Post by Aussienot on Oct 14, 2006 5:20:06 GMT -5
Today at the shelter . . .
1) we had a beautiful, sweet 4 month old Border Collie surrendered because she is "hyperactive". And possibly not pure bred. I had to use bolt cutters to remove the embedded check chain from Cherub's neck, and she's as quiet and well behaved as you would reasonably expect a chained up 4 month old Border Collie to be. (Actually she IS pretty quiet and well behaved. Full stop.)
2) we had a human and animal aggressive, kennel raised, unsocialized, never been on leash 10 month old Bull Arab/Mastiff/Cane Corso/Great Dane home-bred hunting dog surrendered, because Bonzo is 'deaf, cross-eyed, lame, and no good for pig hunting. And he howls at night. And jumps 6' fences. And the 14 other dogs pick on him.' And the owner who didn't want him was righteously certain that it was our job to find him a 'good home'. This tragedy actually made me laugh. Everything the guy said made the situation worse and worse. I had to put myself in another part of the office to avoid laughing in the guy's face.
3) we had a 4 month old miniature poodle surrendered, because the Lexus driving, bling-bling wearing owners had just discovered how much grooming Maximus was going to cost. (Presumably a threat to the ecstasy fund.)
4) we had a lovely 1 year old wolf grey Husky Cindy surrendered because the owners decided after some reflection that they really were 'cat people' at heart. Did we have any kittens?
5) we had a 16 year old Dalmatian surrendered because the owners were putting in a pool and would not have a yard for the loyal friend who had given them unfailing devotion for 16 years.
6) a 1 year old Indy the Great Dane because he had gotten "too big". Bad dog, growing up and all. (Clearly, they must have believed that Great meant swell, and not LARGE)
7) Torro the Staffy that killed the neighbor's chickens (no fence), and the neighbor's cat (not leashed), and the neighbor's dog, (no explanation there) and bit the neighbor's kid (supervision?), and the postman (management?). But you'll find him a good home, won't you?
The dogs are easy, it's the customers who are hard. It was a quiet day, and the heat kept people away. Tomorrow will be worse. This is why I shouldn't work 13 days straight, and why I shouldn't deal with people at the front counter. It shakes my faith in karma. It brings out the ugly judmental side of me. It makes me crazy.
Dogs 2, 5 and 7 did not make it into the shelter. The owners walked away carefree and unburdened, and left the dirty lethal consequences of their life choices to us. It's really hard to stay balanced, and remember that most dogs and cats have loving owners.
And don't even get me started on the cats. Cats have no value in society and are completely disposable. Cats have no owner loyalty. The feral/stray/ unowned cat problem is massive. Bring me your strays, your ferals, your offspring, your inconveniences. Or even better yet, ring the not- for-profit shelter that has to grub for every dollar and ask us to drive out and pick them up your cat and her kittens and her kitten's kittens, because you are busy. And yes, your heartfelt conviction that desexing is a waste of money is perfectly understandable. Thank you for calling. (Deep breath.)
My special project puppy for the last week has been Gizmo, a 16 week old Lab x Shar Pei, who I initially assessed as an insane barking wedge-head, but he was actually just starved for attention. By giving him 20 minutes attention/training at the start and end of each day, he was transformed into a little star who could sit and drop on command, sit for petting, and walk nicely on the lead. Now that lucky Gizmo has a new home, I think Cindy and Cherub could be worthwhile projects.
I am hugging my dogs extra special tonight, and self anesthetizing with beer fairly heavily. I apologize for the spew, and will only post the good news, fuzzy feel-good stories from now on.
1) we had a beautiful, sweet 4 month old Border Collie surrendered because she is "hyperactive". And possibly not pure bred. I had to use bolt cutters to remove the embedded check chain from Cherub's neck, and she's as quiet and well behaved as you would reasonably expect a chained up 4 month old Border Collie to be. (Actually she IS pretty quiet and well behaved. Full stop.)
2) we had a human and animal aggressive, kennel raised, unsocialized, never been on leash 10 month old Bull Arab/Mastiff/Cane Corso/Great Dane home-bred hunting dog surrendered, because Bonzo is 'deaf, cross-eyed, lame, and no good for pig hunting. And he howls at night. And jumps 6' fences. And the 14 other dogs pick on him.' And the owner who didn't want him was righteously certain that it was our job to find him a 'good home'. This tragedy actually made me laugh. Everything the guy said made the situation worse and worse. I had to put myself in another part of the office to avoid laughing in the guy's face.
3) we had a 4 month old miniature poodle surrendered, because the Lexus driving, bling-bling wearing owners had just discovered how much grooming Maximus was going to cost. (Presumably a threat to the ecstasy fund.)
4) we had a lovely 1 year old wolf grey Husky Cindy surrendered because the owners decided after some reflection that they really were 'cat people' at heart. Did we have any kittens?
5) we had a 16 year old Dalmatian surrendered because the owners were putting in a pool and would not have a yard for the loyal friend who had given them unfailing devotion for 16 years.
6) a 1 year old Indy the Great Dane because he had gotten "too big". Bad dog, growing up and all. (Clearly, they must have believed that Great meant swell, and not LARGE)
7) Torro the Staffy that killed the neighbor's chickens (no fence), and the neighbor's cat (not leashed), and the neighbor's dog, (no explanation there) and bit the neighbor's kid (supervision?), and the postman (management?). But you'll find him a good home, won't you?
The dogs are easy, it's the customers who are hard. It was a quiet day, and the heat kept people away. Tomorrow will be worse. This is why I shouldn't work 13 days straight, and why I shouldn't deal with people at the front counter. It shakes my faith in karma. It brings out the ugly judmental side of me. It makes me crazy.
Dogs 2, 5 and 7 did not make it into the shelter. The owners walked away carefree and unburdened, and left the dirty lethal consequences of their life choices to us. It's really hard to stay balanced, and remember that most dogs and cats have loving owners.
And don't even get me started on the cats. Cats have no value in society and are completely disposable. Cats have no owner loyalty. The feral/stray/ unowned cat problem is massive. Bring me your strays, your ferals, your offspring, your inconveniences. Or even better yet, ring the not- for-profit shelter that has to grub for every dollar and ask us to drive out and pick them up your cat and her kittens and her kitten's kittens, because you are busy. And yes, your heartfelt conviction that desexing is a waste of money is perfectly understandable. Thank you for calling. (Deep breath.)
My special project puppy for the last week has been Gizmo, a 16 week old Lab x Shar Pei, who I initially assessed as an insane barking wedge-head, but he was actually just starved for attention. By giving him 20 minutes attention/training at the start and end of each day, he was transformed into a little star who could sit and drop on command, sit for petting, and walk nicely on the lead. Now that lucky Gizmo has a new home, I think Cindy and Cherub could be worthwhile projects.
I am hugging my dogs extra special tonight, and self anesthetizing with beer fairly heavily. I apologize for the spew, and will only post the good news, fuzzy feel-good stories from now on.