Although operating an animal shelter or sanctuary is serious, often
heartbreaking, infuriating and incredibly satisfying I try to remember
to address some particularly trying moments with humor- which ill
get to -

We here at Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary care for over 200
abandoned, abused, neglected exotic animals including 13 ferrets. Many
of the animals are old, ill, disabled, and/or aggressive. Usually these
conditions have occurred due to mistreatment, malnutrition, etc. They
are not "pet quality' anymore but deserve a full healthy safe life.

We get animals when they have been confiscated by animal control,
dropped at area shelters that only do cats & dogs, and of course the
ever popular owner surrender. This is where I try to keep the smile &
think to myself what i'd like to say - it may be a bit harsh but
really what kind of idiot human obtains a living creature taking full
responsibility for its lifetime care and then decides they just dont
want it anymore- good god alligators take better care of the little
birdies that clean their teeth than a lot of humans do for their pets.

Anyway - the usual excuses are - we dont spend time with it like we
should (yeah we know its great we get to spend several hours every day
with each of the 200 animals here- not!) , someone in the family has
become allergic ( anyone heard of medication?), and the top reason - we
are moving and cant take it with us- my response to it would be oh i
am so sorry you are homeless - i hope someday you can live in an actual
structure again instead of the cardboard box you must be going to since
you cant take your animal - because of course if you were moving to a
house or apartment you would only go to one that allowed your type of
pet - just as you wouldnt move to a retirement community that didnt
allow kids if you had kids - DUH! The other one is when they say they
are moving and cant take their guinea pigs with for example, then of
course i pause & wait & feeling they need to justify themselves they
say something like well we are moving to west virginia, so then i'd
like to say oh well i completely understand - you must never take
guinea pigs to west virginia! heavens no bring em here now!

of course we cant actually say these things or the people will
freak & not bring the animal here & probably just let it go or
dump it somewhere - so for the animals' sake we play it straight -
but people have to realize a pet is not an object- it is not a toaster
to throw out when you want a new model or it doesnt work quite right -
it is a living creature with feelings and needs that depends on their
human completely for its survival - every pet that is owned was bred
by humans specifically for our enjoyment - therfore humans have an
inherent responsibility to care for these animals for their entire
lives - all humans- not just breeders, or rescues- all people who have
ever owned a pet bear the burden of care for these unwanted animals -

it is all i can stand to read about the extravagent amounts of money
pet owners are lavishing on their pets all the while other animals in
shelters and sanctuaries, and roaming feral across the country are
dying, and facilities are closing due to lack of funds - people before
you buy that 100$ vest for fido think about donating half of that to a
rescue - still spoil the pooch- that part is super- but spread the $ -

after all if there were no rescues there would be a huge feral
population ( dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits- you name it) and then the
govt would get involved & legislate pet ownership - some municipalities
do that already because their local shelters cant keep up -

so, if you enjoy having a pet- thank a shelter ( preferably one that
saves the kind of pet you have) & send then $1, $5 or $10 believe me -
itll make their day!

beth
www.crittercamp.biz 

[Posted in FML 5843]