>>I have seen no evidence of biased preference toward Cathy
>>Johnson-Delaney....but if there were, what of that? Shelters have
>>preferred vets for a number of reasons!!! I have never met Cathy,
>You have been a volunteer for WFRS for 2 months...not long enough, in my
>opinion, to have enough evidence to back anything up. You say you have
>2 fosters. Which of those 2 are seriously ill? If you had sick ferrets
>that needed medical attention, you would see the same things I did. Yes
>shelters have preferred vets. I have worked with a number of shelters.
>But just because they have a preferred vet doesn't mean they won't see
>someone else when their vet is unavailable.
Um, indeed, this is exactly what I am saying.... if they have a preferred
vet and their vet is unavailable, certainly they *would* go to someone
else. I believe the accusation was that they are only using Cathy and
won't see any other vets.
Furthermore, I will never have reason to encounter Cathy as I have my own
vet in my area that I would prefer to see. I live in Auburn, which is a
little far to drive to the shelter for vet care from their vets. It's
not a lack of endorsement of Cathy, but rather a geographical issue.
WFRS was being called filthy and the volunteers were being accused of
neglect. With approximately 15 visits under my belt, I think I can
determine if the shelter is filthy and the volunteers are being
neglectful. A little history here: I had one albino ferret, Floyd, when
I was 10 years old. I'm 30 now. My husband and I decided to get back
into ferrets this past summer, and we researched the shelter. We drove
up, adopted 2 ferrets, and then we were really hooked. Went back to get
one more...had some socialization issues with him, and got 2 more. We're
also now fostering 2 of them. This whole time, through all of the
socialization, I have been conversing specifically with one volunteer via
e-mail. If I had to count the e-mails, it probably numbers close to 100.
I have never had an e-mail not replied to with care and attention, and
she is a volunteer with a couple of jobs. I have met at some length 3 or
4 other volunteers therre, each taking time to give me some advice and
make sure things were OK.
And a little more background: filthy? With my seven ferrets in their own
room, it is an ongoing battle to keep their little presents cleaned up.
When I came up to clean, I found two little presents on the floor, both
fresh from the ferrets I had let out to play. Wow.... sorry, but that
type of *cleanliness* is amazing.
As I have continued to say: I do not know Cathy, but I do know the
shelter. Not filthy, and not neglectful. I would encourage any of
you in the area to go make a visit and decide for yourself. Hell, get
involved and volunteer. In my experience, one unhappy person will tell
ten other people. It's the happy folks you don't hear from. Is it any
secret that the people who are no longer volunteering at the shelter are
the unhappy ones? Good, you didn't like it, and you left. That's what
we should do. There are a number of people who still volunteer there and
seem to like it. Believe me...I am not a religious person, but if Cathy
or anyone else is as bad as you say, Karma will take care of it.
And remember what business they and we are all in: helping ferrets. I
for one, would rather help WFRS do that than nitpick their shelter to
death.
-Leanna
Aromatic plants bestow no spicy fragrance while they grow; but crush'd
or trodden to the ground, diffuse their balmy sweets around. -Oliver
Goldsmith
[Posted in FML issue 4386]
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