Author Topic: Burnt out.  (Read 3544 times)

Offline Care2Adopt

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Burnt out.
« on: May 10, 2008, 09:28:36 pm »
I am burnt out. Totally. Done, I need a long, long break.

And it was these dang german schnepherds that did it to me!!!

Right now the rescue is overflowing with dogs with severe behavioral problems and/or health problems, or otherwise animals not ready for adoption. Kiki and her puppies, the pups still too young, Kiki still has too much milk to be spayed. We have five heavily HW positive dogs, two of which are seniors. We have Roo, the dog with flippers for front legs and demodex, who wont be going anywhere any time soon. We have Wolf, who has BBDS (Big Black Dog Syndrome) but is otherwise a great dog. We have ferrets and birds and two cats that no one has shown any interest in in months.

And we have the !@*(#&!@)*(&@ german schnepherds. One of my well meaning but slightly ignorant on designer dog breeds volunteers exclaimed "Oh! they are SO cute, this should be a new breed!" and I thought "Oh yes, lets combine the drive, determination and tendancy to be neurotic aspects of the german shepherd with the tenacious, yippy, hyperactive and suspicious mind of a schnauzer... that cant go wrong". Turns out I was right. These dogs are friggin NUTS.

I have had them less then a week and I want to butcher them all (Not really, but I cant help but dream.) Yes, I know its not their fault they are completely and utterly unsocialized and have no manners, they are puppy mill dogs. But they do that really annoying "Run right up to you dancing around you and licking your hands and waggling their tails then when you reach for them to pet them or touch them or catch them they BOLT for the hills." Which means it takes me about an hour to get them in and out of their crates. Oh, leashes would be really good- except that they rip right out of leashes, chew them, alligator roll/scream, or go dead limp the second I put them on.

Then when they are out, its this constant pack of moving yipping beasts. They all have the exact same pitch, just at different times so its like an unbelievably ear splitting tape playing over and over again. And they bark at EVERYTHING that MOVES or makes ANY TYPE OF SOUND. If you are sitting in a chair and cough they will all start barking at you.

Then, they are escape artists. First, they let half the rescue dogs out, because they opened the gates. yes, GATES. And one of them is smart enough to pop the dog-proof latch.

Then, one of them can open crate doors. Nana. She opens her crate from inside, then lets out the others. She can't get out of Vari-kennels, but if its wire crates she can figure those out easily.

This morning, they went a little more drastic, and dug out under the 6 foot privacy fence. I used to have siberians, which means I took precautions against diggers. Theres a foot of concrete under my fences. They dug under it. It took me hours to catch them all.

Oh, and did I mention they bite? sugar and spice when they come to you on their terms, but if you try to catch them they yip and bite and struggle in your arms. Sometimes. Sometimes they are very still and quiet.

This morning I got bit no less then 5 times and by the end of it I was ready to cook some schnepherds for breakfast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With all of these obviously non-adoptable dogs in, and no one showing interest in our adoptable dogs, and with our special needs dogs like Roo and the HW positive kids, we are up to abhout $6000 a month in vet bills and food. And we aren't making nearly any adoptions. I've made four adoptions this month, bringing in $150 an adoption. that doesn't even cover the schnepherds vet bills.

I am BURNT OUT people! My house is packed, there are dogs everywhere, no one wants to behave, I dont get any time with my own animals, Annie and Cisco are misbehaving like little CREATAINS (Annie is the queen of all counter surfers and can get into the tiniest spaces to get at food that I dont want her to have, like crawl through the 6inch high cat door to get to their food and litter box AND she chews EVERYTHING in site) and I dont have the time to train them so they spend way too much time in their crates. We get a couple hours of quality time but not nearly enough, and not enough repitition and scheduling to adequetly train them. My volunteers are all irritated with each other and bickering, my boyfriend has about had it, and I am exhausted and just want to get ONE night where I sleep a full eight hours.

If I dont go completely bankrupt, I think I am taking a break for the summer. I just can't do this any more at the rate I am going. I've already said I am not taking anything else in after May 24th, which is our last spay/neuter run and our adoption fair. I think starting June 1st, I am taking two months off to spend with my family and pets.

the only problem with that is at this moment there are 26 dogs in my house. If I dont make some adoptions soon, I am going to have to move out to save my sanity!!!!!!!!!!!
« Last Edit: May 10, 2008, 09:29:23 pm by Care2Adopt »


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Offline Rajas Mom

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Re: Burnt out.
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2008, 11:04:00 pm »
Ugh!  I really respect what you are doing.  I wish that I had half of your drive!  I've long thought of fostering kids and/or dogs, but... I'm a social worker who is under paid and overworked.  Hence, I have a lot of heart, but very little time and an even smaller wallet.

Again, you are making a difference and it's awesome.  I don't know how you do it.
Raja (Our Princess), 3 yr St. Benard
Charlie (Our Calico Cat), 3 yr
Bocephus (Wild & Crazy Lab), RIP
Shadow (Secretly a Cat Schipperke Mix), RIP