Thursday, November 10, 2011

Rescue Me Day 4....



Mayzie is still hosting Rescue Me Week. She mentions today that it is a little hard to see all the pets that still need homes - but we hope bringing attention to it will get at least some of them adopted!!!

Today we would like to talk about returns. Almost all shelter adoption contracts we have ever read have a clause about returning the animal to the shelter if you can't keep it for any reason. Having been in rescue for many years now, mom says she has seen it all. Her thought is this - if you can't keep the animal, bring it and back and be honest about the reason. Don't make up something so that YOU feel better....your comments have consequences for these animals. It is hard enough to go from a shelter to a home and then back to the shelter. But if you say the cat isn't peeing in the box, that cat may not make it back out to an adoption floor. If you don't tell the shelter your dog bit someone and it happens again, the shelter ends up looking bad. Bringing back the animal isn't about YOU - it is about trying to help that animal.

These kitties are all from CHA.

 Bach was adopted a few months ago with his brother Mozart (no, not our Mozart). Mozart was returned about a month later as the person said that he was peeing outside the box. She did say she took him to the vet (most people will admit they have not done that) but she was pregnant and had two little kids and....  You get the picture. So Mozart came back (and was adopted again last weekend). About 2 weeks ago she came back with Bach and said that he was running around the house and wouldn't settle down and was just too much work. (um, yeah cause he is a teenager and he is bored since you returned his brother....)

Falcon was adopted 3 months ago and just returned due to family allergies. Falcon is an ACTIVE boy....constantly on the run and would need a playmate in the home to keep up with him. Mom goes both ways with this excuse - she saw a dog returned a few years ago due to family allergies and the kid had serious hives (the mom and kid were together). Other times mom wants to suggest they take a pill. But, we guess it is better to have the animal back in the shelter's care than with a family that isn't willing to make some accomodations.

Winn was adopted and returned due to aggression on the part of the family cat. In this case, the family did try several things and Winn was just taking the bad end of the deal. So, he is safely back at the shelter. Mom says she is ok with this one so long as the family makes some attempts to make it work. But the ones that make her nuts are the "we took the kitten home and just let it loose in the living room and our resident cat hates it and it has been 24 hours and we can't do anything else". Mom wants to hand out intstructions about introducing cats....none of which involve taking them home and opening a carrier door and hoping for the best.

Anyhow, sorry about mom ranting a bit today.....

We hope Rescue Me Week is helping animals get noticed and maybe adopted!!!

12 comments:

  1. I just left a huge LONG comment and blogger swallowed it as it has been doing to me for weeks now!!!!! EXCELLENT blog and I wish you'd submit ot to your local letters to the editor!

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  2. Those are all such good points and I agree, that adopted animals should go home with instructions, not only what to do with the animal but what to expect from that particular animal. Like if it is a kitten, it is going to be wild. Or at least give a small warning that they do need attention.I don't blame you for venting. I am sure you see it all and it much be so frustrating.

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  3. Returns are just way too sad and, in my opinion, is usually just human laziness.

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  4. We can't remember if you read our blog while Stormy was still with us (she passed away in the winter at age 14-ish). Some people adopted her from our shelter, got a very aggressive pit bull (nothing against pit bulls), didn't let either one of them exercise ... and when things went bad, they tried to return Stormy to the shelter. At that time, our shelter couldn't take returns and would have had to euthanize her. :( The people at the shelter pleaded for them to place just ONE ad in the local paper about her ... and that's when Mom and Dad came into the picture! Whew. I guess what I'm trying to say is returns are very special to us.
    Play bows,
    Zim

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  5. Animals are not all the same and they all need different things. It is sad BUT at least they came back to the shelter instead of just being let loose into the wild.

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  6. I think (and this is just my humble opinion btw) that there are a section of people who tend to approach adopting a pet as if it's a shopping trip, when in reality it's a life long commitment - a big responsibility requiring maturity and common sense and above all responsibility on the humans' part. I'm just glad the humans in the examples here left their kitties with shelters rather than just abandoning them.

    Take care
    x

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  7. We agree - better to return them to the shelter (especially since the contract says you are supposed to), but we also have to agree that it is sad that so many people think of pets as disposible.

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  8. They are all so cute and so sweet with so much pawsonality. It makes me sad that things didn't work out for them but maybe that just means that there's another family out there that will luv them and appreciate them just the way they are! Paws crossed that those families come along real soon!

    Wiggles & Wags,
    Mayzie

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  9. We have to say, bless the shelter for taking these kitties back so they have a real chance at a good home. It's too bad that there has to be returns, but we applaud the organizations that are there for these kitties (and any pet) when they need it! We hope all of these kitties find the purrfect home they deserve, and soon :)

    Pip, Smidgen,Minnie, Hollie

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  10. I think so many people believe they are ready for a pet but really have no time or sense of commitment for what it takes. If they thought things through and were honest with themselves, there would be fewer adoptions, but fewer returns. The rescue group I work with has the same problem with returns. They've been lucky lately: more adoptions and no returns this year. Crossed fingers and paws...

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  11. Very thoughtful and thought-provoking post. I know with my commitment to the cats I helped bring into the world, I am there for them and it's part of my contract too, and most people knew how important that commitment was to me. In spite of that, I did lose track of 2 cats, and that was long before I started microchipping them (and leaving them in my name)...there is not a day goes by that I don't think of them and wonder what happened...

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