it is an honest and necessary word...especially in rescue.
no you cannot adopt this particular dog..it is not a good match for either of you.
no you cannot just pop in unannouced at this particular moment and show your friend the farm animals...we are currently closed.
no it is not in your 20 yr old cats best interests to leave her here because you think a cross country move will be too hard on her.
no we cannot board your pet here for the next twelve months while you take the job of your dreams overseas...we do rescue, not long term boarding.
no we do not have an unspayed ragdoll cat for you to borrow to breed and you really should not be breeding more cats, there are already far too many.
no i can't write a letter to your disability provider saying you volunteered here when i only saw you once for the initial tour and that was 6 months ago...that would be dishonest in the extreme.
no we cannot use a truck load of garbage, we are an animal rescue not a transfer dumping facility.
no we cannot take your young and out of control aggressive dog who has bitten three people and just killed your yorkie, he would not fit in a communal senior animal facility very well.
no you may not drive up and just leave that uncastrated llama here..we need the space and time to be ready for him.
no we will not keep your horse here, pay for all medical/feed bills and provide for all of his other care needs so you can have a horse for easy and free...that is really not very fair.
these are just a few things i get to say no to... past, present and i am sure in the future too.
it used to bug me, it actually used to drive me insane...but after saying no over and over for far too many years now..i finally get it. they honestly just do not understand the ins and outs of rescue which is why they are asking me these kind of things in the first place. so now i just say no with a short and clear explanation and leave it at that.
to me that seems pretty damn fair.
no is a necessary and honest word...especially in rescue....best to learn to just say it without worrying about it too much.
OMD that is disgusting. We see them as loved ones and others see them as free food.