in response to the discussion of reasons shelters refuse to adopt out...
>shelter worried about a persons income
 
i think that this is a perfectly valid reason, but i don't know how
strongly it should be enforced.  for example, right now, i only have
income through my mother and my fiance, but my ferrets aren't going to
want for anything.  i've got several thousand dollars in the bank, and
i've got a credit card and a good credit rating.
 
>You don't have enough knowledge
 
i think that this is a good reason to reccommend some books and say "please
come back and write our application/ knowledge test again in three weeks",
but it's not a good reason to turn someone down outright.  i suspect this
is what most shelters do, in the nicest way they can, but some people just
aren't willing to learn.
 
>Your too young
 
great reason to refuse!  the pet shop i worked at had a policy of not
selling any pets to people under 16 yrs old (and you needed to show ID,
and i personally refused fake ID) and not selling dogs or cats to people
under 18.  and that's a pet shop policy!  when you sell a pet to someone
under 16, they need to have their parents responsibility, because under
our current laws it's really hard to hold someone under that age to a
responsibility.  it's also usually the case that it will be the parents
who have to pay for the animals upkeep.
 
>No transportation
>Good reason not to adopt.  What if the ferret suddenly falls ill and needs
>to be rushed to the vet?  No transportation could mean one dead ferret.
 
now, this one's a little wierd to me.... my only transportation is public
transit and a 100cc Vespa scooter that's nearly 20 years old, but if my
pets need to get to a vet fast i'll pay the cab fare and have them there
as fast as someone who had a car.  and does this also mean that they won't
adopt to anyone living in a rural area?  in my hometown it was an hours
drive to the nearest late opening clinic.  in a lot of places there isn't
any 24 hour vet care.  i can see this being a concern, but if someone is
qualified otherwise, i don't think lack of transportation should be enough
to refuse them.
 
>the knowledge you have is not correct
 
again, a good reason to ask them to reapply after reading the information
you offer them, but not a good reason to refuse outright.
 
>you have too many already
 
this one's a little too loosely defined for my liking.  for instance,
somepeople have huge homes and don't work and could probably care for 20
ferrets without any of them suffering.  on the other hand a lot of people
don't even have time for one ferret....
 
i guess that it's really up to the shelter operator to decide.  i know i'd
have a really hard time letting any of them go if it was me.
 
siani
[Posted in FML issue 2853]