Animal shelter visit yesterday

[chocolatepuppy]

I guess it depends how you define a good reason, really. And it probably also depends a lot on the region. The major ones here seem to be 'moving and not allowed pets' and 'cat not happy since baby was born'. Sometimes 'new work demands; can't care for it properly anymore'. The thing is, a lot of these factors really aren't as much under most people's control as it might seem. Not every move or every change in job conditions is made for selfish reasons. A lot of them aren't even 100% voluntary.

I agree you have to think hard before you take on a pet. And there are a lot of 'hidden' responsibilities that you should know about and be honest about before you do it. But a lot of the time you just don't know what might be coming at you. A lot of people do do that thinking and make that decision in the best possible faith, and then find themselves gotcha'd in spite of it. These are pretty uncertain times.

I'm not a child and am fully aware of the twists and turns of life. Been there done that, more than once. With pets in tow.

I wouldn't abandon my pets.

I think people decide what is important. And pets take a low priority position.

I think emotions run high here because most of us are on the receiving end of throw-away pets.

100% agree!

[luvofallhorses]

People are full of excuses giving up their pets. Some I WILL give an exception for, such as the dog or cat being in danger of being hurt or being dumped.. I work at a shelter, I see people dump their pets EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and it's heart-breaking. We have had cases of dogs being tied or thrown over our back fence at the shelter or kittens and mom in a box duct-taped shut on the front door.

Most of the cats we get in are not owner turn ins, they are strays same as the dogs. For me, it depends on the reason but I could never give up my pets they will go everywhere we go when we move or whatever but we are never moving so there is no reason for us to give them up. I understand nobody is perfect, but pets are for life.

I could see in some situations if a person is in danger in a domestic relationship and they need to give up their pets and go to a shelter. That I will give an exception for but atleast 80% of people make up lame excuses..

Also - I personally like all the dogs and cats at the shelter I work at. They each have unique personalites and I love working with them. Miagi & Tiger my cats were rescues and my dogs Dixie and Rudy were rescues as well and I am blessed to have them. Buster my hound was not a rescue, we got him before I got into rescue though and Angel my other cat wasn't a rescue either she was in a free ad but I am happy to have them in my life too.

[Miss Z]

People are full of excuses giving up their pets. Some I WILL give an exception for, such as the dog or cat being in danger of being hurt or being dumped.. I work at a shelter, I see people dump their pets EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. and it's heart-breaking. We have had cases of dogs being tied or thrown over our back fence at the shelter or kittens and mom in a box duct-taped shut on the front door.

The same thing would happen at the shelter I used to volunteer at. People so cowardly that they daren't even show their face to the people at reception. I suppose, though, even they beat the lowlifes that abuse, starve, and abandon pets in their homes and on the streets, where they are less likely to fall into the care of the RSPCA or other animal organisations.

Sallyanne, I can sympathise with feeling frustrated at your friend. I can recall people who were quite clearly just on a 'day out' during my days at the shelter. They used to irritate me so, as in order to take them around the place (the policy was that a member of staff had to be with visitors at all times, since people have silly habits of sticking their fingers in cages... ), we'd be taking time out of our schedules that could be used for cleaning up, walking dogs, socialising animals, etc. We were always run off our feet as it was.

Now I'm sure your friend would have no intention of causing anything like that, but perhaps if she is not fully committed to getting a cat then it's something worth mentioning to her. I can understand that some people take time to find a cat that is right for them. But if the commitment to rescue is there in the first place, it definitely makes it more worthwhile for the staff to work to find that cat.

Also, thank you for reminding people to donate to shelters. Certainly in the UK, they are having a very tough time, and 'my' shelter in particular has laid off a lot of staff since I left in September 2009.

I've sent donations through the post to them a few times, when I can afford to do so. It's important also, to send the money directly to the shelter. I'm not sure, again, if this is the case overseas, but many shelters here are under the 'patronage', shall we say, of the RSPCA, Cats Protection, etc. With regards to the RSPCA in particular, money sent to the charity doesn't go to the shelters. It funds their campaigns and their inspectors, which, whilst important, is not always what people think their money is being used for.

[tokolosh]

Also - I personally like all the dogs and cats at the shelter I work at.

It's been weird and a bit rough for me mooching around shelters this time around, trying to get myself accepted as someone they might be willing to give another cat to, some day down the line. At my local place which is the only one I can get to on any kind of regular basis in 'adoption hours' and still keep a job/say hi to my kid once a day, you really can't get to know any of them to any special degree. I find myself chickening out in the most awful way and cravenly pretending I see and appreciate the special spark of personality in each 'special' cat. Because I don't want them to decide I'm not really fuzzy enough about cats and strike me off

But the fact is, you can't see it. I know it's there, in each of them. But infection and illness is such an issue there (overcrowding) that you can't interact with them enough to find it. On some days they ask you not to even put your fingers against the cage mesh to see if the cat takes an interest in your overture. On a good day, you can get them to unpadlock a cage so you can reach in and offer some scratching and stroking, but they ask you to only do this with one cat per visit, not do it unless you're washed like a surgeon and draped in a clean towel (which they have to fetch). And you can never, ever allow the cat to touch the floor, supposing it does show an interest in you.

It must be really frustrating for them as well, because all the reasons are so important. I was snarky and frustrated at first, but now I get it and I regret that. But I find I've been back there five or six times in the past barely-one-month, and I come away every time knowing that I haven't really made any connections that would let me adopt any of the cats that I've 'met' with a clear conscience. I just don't know who they are.

[chocolatepuppy]

It's been weird and a bit rough for me mooching around shelters this time around, trying to get myself accepted as someone they might be willing to give another cat to, some day down the line.

But I find I've been back there five or six times in the past barely-one-month

Seeing as you cannot have a cat at this time and seeing as you are going to the shelter frequently, have you considered volunteering with the cats?

[pomtzu]

I don't visit shelters - it hurts my heart to see all the wonderful animals that are there thru no fault of their own, and then I wonder which ones will be saved and which ones won't. It really depresses me. I know that I can't bring any of them home with me, since we have set a limit here - my 2 dogs and my son's 2 cats. His cats are Petsmart adopted kitties, and every time I take Sparky to be groomed at Petsmart, I do have to check out all the kitties that are there (they are right next to the grooming salon - darn) . I have seen some beauties there that I would absolutely love to give a furever home to, but I have to leave them behind and hope that they will soon find the perfect person for them. So again - I leave somewhat saddened by the experience. I wish I wasn't so much of a marshmallow.

[Pinot's Mom]

I have just read this entire thread; it has reminded me I owe the Baltimore SPCA a visit. That shelter is where Pinot came from. She was supposedly left by someone who was older and couldn't care for her (at the time she was approximately 10 months), but I take any story told to a shelter with a certain grain of salt. I don't choose to fault people who leave their pets at shelters; at least they're not turning them onto the street. I also don't see myself ever turning a pet in, as they are my children, but you do not know what the future holds. As to the illnesses in shelters - yes, they are most certainly an issue. This is inherent to the environment and mostly cannot be helped. Pinot was one of the victims of this. She was EXTREMELY ill when we adopted her but hid it well. My husband and I have said this over and over; she chose us because we could afford to make her well and give her a comfortable place to thrive. They know somehow; I'm convinced of that. She is now, and has been since we first saw her, our treasured daughter.

Now, back to my original point; I owe the shelter a visit. I have, since Pinot's adoption, tried to regularly check their "wish list" on line and give to the 'pantry'. This is one of the services of the shelter. They keep a stock of pet items for the elderly who cannot afford to properly take care of their pet. They can come in, take stock from the pantry, no questions asked. I think this is just one of the valuable services of this shelter. So, thank you for this reminder! I'll go there next week.

By the way-I'm just a regular pet owner, too, and my only involvement in rescue is forwarding information and rescuing one very cute tabby girl! Oh wait - she rescued us!

[tokolosh]

Seeing as you cannot have a cat at this time and seeing as you are going to the shelter frequently, have you considered volunteering with the cats?

I have. It's been a constant impulse The other thing I've been considering seriously IF it turns out we're allowed one more cat is fostering instead of adopting - at least till we meet our own next special magical cat. This shelter is so intense about no-contact because they have to be. They have absolutely no isolation room left and they're desperate for foster homes where they can place anyone who is sick. So if I had a space and they thought I'd be okay for doing it, it would be a way of contributing instead of just taking from them. But that's moot anyway at this point.

My main issue with volunteering directly is being dependable - as in, same day same time for the same length of time every time. I'm not, but I don't really want to discuss the reasons in here. So I do this sort of half-assed compromise at the moment which I kludged up to fit my personal circumstances, and I usually go there to spend time on one particular cat who would be adopted in a heartbeat if she were just a little more used to interaction and a little more confident with people. At first I was going because I thought we'd be able to take her ourselves, but I don't have much hope of that now so I do it for other reasons.

[chocolatepuppy]

tokolosh, have you tried working on your landlord? All of the typing you do on here, maybe you could talk him into letting you have a cat. Perhaps explaining how you would have the cat 'fixed' and keep your place clean. Sort of like being your own reference. After all, you already had a cat he seems to have forgot about.

[tokolosh]

tokolosh, have you tried working on your landlord? All of the typing you do on here, maybe you could talk him into letting you have a cat. Perhaps explaining how you would have the cat 'fixed' and keep your place clean. Sort of like being your own reference. After all, you already had a cat he seems to have forgot about.

Yeah, I covered that base when we had the conversation. All of 'em , plus I painted a rending picture of us sitting and crying into our cornflakes until we can have another cat. It was just a week after Limpet had died. He's a nice guy who likes us and was sorry to have to refuse, but a tricky person to handle in this way. He's type who feels awful about saying no, but you have to be careful not to bully him. He's been bullied all his life, is my read on him. Perfectly nice, almost pathologically gentle man who takes fifteen minutes to tell you he has to come in and turn off the hot water for twenty seconds.

If you push it too hard with people like that they just lock down completely to protect themselves, and then you're out of the game. He was kind of swayed, I think, but he said he had to talk it through with his wife, which is perfectly fair as she's the actual one who said No Absolutely Not Never Again after trying to get cat smells out of the carpet from a prior tenant. I'm a coward about calling to find out what the verdict is, although in one way it doesn't matter since I don't think I am in 100% good-to-adopt-again mode yet emotionally, and I'm learning stuff here and at the shelter that's probably better in the long run. When all you've ever had is your own personal private cats who picked you as much as you ever picked them, there's a whole other world of factors you never get any experience with.

[tokolosh]

I'm not a child and am fully aware of the twists and turns of life. Been there done that, more than once. With pets in tow.

I don't feel safe ever saying I'll 'never' do something. It's far too easy for me to imagine myself standing in just about anyone's shoes

[chocolatepuppy]

I don't feel safe ever saying I'll 'never' do something. It's far too easy for me to imagine myself standing in just about anyone's shoes

It seems you like a good disscussion. I don't. I come here to enjoy myself. I NEVER said NEVER. Only saying I'd go the extra mile to keep my pets. Many do not, therefore, shelters are full of animals being PTS every day. Satistics prove that, I don't need to discuss it.

[catmandu]

I feel badly when I see all the Great Cats who would make a Great Friend and Companion.
There are so many Great Pets out there , and it is sad that we have to put so many down.
And with our economies doing badly , I have a feeling that things are doing worse for Our Poor Lost Souls

[sasvermont]

I think I mentioned in the original post of this thread, that there are some folks who have real reasons for taking a pet to the shelter. I would try my hardest to find homes for my pets, but of course, if I were ill and not able to dial the phone or con friends into taking my pets, there would be no choice but to take them to a shelter or rescue.

Many, many of the animals in the shelters around here are strays and from hoarders. Rural areas lends itself to hoarders. No one can see what's going on until it's too late. Dogs, cats.... animals in general.

I just wish people would spay and neuter their pets. Bunnies included. The shelters around here won't give you a pet unless it's been fixed. I am not one to "fix" a pet before six months, but the shelters do it early on, to prevent adopting out an unfixed pet....oh well.

More people need to be educated about how to take care of their pets. If they can't afford to take care of them, they shouldn't have them. That includes good food and vet care.

There are a few folks on this forum that spend their last dime on their pets...and I wonder how long they can keep it up before they have a real big problem. I try to keep my number to match my income. Same with having children, as far as I am concerned. You shouldn't have any more children than you can afford to feed and clothe.

Well, I trust that everyone reading this knows the difference between being responsible and not. We are just airing our views here. No one here is abusing pets and HOPEFULLY everyone spays and neuters their pets.

Please don't get angry with anyone posting the opinion. We are all entitled to one....whether you agree with it or not.

Please, please spay and neuter your pet. Unless you are earning an income from breeding, there is not a good reason not to! Be responsible and don't create any more unwanted pets in this world.

[tokolosh]

More people need to be educated about how to take care of their pets. If they can't afford to take care of them, they shouldn't have them. That includes good food and vet care.

I guess this is my major reason for thinking a shelter or the SPCA is actually a better option than canvassing around among friends if I personally needed to re-home a cat. You just helped me to clarify this In the short term a shelter looks less caring because it's basically an institution. No cat would pick it over a home, I bet. But I know they know more than I'll ever think of about what a new cat owner should know, and they have practice at matching people to cats, facilitating the transition, remembering all the important stuff and making sure it's communicated. So in the long run I think my cat would get a better deal if I went that way. It's just too bad it isn't feasible to ask a donation or fee for taking someone's cat and caring for it until it gets a new home - the service they provide is so valuable and they're taking it on. But I can only imagine that would deter a lot of people and lead to more 'dumps'.