Re: [Felvtalk] i was wrong. it wasn't the ifa test the vet ran.
Shelters don't kill cats. The public does. I work for a county shelter and yes, we do euthanize. As few animals as possible, but we do euthanize. It isn't the shelters' fault. They get incredible numbers of animals dumped on them every day. Most of our cats are friendly cats picked up as strays. So, if someone lets his or her cat roam outside, and the cat gets picked up by animal control, and no one bothers to reclaim the cat (she always comes back in a few days or we just figured he ran away) or no one adopts the animal and the animal gets PTS, who's the killer? It's the irresponsible, lazy owner who didn't want to clean the litterbox or spend 50 cents worth of gas to drive to AC to check if the cat is there. Not the shelter workers, who have a miserable job to do have to do it because animal welfare is on the bottom of most counties' financial priorities. Mandatory spay/neuter would help. Good luck with that out here in good ol' boy country. Most people at shelters work very, very hard to get animals adopted out and feel like absolute failures when they can't. Rescues come and pick the prettiest and the fanciest dogs and cats; for the most part, there's very little actual rescue going on there. Just my 2 cents. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] i was wrong. it wasn't the ifa test the vet ran.
I would also like to add that the picking and choosing primarily occurs with dog rescues, not cat rescues. We've had cat rescues take FeLV+ cats from us, cats with one eye, cats with real problems, very senior cats. It's not all of them, by any means, but quite a few of the dog rescues who take animals from us seem to want only small, very adoptable dogs or purebreds. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] i was wrong. it wasn't the ifa test the vet ran.
Hi Laura, In many cases I would say this is true, because those animals are going to be the easiest to find homes for, and lets face it the ones that have health issues are going to cost the rescues lots of money to fix and many if not most people who adopt from rescues don't want to pay the ridiculously high adoption fee. Rescues come and pick the prettiest and the fanciest dogs and cats; for the most part, there's very little actual rescue going on there. That said, I work with many rescues and some of them actually go out of their way to find the ones they know are going to be euthanized to save, I am very proud of these groups, they spend a ton of money on getting these guy ready to be adoptable and it mostly comes out of their own pockets because right now donations are at an all time low. One of my rescues in particular has recently spent thousands and thousands on dogs that have had to have major surgeries and took a whole litter and mom who ended up coming from the shelter with parvo, they saved every last one of them and it cost them a fortune. They did get some donations but the majority of the money came from what they had saved up to use to rescue. It completely drained their funds but all of those animals are alive and will eventually find good homes. This rescue is in Maryland and they tirelessly work to pull those animals that will absolutely be euthanized. My Lhasa rescue pulls and takes many, many seniors and behavioral problem dogs, seniors who have devoted their lives loving their human only to be dumped when they become a problem because of health issues or the owners have decided they want to travel or just don't want to bother anymore with their devoted pet ... sickening. They also take many puppy mill dogs, many end up being forever fosters because it would be too traumatic to rehome them, they have a lot of issues, and then some do fine once they learn how to be a dog and are rehomed. They are a nationwide group and have more funds at their disposal but they too deplete their funds constantly because of declining donations. And yes every once in a while they take puppies or younger dogs because that does help bring funds in when they can easily adopt those into homes and get the adoption fee. But they still spend alot more than they get in as far as donations go. The head of this group lives in PA and is working with the state government to put the Amish Puppy Mills out of business and has really made a difference, many of them have closed and many more are closing. The Amish are horrible when it comes to their animals, just horrible. I just wanted to make a point for those rescues who really are in it to save the animals and are trying to educate the public to be responsible pet owners. And you are right about one thing for sure, it is people, the irresponsible owners who don't spay/neuter that are to blame for the death of so many healthy animals. Until we learn to value ALL life as worthy and more people understand that our pets have feelings and feel love for us and feel our love for them it will never change, people are selfish and many tell themselves animals don't have feelings and they are just an animal we will have this problem. We as a nation and world are in a sad state of affairs, I don't have many close, personal friends because honestly I don't like most people! *** Not anyone on my groups of course because we all think alike ... and know what life and living is all about. -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... http://bemikitties.com http://BelindaSauro.com ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Gary - info on acemannan,etc
i see nothing cited or attached--i know that i'd really love to see the info. MC On Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 4:58 PM, jbero tds.net jb...@tds.net wrote: Gary, A little slow, but here are a few paper abstracts dealing with the issue. If you want the full text, let me know. I'm not sure if the full text is on ovid for them all, I may have to fax you the full report if you want it. Jenny ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
I have actually had rescues ask me - or our shelter's volunteers - to pay (out of our own pockets) to alter and combo-test cats before they take them. Do they reimburse us? Of course not. We finally told one rescue that we were not wealthy people and we just couldn't do it. They will not pull from us unless we pay to have the cats vetted, then they sell those cats for $150 and pocket every dime. Now that's a crappy rescue. There are some bad shelters here in GA. I won't mention any names, but there are several I've heard of that IMMEDIATELY take owner surrendered animals to the back and put them down. Those pets never even get a chance to be adopted. It may be different in other areas of the country, but most GA shelters have high euthanasia rates relative to adoption rates. There are no no-kill county shelters in GA; to label a shelter as bad because they are forced to euthanize is just unfair. Nobody wants to do it; everyone is miserable and snippy and cranky on euthanasia day, even the ones who have to take antidepressants as a result. We only euthanize one day a week, our director puts down as few animals as possible, and some days we've been back at capacity by the end of the day, the turn-ins are so bad. Intakes are high - several times we've had 30 or so owner-surrendered animals come in within just a couple of hours. Adoptions are slow, nobody wants cats or larger dogs, only small dogs, puppies and sometimes kittens (mostly at Christmas). Just today we had 8 cats turned in - one is diabetic and was surrendered because the owner didn't want to pay for insulin shots. Pathetic. She just kept screaming at me, I can't afford to take her to the vet! I can't pay for it! I charged her a $40 euthanasia fee - we will try to get that cat out of there, but that owner needed to pay for something. One day somebody turned in 15 cats because they were moving. It's so discouraging, they keep coming in and coming in, and we've been getting pregnant cats and kittens like crazy over the past 2 months, and this kitten season will be a bloodbath. This is the time of year when I have to imagine a zipper over my mouth because I get so fed up with these people, nasty stuff just slips on out. Our director will not euthanize cats with FeLV and FIV. We adopt them out. He knows that I have cats with both and he knows that they can have a great quality of life. Sorry for venting, I just get tired of being told - from both the public and from people in rescue - that you kill animals there. If they have a solution for dealing with all the so-called strays and owner surrenders and accidental litters, we would be happy to hear about it. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
Very well said! Unfortunately, very true here in VA, too. And, also, unfortunately, very sad. I also have a big problem with owner surrenders and owners who see no need to spay and neuter their pets and let them have litter after litter to become someone else's problem because the owners take no responsibility. Kitten season is heartbreaking to me! ...Saving just one pet won't change the worldbut surely the world will change for that one pet... The top ten reasons to spay and neuter your dog or cat were killed in a shelter today. -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of LauraM Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 8:15 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues I have actually had rescues ask me - or our shelter's volunteers - to pay (out of our own pockets) to alter and combo-test cats before they take them. Do they reimburse us? Of course not. We finally told one rescue that we were not wealthy people and we just couldn't do it. They will not pull from us unless we pay to have the cats vetted, then they sell those cats for $150 and pocket every dime. Now that's a crappy rescue. There are some bad shelters here in GA. I won't mention any names, but there are several I've heard of that IMMEDIATELY take owner surrendered animals to the back and put them down. Those pets never even get a chance to be adopted. It may be different in other areas of the country, but most GA shelters have high euthanasia rates relative to adoption rates. There are no no-kill county shelters in GA; to label a shelter as bad because they are forced to euthanize is just unfair. Nobody wants to do it; everyone is miserable and snippy and cranky on euthanasia day, even the ones who have to take antidepressants as a result. We only euthanize one day a week, our director puts down as few animals as possible, and some days we've been back at capacity by the end of the day, the turn-ins are so bad. Intakes are high - several times we've had 30 or so owner-surrendered animals come in within just a couple of hours. Adoptions are slow, nobody wants cats or larger dogs, only small dogs, puppies and sometimes kittens (mostly at Christmas). Just today we had 8 cats turned in - one is diabetic and was surrendered because the owner didn't want to pay for insulin shots. Pathetic. She just kept screaming at me, I can't afford to take her to the vet! I can't pay for it! I charged her a $40 euthanasia fee - we will try to get that cat out of there, but that owner needed to pay for something. One day somebody turned in 15 cats because they were moving. It's so discouraging, they keep coming in and coming in, and we've been getting pregnant cats and kittens like crazy over the past 2 months, and this kitten season will be a bloodbath. This is the time of year when I have to imagine a zipper over my mouth because I get so fed up with these people, nasty stuff just slips on out. Our director will not euthanize cats with FeLV and FIV. We adopt them out. He knows that I have cats with both and he knows that they can have a great quality of life. Sorry for venting, I just get tired of being told - from both the public and from people in rescue - that you kill animals there. If they have a solution for dealing with all the so-called strays and owner surrenders and accidental litters, we would be happy to hear about it. ___ 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
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
Please, please read Redemption by Nathan Winograd. Coincidentally, we have it for sale at our rescue's Ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/Rescuties-Animal-Rescue But please, get it from somewhere. Amazon, rent it from the library, wherever. I don't want to get into a war on this list about shelters and rescuers. I will say I have met some of the most horrible people in rescue and in shelters that I have ever met, who have caused me more pain than I have thought possible. Blaming people is not the way to go. To be fair, I've also met a few of the NICEST people in rescue - MC, I'm talking to YOU:) . And I strive to be one myself, no matter how nasty other people are. Austin has recently voted to go no-kill, which is defined as having a 90+% save rate. This is not because of, but in spite of, both the shelter AND the rescues. -- Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. http://www.rescuties.org Vist the Rescuties stores and save a kitty life! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=rescuties-20 http://www.zazzle.com/rescuties* Buy or renew magazines and help our kitties! http://www.magfundraising.com/rescuties Help us spay some kitties! http://rescuties.chipin.com/feed-hungry-animals Rather than helping, it's easier to point fingers and say take them first as long as you leave me alone. ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
I am a remote volunteer for a shelter near New Orleans--a shelter that ran without power or inside water for 18 months post Katrina. Yet with a lot of work, a tiny, very committed staff, very little money, we managed to keep the euthanasia rate down to below 15%. There were several keys--not the least of which was that we did massive publicity (on internet local papers) for every animal from the moment they came into the shelter. We had a decent rate of return on strays established a nationwide network of fosters adopters small rescues. We could tell you what happened to each every animal that was flown out we publicized those outcomes. Animals who went to breed rescues were vetted, s/n, hw treated if needed. We learned a lot of lessons the hard way I can not only tell you the successes but the ones we missed... We didn't do big transports but sent out one or two animals at a time to selected fosters, pre screened adopters, small rescues. Cats were the hardest of all we needed to do a whole lot better for them. We had no secrets--every animal that came in was photo listed the director didn't worry that someone was going to ask about an animal that ultimately had to be euthanized. We got equipment for a surgery room donated managed to do low cost s/n for community pets s/n treatment for the shelter animals. Sadly, a new director came in it all fell apart. Our approach was very non-traditional way we had a core of very hard working volunteers scattered all over the country. That level of involvement was a lot more than most shelter directors can handle... But throughout our work, I can remember railing at all those pups kittens that came in without moms, all those pregnant moms who came in cause they accidentally got pregnant, all those pets that suddenly became inconvenient and on and on. Working in a municipal open admission shelter is one of the hardest jobs in the world we reward those workers with little pay and lots of finger pointing. Christiane Biagi -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Kim Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 9:03 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues Very well said! Unfortunately, very true here in VA, too. And, also, unfortunately, very sad. I also have a big problem with owner surrenders and owners who see no need to spay and neuter their pets and let them have litter after litter to become someone else's problem because the owners take no responsibility. Kitten season is heartbreaking to me! ...Saving just one pet won't change the worldbut surely the world will change for that one pet... The top ten reasons to spay and neuter your dog or cat were killed in a shelter today. -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of LauraM Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 8:15 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues I have actually had rescues ask me - or our shelter's volunteers - to pay (out of our own pockets) to alter and combo-test cats before they take them. Do they reimburse us? Of course not. We finally told one rescue that we were not wealthy people and we just couldn't do it. They will not pull from us unless we pay to have the cats vetted, then they sell those cats for $150 and pocket every dime. Now that's a crappy rescue. There are some bad shelters here in GA. I won't mention any names, but there are several I've heard of that IMMEDIATELY take owner surrendered animals to the back and put them down. Those pets never even get a chance to be adopted. It may be different in other areas of the country, but most GA shelters have high euthanasia rates relative to adoption rates. There are no no-kill county shelters in GA; to label a shelter as bad because they are forced to euthanize is just unfair. Nobody wants to do it; everyone is miserable and snippy and cranky on euthanasia day, even the ones who have to take antidepressants as a result. We only euthanize one day a week, our director puts down as few animals as possible, and some days we've been back at capacity by the end of the day, the turn-ins are so bad. Intakes are high - several times we've had 30 or so owner-surrendered animals come in within just a couple of hours. Adoptions are slow, nobody wants cats or larger dogs, only small dogs, puppies and sometimes kittens (mostly at Christmas). Just today we had 8 cats turned in - one is diabetic and was surrendered because the owner didn't want to pay for insulin shots. Pathetic. She just kept screaming at me, I can't afford to take her to the vet! I can't pay for it! I charged her a $40 euthanasia fee - we will try to get that cat out of there, but that owner needed to pay for something. One day somebody turned in 15 cats because they were moving. It's so discouraging, they
Re: [Felvtalk] Li Won has passed on
GRACIOUS, SHE WAS OLD, BUT HSE OBVIOUSLY HAD A GOOD LIFE. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU. Gloria B. Lane gbl...@aristotle.net wrote: Li Won passed from my care about 2 days ago - she was 23 year old Siamese, not FELV. I've had her for at least a couple of years maybe 3 - she belonged to a friend's mother, who had cancer and died of it. She was a sweet, beloved kitty, liked to sleep and eat - and was certainly the oldest kitty I've had. I wish her well in her journey to the bridge and am grateful that she was here. Gloria ___ 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
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
chris reminded me of something the folks i work with do whenever there is reason: we write and thank the folks at the shelters when they do good, because public shelters rarely get any appreciation from any direction. when we find good city shelters, and/or good animal-control officers, we let them know that their work IS noticed MC -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
the info on the little diabetic kitty went out earlier today to a group that is incredibly active with placing them! saw the story on another list this afternoon. MC -- Spay Neuter Your Neighbors! Maybe That'll Make The Difference MaryChristine Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] Sweet dreams little brother
I AM SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT MOZART. IT SEEMS MANY OF OUR BABIES HAVE LEFT US LATELY. I FEEL SO FORTUNATE THAT MINE ARE ALL HEALTHY. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAS LOST ONE FOF THEIR BABIES. HAVE BEEN OFF LINE FOR A WEEK OR MORE. GOT BIT TRYING TO SAVE MY LITTLE HARLEY FROM A STRAY BOY WHO WAS TRYING TO COURT MY GIRLS. HARLEY ZIPPED OUT WHILE I WAS BRING ING GROCERIES IN AND OTHER CAT THOUGHT HARLEY WAS READY FOR A FIGHT SO HE BIT JUST AS I GRABBED HARLEY. HAD TO GO TO ER AND SIT FOR 6 HRS. FOUND OTHER CAT (MOSES) NEXT DAY AND OWNER PUT HIM IN CONFINMENT FOR 10 DAYS. THANK GOD I DID NOT HAVE TO TAKE RABIES SHOTS. MOSES HAD NOT HAD SHOTS THIS YEAR, BUT HE IS OK AND SO AM I. GAVE THE OWNER A GENTLE LECTURE ON GETTING HIS LITTLE GIRL'S CAT FIXED AND SHOTS UP TO DATE. WITH ALL THE WILD ANIMALS AROUND HERE, TOO MANY WAYS TO GET RABIES, ETC. Gloria B. Lane gbl...@aristotle.net wrote: Awww, I'm so sorry about your sweet Mozart. Gloria On Jan 30, 2010, at 7:45 PM, Jason Michael Canon wrote: At 7:45 tonight Mozart finally went to sleep. Keep a light on for me little brother. Love always, Jason ___ 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 ___ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
Re: [Felvtalk] i was wrong. it wasn't the ifa test the vet ran.
ONLY PROBLEM IN OUR COUNTY IS THAT ANIMAL CONTROL IS TAKE IT OUT AND SHOT IT BE IT DOG OR CAT. WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER RESCUE GROUP BUT VERY FEW ANIMALS GET TO THEM FROM ANIMAL CONTROL. IF ANY OF MY CATS GO MISSING, I PATROL THE HOUSES WITHIN 1 MILE AND THEN CALL PALS, THE RESUCE GROUP. COURSE, MOST OF ROAMING ANIMALS ARE NOT NEUTERED OR SPAYED AND THAT IS WHY THEY ROAM. MY GIRLS AND BOY GO OUT FOR A FEW HOURS IN THE AM AND IF IT IS NICE, UNTIL 2 OR SO IN THE AFTERNOON. THEN THEY ARE IN FOR THE NIGHT. THEY NEVER GO MUCH BEYOND 100 YARDS FROM THE HOUSE BECAUSE THEY ARE WELL FED AND LOVED AND THEY ARE ALL FIXED. WISH EVERYONE ELSE WOULD DO THAT, WOULD PREVENT MANY UNWANTED KITTENS AND PUPPIES. LauraM hingebacktorto...@yahoo.com wrote: Shelters don't kill cats. The public does. I work for a county shelter and yes, we do euthanize. As few animals as possible, but we do euthanize. It isn't the shelters' fault. They get incredible numbers of animals dumped on them every day. Most of our cats are friendly cats picked up as strays. So, if someone lets his or her cat roam outside, and the cat gets picked up by animal control, and no one bothers to reclaim the cat (she always comes back in a few days or we just figured he ran away) or no one adopts the animal and the animal gets PTS, who's the killer? It's the irresponsible, lazy owner who didn't want to clean the litterbox or spend 50 cents worth of gas to drive to AC to check if the cat is there. Not the shelter workers, who have a miserable job to do have to do it because animal welfare is on the bottom of most counties' financial priorities. Mandatory spay/neuter would help. Good luck with that out here in good ol' boy country. Most people at shelters work very, very hard to get animals adopted out and feel like absolute failures when they can't. Rescues come and pick the prettiest and the fanciest dogs and cats; for the most part, there's very little actual rescue going on there. Just my 2 cents. ___ 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
Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE JOB YOU DID. WISH ALL OWNERS COULD SEE THIS. DO YOU THINK THEY WILL GET THE HINT THAT THEY NEED TO THINK BEFORE THEY PICK UP A CUTE KITTEN/PUPPY IN A STORE PARKING LOT. ARE THEY REALLY READY TO TAKE ON THIS RESPONSIBILITY AND OBLIGATION TO THIS TRUSTING CREATURE. COURSE, MANY SHOULD THINK BEFORE THEY HAVE CHILDREN. SAME RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS. Chris ti...@mindspring.com wrote: I am a remote volunteer for a shelter near New Orleans--a shelter that ran without power or inside water for 18 months post Katrina. Yet with a lot of work, a tiny, very committed staff, very little money, we managed to keep the euthanasia rate down to below 15%. There were several keys--not the least of which was that we did massive publicity (on internet local papers) for every animal from the moment they came into the shelter. We had a decent rate of return on strays established a nationwide network of fosters adopters small rescues. We could tell you what happened to each every animal that was flown out we publicized those outcomes. Animals who went to breed rescues were vetted, s/n, hw treated if needed. We learned a lot of lessons the hard way I can not only tell you the successes but the ones we missed... We didn't do big transports but sent out one or two animals at a time to selected fosters, pre screened adopters, small rescues. Cats were the hardest of all we needed to do a whole lot better for them. We had no secrets--every animal that came in was photo listed the director didn't worry that someone was going to ask about an animal that ultimately had to be euthanized. We got equipment for a surgery room donated managed to do low cost s/n for community pets s/n treatment for the shelter animals. Sadly, a new director came in it all fell apart. Our approach was very non-traditional way we had a core of very hard working volunteers scattered all over the country. That level of involvement was a lot more than most shelter directors can handle... But throughout our work, I can remember railing at all those pups kittens that came in without moms, all those pregnant moms who came in cause they accidentally got pregnant, all those pets that suddenly became inconvenient and on and on. Working in a municipal open admission shelter is one of the hardest jobs in the world we reward those workers with little pay and lots of finger pointing. Christiane Biagi -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Kim Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 9:03 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues Very well said! Unfortunately, very true here in VA, too. And, also, unfortunately, very sad. I also have a big problem with owner surrenders and owners who see no need to spay and neuter their pets and let them have litter after litter to become someone else's problem because the owners take no responsibility. Kitten season is heartbreaking to me! ...Saving just one pet won't change the worldbut surely the world will change for that one pet... The top ten reasons to spay and neuter your dog or cat were killed in a shelter today. -Original Message- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of LauraM Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 8:15 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] on shelters and rescues I have actually had rescues ask me - or our shelter's volunteers - to pay (out of our own pockets) to alter and combo-test cats before they take them. Do they reimburse us? Of course not. We finally told one rescue that we were not wealthy people and we just couldn't do it. They will not pull from us unless we pay to have the cats vetted, then they sell those cats for $150 and pocket every dime. Now that's a crappy rescue. There are some bad shelters here in GA. I won't mention any names, but there are several I've heard of that IMMEDIATELY take owner surrendered animals to the back and put them down. Those pets never even get a chance to be adopted. It may be different in other areas of the country, but most GA shelters have high euthanasia rates relative to adoption rates. There are no no-kill county shelters in GA; to label a shelter as bad because they are forced to euthanize is just unfair. Nobody wants to do it; everyone is miserable and snippy and cranky on euthanasia day, even the ones who have to take antidepressants as a result. We only euthanize one day a week, our director puts down as few animals as possible, and some days we've been back at capacity by the end of the day, the turn-ins are so bad. Intakes are high - several times we've had 30 or so owner-surrendered animals come in within just a couple of hours. Adoptions are slow, nobody wants cats or larger dogs,
