I know EXACTLY how you feel. I am constantly made to feel like what I am doing - and it is a lot! (I'm supposed to be working right now, but am instead networking to save 2 dogs scheduled for death row on Friday) is not enough. This usually comes from people who aren't doing anything and need me to "fix" their problem for them.
Another rescuer sent this to me yesterday that sums it all up perfectly:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Idiot,
We receive an extremely high volume of inquiries and requests to
accept surrendered animals. To help us expedite your problem as
quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:
1. Do not say that you are, "considering finding a good
home," or, "feel you might be forced to," or, "really think it
would be better if," you unloaded the poor beast.
Ninety-five percent of you already have your minds stone-cold made
up that the animal will be out of your life by the weekend or holiday at the latest.
Say so. If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you
common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're
going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution
couldn't possibly work for you.
For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you
about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you
go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a
scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a
squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you
from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the
cat.
2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you
are. Your coworker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals,
not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who "get rid of"
their animals. "Get rid of," is my least favorite phrase in any language. I
hope someone,"gets rid" of you someday. I am an animal advocate, not a
people therapist. After all, you can get counselors, special teachers,
doctors, social workers, etc., for your ADHD daughter. Your pet has only me,
and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are overworked,
stressed-out, and demoralized.
So don't tell me this big long story about how, "We love this dog
so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is
just killing us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash
in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks
of liver, so you can see how hard we've tried, and how dear he is to
us, but we really just can't ... ."
You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all
probability, literally killing your dog, but you're going to be just fine once the
beast is out of your sight. Don't waste my time trying to make me like you
or feel sorry for you in your plight.
3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves
special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit. I don't care
if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or
whacked-out animals who really need help, and I have no room to
shelter your pet because you decided you no longer have time for your 14-year-old
Lab.
Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies
and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all
excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He really is
darling so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home.
Listen.. we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning,
blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey,
Fido is a six-year- old shepherd-mix weighing 75 pounds. I am not lying when I
tell you big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost always
completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle Dixie or
send smoke signals with their blankies.
What you don't realize, though you're trying to lie to me, you're
actually telling the truth: Your pet is a special, wonderful, amazing creature.
But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, you do not care,
and I can't fix that problem.
All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short,
brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing they
were indeed very, very special.
Finally, just, for God' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the
truth, and the whole truth. Do you think if you just mumble your cat is,
"high-strung" I will say, "Okey-dokey! No problem!"and take it into foster care? No,
I will start asking questions and uncover the truth, which is your cat
has not used a litter box in the last six months.
Do not tell me you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens
when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the
symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to
lying some more, wasting more time.
And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care,
do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people
will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine."
Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance,
but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your
misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the
edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold
the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully he is a good dog or cat,
telling him truthfully we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his
life. Some are not so lucky and will face the gas chamber, depending on the part of the country you're in...a slow, painful death.
How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask?
Do not ever dare to judge us.
At least we tried. At least we stuck with him to the end. At least we
never abandoned him to strangers, as you certainly did, didn't you? In
short, this little old rescuer/foster momma has reached the point
where she would prefer you tell it like it is:
"We picked up a free pet in a parking lot a couple of years ago.
Now we don't want it anymore. We're lazier than we thought. We've got
no patience either. We're starting to suspect the animal is really
smarter than we are, which is giving us self-esteem issues. Clearly,
we can't possibly keep it. Plus, it might be getting sick; it's acting
kind of funny. "
"We would like you to take it in eagerly, enthusiastical ly, and
immediately. We hope you'll realize what a deal you're getting and not ask us for a
donation to help defray your costs. After all, this is an (almost)
pure-bred animal, and we'll send the leftover food along with it. We get it at
the discount store, and boy, it's a really good deal."
"We are very irritated you haven't shown pity on us in our great need
and picked the animal up already.We thought you people were supposed to be
humane! Come and get it today."