All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
Charles Schultz
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Rescue: The good, The Bad, The Tired
Something horrific happened recently to a fellow blogger involving an animal and rescue. My heart goes out to her and particularly to the poor animal. An animal rescue came under fire and it sounds like it should have and could have handled the situation better. But today I'd like to chat about the other side of the coin for rescue groups in general.
Like any other organization rescue has unscrupulous, dishonest people in it.
There are also folks with absolutely no people skills and they don't give a rats rear end how they come across to other people. These volunteers will be the first to tell you, they don't like people and would take an animal over another human being any day and they treat folks accordingly. And though they help the animals, they don't help the cause.
But the majority of rescue folks falls into the bone tired category. Physically. Emotionally. Worn out body and soul. These folks are overworked, have no life, get no pay, are accosted by strangers on the street that have a situation that they expect this volunteer to do som
ething about because they belong to a group that rescues animals. My response was always, "You seem very passionate about animals. Join us. Help us." The whole tone of the conversation would change at that point, but I never got any takers.
Most folks that do rescue burn out. Because there's such a shortage they are expected to do the work of five people and instead of taking care of one animal, they're given several. Several cats peeing all over their house or several dogs tearing up their furniture. They deal as long as they can then throw up their hands and quit.
And the decisions that have to be made are heart breaking. Some simplified examples:
Your organization has exactly one thousand dollars that has come in through donations or fundraisers. With that money, you have two options: you can save two healthy dogs and five healthy cats that are highly adoptable or you can save one poor cat or dog that's been hit by a car and can be saved but it will take every single penny in the coffer and then some. Yo
u can't do both. You have to make the decision. What are you going to do? You and you alone will be the one tossing and turning at night because of the animal/animals you didn't save.
Maybe you're the volunteer that answers the phones. Someone calls and tells you their cat or dog just had a litter and they can't keep them. You're full up. If you have a facility, there's no spare cages. And if you don't have a facility, there's no available foster. And the person on the other end of the phone is telling you, "If you don't take them, I'll take them to the pound where they'll be gassed and it will be your fault they died." Sound extreme? Its not. It happens all the time. Or you have room and can take them but this person isn't willing to get his animal spayed, so the cycle will continue and he'll be calling you every spring expecting you to take responsibility for his apathy.
Like any other organization rescue has unscrupulous, dishonest people in it.
There are also folks with absolutely no people skills and they don't give a rats rear end how they come across to other people. These volunteers will be the first to tell you, they don't like people and would take an animal over another human being any day and they treat folks accordingly. And though they help the animals, they don't help the cause.
But the majority of rescue folks falls into the bone tired category. Physically. Emotionally. Worn out body and soul. These folks are overworked, have no life, get no pay, are accosted by strangers on the street that have a situation that they expect this volunteer to do som
ething about because they belong to a group that rescues animals. My response was always, "You seem very passionate about animals. Join us. Help us." The whole tone of the conversation would change at that point, but I never got any takers.Most folks that do rescue burn out. Because there's such a shortage they are expected to do the work of five people and instead of taking care of one animal, they're given several. Several cats peeing all over their house or several dogs tearing up their furniture. They deal as long as they can then throw up their hands and quit.
And the decisions that have to be made are heart breaking. Some simplified examples:
Your organization has exactly one thousand dollars that has come in through donations or fundraisers. With that money, you have two options: you can save two healthy dogs and five healthy cats that are highly adoptable or you can save one poor cat or dog that's been hit by a car and can be saved but it will take every single penny in the coffer and then some. Yo
u can't do both. You have to make the decision. What are you going to do? You and you alone will be the one tossing and turning at night because of the animal/animals you didn't save.Maybe you're the volunteer that answers the phones. Someone calls and tells you their cat or dog just had a litter and they can't keep them. You're full up. If you have a facility, there's no spare cages. And if you don't have a facility, there's no available foster. And the person on the other end of the phone is telling you, "If you don't take them, I'll take them to the pound where they'll be gassed and it will be your fault they died." Sound extreme? Its not. It happens all the time. Or you have room and can take them but this person isn't willing to get his animal spayed, so the cycle will continue and he'll be calling you every spring expecting you to take responsibility for his apathy.
Or you get a call about a cat that's starving, living out of garbage cans and someone has threatened to shoot it. It takes you hours maybe days to find someone to take in that cat and by then its too late.
Maybe you're the volunteer that pulls from the kill-shelter. You only have room for one in your rescue. Here's your choice: There's two seniors, four adults, and fifteen kittens that are on death row. Some looking at you with hope filled eyes, pleading with you to be their savior. The rest are looking at you out of dull, lack lustre eyes devoid of all hope, smelling the death and fear of those who have gone before them. You pick out the one animal you're going to save, and turn your back on the rest, knowing the eyes of those left behind will
haunt you the rest of your life.
Maybe you're the volunteer that pulls from the kill-shelter. You only have room for one in your rescue. Here's your choice: There's two seniors, four adults, and fifteen kittens that are on death row. Some looking at you with hope filled eyes, pleading with you to be their savior. The rest are looking at you out of dull, lack lustre eyes devoid of all hope, smelling the death and fear of those who have gone before them. You pick out the one animal you're going to save, and turn your back on the rest, knowing the eyes of those left behind will
haunt you the rest of your life. To survive, volunteers often get desensitized. I imagine its very similar to doctors and soldiers that deal with death daily. Its not the way they started out, its not the way they planned to end up but it happened.
Unfortunately, when you rescue an animal there's a real possibility you'll have to go it alone, because there's not enough funds, not enough volunteers and not enough space.
What can we do about this plight? First and foremost spay and neuter our animals. Secondly volunteer or make donations to our local rescue(s). Together we can make a difference.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Anniversary Wish, Six AM
Anniversary Wish
A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th weddinganniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table.She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.
The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband.' The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.
The husband thought for a moment: 'Well , this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.'
The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish.So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...the husband became 92years old.
The moral of this story: Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember fairies are female.....
Thanks, Leslee.
* * *
For those of you where its already Monday morning:Six a.m.
by
Mike Cox
And the morning comes like a headache
Refusing to be reasonable,
A quivering lipped trumpeter brazenly off key.
I find each muscle chained to the bed,
Victims of gravity maliciously reapportioned,
In need of conformation that rigor mortis has not set in.
My mind rattles around searching for a kick
That will propel it, lurch after lurch,
Toward the affirmation of my name.
Through it all, a single index finger,
Slightly trembling, yet resolute
Stretches forward toward the coffeemaker start button.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Ambiguity
THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY
1 . ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR.
2. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.3. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?
4. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?
5. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.
6. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF-HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.
7. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?
8. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?
9. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?
10. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?
11. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?
12. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?
13. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?
14. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL CLEAN THEM?
15. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?
16. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?
17. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MIME, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?
18. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.
19. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?
20. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?
21. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?
22. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?
23. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD LISP TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?
24. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED HEMORRHOIDS INSTEAD OF ASSTEROIDS?
25. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?
26. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?
I think my favs or 18 and 24. Which did you like the best?
I think my favs or 18 and 24. Which did you like the best?
Furgi, the new foster.
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