do it! But thank God for people like you - at least these poor little creatures have someone there who cares. Do people like this "Praise Jesus" lady get information on low-cost neuter/spaying? Too bad we can't order them to sterilize their animals...how I wish that there was mandatory spaying/neutering.....but there's' so much opposition to it, and from sources one wouldn't believe! Thank you for doing what you do! Natalie
-----Original Message----- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of LauraM Sent: Saturday, September 04, 2010 8:06 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] No way to treat a friend 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 Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
