Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Excuses, Excuses

Jughead (above) arrived at the shelter as a stray last summer. A sweet, good-natured guy, he was adopted so fast I didn't have time to post him on the blog. His family showed up about 7 weeks later to adopt another rabbit. They brought Jughead with them - he was on a leash and they gushed over how much they loved him. They decided to adopt Noddy, a three-month-old bundle of cuteness. I didn't meet them personally, but the shelter staff (who by necessity are excellent judges of character) loved them. The young girl wanted to volunteer.
This week, I arrived in the room to see Jughead staring at me from one of the cages. A glance around revealed Noddy was there as well, all grown up. After all that, after keeping them in their family for five months, why had that family returned them?
The girl was going to university.
REALLY? You didn't know that five months ago? Was this a surprise? As a student myself, I hate that excuse with a passion. Look at Jughead up there - he's thinking, "I thought I got out of this place."
Then we have Diamond here. This gorgeous girl is 3 years old and she was left at the shelter by her family because they have a new baby. According to them, she was "more outgoing before the new baby arrived". Well, no kidding. This little girl is quite shy and rather high-strung, I'm sure baby cries didn't put her at ease. But you know what else doesn't put her at ease? The constant noise of barking dogs, clanging metal and yowling cats at a shelter. Poor thing is scared out of her mind.
And finally, North transferred two pigs to us, and their shelter cards had my favourite note on them - "PREGNANT". One of them, Martha, looks like she swallowed a beach ball. Since she looks so very obviously pregnant, we assume she is close to giving birth, so I took her home for foster. The other guinea pig, Vanilla (in the photo), looks big but her pregnancy is not a sure thing. We're on the hunt for a foster home for her as well.

What is this, National Stupid Week? Come on, animal-surrendering public. I know you can come up with better excuses than that.

6 comments:

selkiem said...

it really is disgusting. The other "favourite" - we're moving and can't take him with us" - and the animal is like 6 months old - you didn't know you were moving before you GOT him? And why can't you take him with you?

The people that bother me in particular are the ones that get a baby and then dump the animal - what is with that?? Cats in particular are victims of this and WHY peope continue to believe old wives tales about cats and babies I will never undersatnd. And sayign they have "no time" - how much TIME does a cat, guinea pig, rabbit TAKE? Clean litter, feed, water, pets and a little loving when you have a moment..

disgusting.

Kate said...

Oh the first one is so cute. I like you Elvis Presley looking fur cute little bunny. No wonder you where adopted soon. I am sure you have a comfy rabbit hutch with a wonderful care from your human. Be good.

andrea said...

so so so true

I'm moving
I'm having a baby
I didn't know how (big/hairy/noisy/active/messy) a pet would be

OMG ... do your research people .. and LISTEN to the folks doing the screening

Jude said...

Seems others are much more polite than I am, Marg. Why do people do this? Because they're bloody self-centred *sses! The only purpose of a pet (to them) is to make them feel good &/or to entertain them. When a pet ceases to fit that category any more, it's time to dispose of it.

I had a young couple (reasonably good friends) who rented our downstairs suite for about a year. When they decided to move, they refused to consider taking their cats. Okay, I could see that sort of as they were moving across the country (didn't stop me from taking my pets though). But when the wife decided it would be too cruel to send them to another home that they didn't know & she wanted them put down, my anger rose. The husband decided it cost too much to get a vet to do it & he was going to use a hammer on them & then bury them!!

I just about went ballistic & took over. I phoned around. It took a couple of days to find some but I found a nice woman who did rescue & she said because both were polydactyl (mother & daughter cats), there would be no difficulty adopting them out.

So yes, people aren't really stupid - they're jerks instead who put themselves first & probably do toward their relationships with other people too. Sorry, Marg. I get absolutely furious about this.

Anonymous said...

OH MY.. I think I'm disgused with that last comment. How can anyone even consider isomg a hammer to hurt any thing in such a harsh manner. Thank you for reaching in and saving the poor things.

Unknown said...

www1130
canada goose outlet
kate spade outlet
giuseppe zanotti
coach outlet
ray ban sunglasses
coach outlet
ralph lauren polo
issey miyake
supreme clothing
moncler outlet