by Suzyn Barron, President of Warwick Valley Humane Society, Inc.
Did you know I received a rather disgruntled email this week because the person did not get the reception they anticipated when they surrendered their cat after adopting him 8 years ago as a kitten with a paralyzed tail? The staff was accused of having a cold demeanor despite telling the family that “you did the best you could, and you were right to bring him back to the shelter”. The family was heartbroken and guilt-ridden but felt they had no choice with a child going off to college and the rest of the family moving to an apartment. Shelter staff are not therapists. Why are they not expected to be sad to see a pet become homeless once again? Referring to themselves as “the worst people” in our eyes and calling themselves “a bunch of losers” bears witness to their guilt, not what we are thinking or feeling. We are never happy to see a pet returned no matter the circumstances, unless the pet was not being properly cared for. This was not the case. This extra-large short-hair orange male cat was in a loving, devoted home until he couldn’t be any longer.
Having an appointment to intake a pet doesn’t mean that nothing else is happening at the same time. Only moments before there could have been an emergency intake of an injured animal, taking a temperature on a sick kitten, cleaning up vomit and feces or finishing up an adoption. The shelter environment is an emotionally challenging place with highs and lows throughout the day. Switching emotional gears is not always easy for animal caregivers to do yet I can say we do try.
The shelter was also accused of misinforming them at the time of adoption about his medical issues. Why would we do that? Animals may sometimes have medical issue(s) not evident while at the shelter. Their email told us that “so much was destroyed” while having him. I am not sure what that means to us or why it’s our fault. Not telling all we know about a pet when being adopted is a disservice to that pet as much as it is to the adopters.
The former family was upset that we didn’t respond to their prior emails quickly enough about bringing their cat back, not understanding that we receive over 100 emails and phone calls a day. They were on a time crunch which did not give us time to make room for his return. We assured them that we do take back pets that have been adopted from us whenever the need arises no matter the reason. This is not always the case in other organizations.
Finally, they were displeased that we did not provide an update a few days after his return. They could have called. The truth is he is depressed and not eating. It takes time for a returned pet to readjust to life in a cage with strangers caring for him. And his adoptability is slim to none. Sad to say but sometimes the truth hurts.
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