Rescue Journal

we all can directly contribute to a saints animal's deterioration or even death

Carol  ·  Jul. 4, 2012

by not paying attention to a few simple things.

it is called cause and effect or ripples in the pond, or whatever you want to call it.

and here are a few examples of what could happen around here if any one of us are not paying attention or following direction or having the occasional brain fart or just having a lazy or stupid moment or two.

lets take odie for example...who we all know can be dangerous to the other dogs.

odie lives here by a very thin thread and after many chances at which he has failed...he now lives in the kitchen alone. odie does not have any more options..there is not a single space here to move him to...no one wants to foster or adopt him because of his multiple issues. he is either successful at living safely alone in the kitchen, or we would have no choice but to euth.

every single time we carelessly or thoughtlessly or accidently or inadventantly allow another dog into his space...for a moment or an hour...(it doesn't really matter how long at all) if during one single second of time, odie decides to jump the other dog and hurts him..there will a dog with an injury and a very real possiblity that odie will end up....losing his life.

it would be a a real drag if odie lost his life just because we let someone get into his room.

now lets look at the medical room cats...we have three end stage kidney disease cats hanging by their own thin threads in there (the rock, zsu zsu, and flora.) all of them are currently doing well...all of them crashed and have been re-hydrated and are feeling good for now.

their careplan is to keep them well hydrated and feeling well...so we do something simple..we give them certain meds to support kidney function and we water down their canned food into soup. the slurpy food ups their fluid intake so they can flush out their kidneys...if the toxins get flushed out of their systems, they feel pretty good. all it takes is 12 very short fluid reduced hours to dehydrate an end stage kidney cat...all it takes is NOT souping up their breakfast and by bedtime, they feel sick. once they start to feel sick...they stop eating altogether. a vicious circle begins that can lead to the end of life for them.

or what if someone picks up a not washed fork or a food or water bowl that was used by the feline leukemia cats and gives it to zsu zsu or flora..potentially we could infect them with feline leukemia...and that would be horrible for them.

and now we can look at just one gate accidently not closed and locked when someone goes thru...so many things can happen depending on which gate and which animals are involved...percy could step on tina or daphne and crush them..any of the barn animals or any one of the dogs could get out on the road and be hit by a car, ellie could find herself face to face with brad and because she is so mobility compromised, she could really get hurt..one of the dogs could slip into the chicken or duck area and in one single second be holding a dead bird.

we have huge, 2000 pound animals here...we have teenie weenie 4 pounders...we have animals who are diabetics, epileptics, terminal with cancers and other disease, we have blind animals, crippled animals...vulnerable animals who are more than slightly confused..and we have animals here who can be dangerous to other animals in certain circumstances too (and ultimately themselves because we will euthanize an animal that we cannot safely manage.)

and we have A LOT of humans thru here...staff, volunteers, and visitors. and all humans do make mistakes..we miss things, we forget things, we don't see or notice things or sometimes we just don't think. we can't help it simply because we are human..maybe god made us imperfect for a reason...who knows?

but sometimes things happen not by just fluke accident..but by a choice that we make..i know i should close that gate, but i will be back in a second...i know odie has to be alone but my hands are full and jazzy just zipped right in..i will get her out in a minute....i know these cats are to have watered done food but i am in a hurry..just this once i will plop down a plain big spoonful of food, i will use already used bowl by the felv cats for zsu zsu cuz there is not another clean one the shelf that i can reach...it won't matter just this once.

when we consciously choose to make decisions or take or not take actions that are different from the animal's care or infection control or safety plans...we make a decision. we choose to put them at risk for harm...we are CHOOSING to put someone at risk.

trust me..been there, done that, cuz i am human too..and i can tell you from personal experience cuz i get busy, overwhelmed, in a hurry and just plain stupid sometimes too.... shit does happen in a blink on an eye and once it happens, it is too late to undo....it totally sucks, for them and for you.

we all need to take care to keep shit from happening to the very bare minimum....we need to be careful, thoughtful and be aware of and follow the ever changing and always evolving around here saints safety and careplan rules.

Comments

Brenda

Well written blog Carol - I know I've certainly made mistakes, even tho I try to be so meticulous with who should be where, and not with whom. Sometimes it just comes down to slowing down a bit amd taking a breath, and a head count.- I know, I'm trying to do 5 or 6 things at once often when I'm in the house, and it usually is ok, but it's not worth the risk, and I appreciate the reminder. Thanks

Renee

Carol I put my green water bottle somewhere, I think it's in the shop? If you see it can you put it in your cupboard? Also I forgot to tell krista about putting the purple stuff in peppers, smokeys and jesses ears, could you let her know? Thanks!

lynne

i had blogged on here originally to know if there is someone who want a very sweet 3 year old tabby cat. my friend called me to ask if i knew of anyone. this cat was given to this woman, not my friend, who now can not keep it because her cat and dog she already has is making the cats life a living hell. the cat is now locked up in the basement. apparently the cat would do well with someone who just wants to love her and pay some attention to her. maybe a senior or someone. please blog if you can help, much appreciated.

lynne

how true are your words. i have fed dogs and not realized odie was there so a fight happened. i did not do it on purpose but it did happen and i should have thought about it more. there are so many different animals here with different personalities that you always have to be on top of it all. it is very easy to slip into a comfortable mode with the animals here and that is when things happen.. it sucks, you have their best interests at heart but you do something stupid. i know for myself that i try to read them now before i do something that will ultimately harm them.