My heart goes out to all who work at animal shelters. It is a job I could not do and I thank you for doing what many others also could not do but someone MUST do. I'm sure there are people who are just trying to get rid of the pet for ridiculous reasons as well as people who are having to make a heart wrenching decision that they believe is best for their pet.
I have taken in, kept, raised and loved every stray that ever found it's way to me. I have also tried several times to adopt dogs or cats from the local "no kill" shelter or rescue groups only to be TURNED DOWN. I'm serious.
I was married for 17 years to a man who hated cats, and I loved cats, so we had no cat. After my divorce I went to our local "no kill" shelter and picked out a cat. I had to fill out the paper work and was told I would be notified the next day. The next day I was called and told I did not qualify and was being turned down. I thought "this is a joke - I work from home - live in a mansion - make a six figure income - love pets as do my teenage kids...what possible reason could I be turned down?" Reason given: my dog was past due on it's parvo shot. They had called my vet and asked about my two dogs' vet treatment. One of the dogs was a stray we took in as a puppy that had been exposed to parvo and all of it's littermates had died. We rescued the one survivor, gave it Parvo treatments and shots for a couple of years and then on advice of vet, discontinued them since they were not legally required and the vet felt the dog was out of any danger zone. I went to talk to vet, who got so mad at shelter, he called his staff in, in front of me, and told them to never, ever give out information again. He said that shelter is a mult-million dollar fund raiser that never adopts out pets and won't take in strays.
I thought it was a one of a kind story till I started dating a millionaire who lived in another state - far away. We got to talking one day about pets and turns out he too had been denied adoption of a dog from his local shelter. Reason given - he checked "yes" by the box that asked "Will this dog ever be left home alone during the day for any reason?" Again, millionaire, great kids, great house, fenced yard - denied because the dog would be left alone while he was at work or kids at school.
Yet another story - last year I decided I wanted another German Shepherd. I have had my GSD for 5 years and wanted a companion. I looked online and found three rescue groups and I filled out their forms and answered all their questions, including ones like: "Tell us everything you know about this breed." I never heard back from a singe one - not one answered my e-mails or replied to my adoption requests.
Final story - same animal shelter in town. Story on news they had rescued 80 small dogs from horrible conditions and were looking for homes. I go down there - seems the newest policy is you don't get to look at any animals. You have to fill out the adoption forms which include credit information, bank info, vet info, work info, etc. Then if you are approved you can come back and get what's available that day only. No one is allowed to view animals available till after approval process which includes credit check. I opted not to even bother applying.
The reason for these stories is that I am not alone in this experience. I have talked to others that have encountered the same thing. If shelters and rescue groups really wanted to find good homes for the pets and open up a space for the next needy animal, they would stop being so ridiculously picky and seemingly looking for a reason to turn someone down and start looking for reasons to approve someone. It's too sad the many animals that are put down when there are people who would like to take them but never seem to be good enough.
Had another friend who couldn't get a cat because she has hers declawed since they live inside and she doesn't like them scratching furniture. Granted, I don't like declawing a cat either but if it's that or put it to death - adopt it out to someone who wants an indoor declawed cat. This same friend had three cats that each lived indoors, declawed, for over 28 years. After they died she went to local shelter and was told she didn't qualify because of the declawing issue.
I know these stories don't represent all shelters, pounds, rescue groups but they do represent the hoity toity ones in a lot of towns today.
