Rescue Journal

it is raining cats and dogs!

Carol · Mar 15, 2011

i told the lady who came here this morning to euthanize her 16 yr old cat. she says she can't keep her..i said dumping her off at a shelter after living in the same home for 16 yrs is just mean. no one is going to adopt her and she is going to have to figure out how to live in a full and multi-species shelter after having a good and quiet home for her entire life.
the woman started to blink back tears and said she couldn't do it. i said we were too full and would not take her and dumping her off at another overful shelter at this stage of her life was grossly unfair.

i am all for the extreme seniors coming in here from cages and shelters without hope of a good home. those animals are unhappy where they are, most of them have never really had a good home and SAINTS becomes the best home they have ever known. but dumping off much beloved seniors to end their lives in shelter care is not kind, it is selfish. it saves their family from facing the harsh reality of what that lost home really means for their life-long beloved pet...it means one way or another, the forever end of their happiness. i am not going to be a party to that.

there are many animals trying to get in here right now..i guess we just finished the lull before the storm. i am ONLY taking in unhappy sick or senior already homeless animals (or as in the case of one of the cats..who has thru no fault of his own has become a rescued ping-pong ball cat. but i will tell that story when and if he arrives) and who did not have the luxury of having a really good life-long home.

there are 2 cats coming in...3 possibly 4 more dogs (one i am waiting to hear if she is too terminal) ALL of them needing a safe spot at saints because none of them had good lifelong homes to keep them safe before.

Comments

Zoe

I hate that I don't have long enough with my pets... every day they are with me is a blessing and I would not give that up for ANYTHING. I wish I could just shake people sometimes until they get it!!! I hope she wakes up and realizes that her loyal companion deserves more and is more important than whatever reason she feels validates abandoning her.

Pam

Great job Carol. I would like to think that lady learned a valuable lesson. Who knows? I have 2 senior springers (14 & 12) and medical problems and bills are piling up but not for one moment would I even consider surrendering them. We'll all stick it out together. That's what I promised them when they came to me from a shelter and rescue. We're in it for the long haul!

Marisa

Bravo, Carol. Responsibility for what happens to their animals MUST shift to the general public before any major change occurs in the world of companion animals. If people are allowed to simply dispose of their animals at a Humane Society or a rescue, they are never forced to face the consequences of their actions. There must be follow-through, for better or for worse. The animals need people to know what happens to them when, for whatever reason, they are removed from their homes.

Helga

What's the reason the lady can't keep the cat? Can't implies some change in the status quo - family illness, someone having to go into care, some happening beyond her control. Surely its not just because the cat is old. But I agree euthanization is a much kinder and humane option for the cat.

lynne

i also agree with you. how can you take your beloved pet and leave it at a shelter because its life is failing. if it were my animal. as much as i love saints i would hold my companion in my arms and with lots of tears in my eyes say goodbye i love you and let him go knowing he was loved and adored. they need that final closure and from someone who loved them. i love saints but that is for animals who really truly need to be there and being a volunteer you can really see the difference. it is either a heaven on earth for them or it can be hell on earth. and that not being anything against saints just the way it is. just think people before you bring your animals to be dropped off if it is really truly the best for the animals or of it just eases your conscience. sorry to be so blunt but do think about what you do. these animals loved you for as long as you had them let them go knowing that.

Bunny Horne

BRAVO, Carol. I have had three cats, one cat sick his entire life made it to 20 and I feel priviledged to have taken care of him for so long. Another passed away in my home with vets in attendance at the age of 19. And my current kitty, Sassy, is 7 and I have plans for her to make it into the high double digits as well. They give you so much love when they are in their senior years and trust that you'll care for them to the end. I like to think that I am one damned fine MOM for these pound-kitties to make it into the senior years.

Shelley

There is just nothing to say when people think it is okay to dump their life-long, loyal pets. Human beings are such a miserable failure sometimes it just makes me cry.