Rescue Journal

what i don't get is...

Carol  ·  Apr. 16, 2010

why do reggie, and kodi, and phoebe not have some kind of dirty, dark, , secret, stolen dog past where their once upon a time good owners could sneak in here under cover and actually find them after such a long time gone? i would be really cooperative and happily give them right back!!!

see..... these things don't happen in real life....there are no real life fairy tale endings.

i went to the bank machine to take some money out of my account..i needed some gas. i only took out $20 because i am trying to make what i have last until payday. i looked at that 20 dollar bill which was in really nice shape and i saw that it had been printed in 2006.

i bet that bill had been in countless different hands over the past 4 years..kind of like some of our dogs. i know i only had it for a few minutes before getting what i needed from it and passing it on again...if that $20 only lasted with each person for at best a few days at a time..in theory, it could have been in thousands of homes in its short lifetime.

so how come it was in such better shape than some of our dogs who actually do live their entire lifetimes in just one home?

i think it is because most of us are very careful and respectful with 20 dollar bills...we do not want to lose them, abuse them, wreck them, neglect them, forget them, have them stolen from us.

they have real demonstrated value to us so even if we have them for only a short time, we take care of them well.

too bad so many of our animals don't hold the same kind of value to us.

i have been struggling for the past couple of days over a couple of very old cats whose owner wants to surrender. they have cut all emotional ties with these animals and set a deadline for them to be gone by the end of june. the emails have been brutally honest and as cold as an artic winter..they want them gone, they are removing them from their life, the cats have no real or perceived problems other than they are not wanted anymore.

i will probably take them..i felt as sorry for the emotional dead space they are facing as i do when i see them alone and afraid in a cage. this family offerred one thousand dollars to relieve them of responsibilty for these cats and to help us make some extra space for them here....i guess they are worth 50, $20 bills to see them gone to somewhere not horrible. i said i would take them as a last resort in june, but not to send the money.

i have little regard for $20 bills, not even that many.... but i do have a high regard for a few furry feet and a couple of broken hearts that are most likely heading this way...i prefer they come penniliess, then i know i take them in for all of the right reasons.

please let us have some room for them by the end of june....as always....hope floats til it sinks.

Comments

Tracey

We had an attempted bribe in the past... well it was actually disguised as a "donation" at first. We received several calls about a collection that was taken to help the animals at our shelter. After 3 calls about making arrangements to drop it off, we received the "Oh, by the way..." call. And the "By the way" was a senior cat that needed a place to go. That was really uncomfortable. I felt like they were trying to buy their way in and I felt they were being completely dishonest by not stating the real reason for contacting us was surrendering the animal, not helping the homeless ones we already had.

It did not end well. The person who offered the bribe left angry when I explained we were full and couldnt accept any animals right at the time, and when they would not answer any questions about this animal (age, why it was losing his/her home etc.) I was unable to even discuss the possibility of being placed on our Waiting List (we save our space for last-chancers and I needed to know if this animal was a last-chancer).

They left angry saying "If we didnt want the money, they would find someone else who did". No thanks... we do not want your money, especially under the pretences presented.

I still wonder about the animal though...

Tracey

Dont you hate those kinds of calls? True abusive homes are rare, but sadly, the neglectful and indifferent homes seem to abound.

It is so heart-breaking to imagine what these animals must go through; to live in a home where you are unloved and unvalued... sad beyond words.