Craigslist Rescuer's answering machine

[Babymine]

So true and so sad.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/njy/1284564684.html

<H2>Rescuer's answering machine

Date: 2009-07-23, 9:37AM EDT



A RESCUERS ANSWERING MACHINE:

Hello: You have reached ___-____, Tender Hearts Rescue. Due to the
high volume of calls we have been receiving, please listen closely to
the following options and choose the one that best describes you or
your situation:
>
Press 1 if you have a 10-year-old dog and your 15-year-old son has
suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home
right away.
>
Press 2 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your
150 pound, 8-year-old dog.
>
Press 3 if you have three dogs, had a baby and want to get rid of
your dogs because you are the only person in the world to have a
baby and dogs at the same time.
>
Press 4 if you just got a brand new puppy and your old dog is having
problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.
>
Press 5 if your little puppy has grown up and is no longer small and
cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.

Press 6 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home TODAY
and pick up the dog you no longer want.
>
Press 7 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the
last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your
dog.
>
Press 8 if your dog is sick and needs a vet but you need the money
for your vacation.
>
Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy who is not
active and is going to outlive you.
>
Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for
their elderly dog because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.
>
Press 14 if you are calling at 6 a.m. to make sure you wake me up
before I have to go to work so you can drop a dog off on your way
to work.
>
Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know
you have left a dog in our yard in the middle of January, which is
in fact, better than just leaving the dog with no message.
>
Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to
take your dog that you have had for fifteen years, because it is
not our responsibility.
>
Press 17 if you are going to threaten to take your ten year old dog
to be euthanized because I won't take it.
>
Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the volunteers had the
audacity to go on vacation and leave the dogs in care of a trusted
volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.
>
Press 19 if you want one of our PERFECTLY trained, housebroken, kid
and cat friendly purebred dogs that we have an abundance of.
>
Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight
aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your
neighbor's cats.
>
Press 21 if you have already called once and been told we don't take
personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this
time with a different answer.
>
Press 22 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to
board your personal dog while you are on vacation, free of charge,
of course.
>
Press 23 if it is Christmas Eve or Easter morning and you want me to
deliver an eight week old puppy to your house by 6:30 am before
your kids wake up.
>
Press 24 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby
bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.
>
Press 25 if you want us to take your female dog who has already had
ten litters, but we can't spay her because she is pregnant again and
it is against your religion.
>
Press 26 if you're lying to make one of our younger volunteers feel
bad and take your personal pet off your hands.
>
Press 27 if your cat is biting and not using the litter box because
it is declawed, but you are not willing to accept the responsibility
that the cat's behavior is altered because of your nice furniture.
>
Press 28 if your two year old male dog is marking all over your house
but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.
>
Press 29 if you previously had an outdoor only dog and are calling
because she is suddenly pregnant.
>
Press 30 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and
have had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it
is cruel.
>
Press 31 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening
phone number and you left your work number when all volunteers are
also working and you are angry because no one called you back.
>
Press 32 if you need a puppy immediately and cannot wait because
today is your daughter's birthday and you forgot when she was born.
>
Press 33 if your dog's coat doesn't match your new furniture and you
need a different color or breed.
>
Press 34 if your new love doesn't like your dog and you are too
stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next
month anyway) instead of the dog.
>
Press 35 if you went through all these 'options' and didn't hear
enough. This press will connect you to the sounds of tears being
shed by one of our volunteers who is holding a discarded old dog
while the vet mercifully frees him from the grief of missing his
family.
>
> ~Author Unknown, but much appreciated

</H2>

 

[Jeff in Ottawa]

Disturbing and sad.

 

[victoria1140]

wow was this actually true or just how cheesed off with exscuses people have. I could understand either way as I hate that people think their pets are disposable and dread the xmas puppy rush

 

[KodysGrandma]

I'm sure every one of those happens over and over, but the last one brought me to tears.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Oh wow! Gotta pass that link along to people I know in rescue.

 

[Babymine]

wow was this actually true or just how cheesed off with exscuses people have. I could understand either way as I hate that people think their pets are disposable and dread the xmas puppy rush

It was posted on Craisglist. These are reasons that I have read on Craigslist's pet ads. We rescued Bear from Animal Services and the reason he was there in on the list.

Press 3 if you have three dogs, had a baby and want to get rid of
your dogs because you are the only person in the world to have a
baby and dogs at the same time.

 

[smy0527]

We also got a Westminster shown champion Bernese years ago for reason number three....and that was her only dog!

 

[OurnewfDarwin]

I agree with all of them except the one about a family member dying. Flame me, but if you are not a dog person, and no one else in your family is, it's not fair for you to have a dog forced upon you. I believe that is what rescue groups are for, no?

 

[Sheila B.]

This is being forward to my friend in rescue who found Star and Journey for me. As sad and pathetic as it is because it's so real, it is spot on and I couldn't stop reading.

 

[Brody the Newf]

I agree with all of them except the one about a family member dying. Flame me, but if you are not a dog person, and no one else in your family is, it's not fair for you to have a dog forced upon you. I believe that is what rescue groups are for, no?

I agree.

Granted I've always been in the camp of kids coming first but I would like to point out that times are tough for many people. If they have to give up their beloved dog, no need for a rescue to make them feel worse.

 

[OurnewfDarwin]

I agree.

Granted I've always been in the camp of kids coming first but I would like to point out that times are tough for many people. If they have to give up their beloved dog, no need for a rescue to make them feel worse.

Hear here. Or is it here hear?

I know that food alone costs us $150 a month for Darwin. I know a lot of people who somehow manage to feed a family or four on $300 a month. You could move to a lesser food brand, sure. But, there's only so much you can do when you move from one income household to two--or less.

That being said, I fully agree that people kind of lose sight of the purpose behind rescues. For instance--there was a backyard breeder here that died several weeks before the puppies were due. The husband had precisely no interest in raising these (nine (9)) puppies--not to mention the fact that he'd just lost his wife. This would be a good reason for turning to a rescue, right?

 

[KodysGrandma]

There are good reasons for turning to rescue but I bet the %ages run 90-10 bad to good. I think I will copy these, send them to the newspaper and ask them to build a story around responsible pet ownership.

 

[Windancer]

well, I didn't see : You are hearbroken, as you have done everything you can to arrange your finances, living arrangements and moves to accomodate you dog since losing your job.. You have no other option and hope we can find it a good home. It is friendly,well trained, healthy, and has all shots. clean and bathed.

 

[OurnewfDarwin]

well, I didn't see : You are hearbroken, as you have done everything you can to arrange your finances, living arrangements and moves to accomodate you dog since losing your job.. You have no other option and hope we can find it a good home. It is friendly,well trained, healthy, and has all shots. clean and bathed.

This is true.

 

[Babymine]

Here is another one for rescuers. I have so much admiration for rescuers.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/atl/1607058449.html

<H2>You aren't looking for them, but I found your two dogs.

Date: 2010-02-18, 4:42PM EST



Sigh. No one is looking for these guys. And I see why. They hump everything in sight, try to dominate our old doggies, try to eat our cats and pee on everything and bark at everything. Neurotic, lick constantly. They know no commands, either in English or Spanish. They are aggressive and probably lived in a puppy mill. You dumped them, probably, and we picked them up before they were killed by traffic. Unneutered, no tags, under 1 year old small males. I hate you, person who dumped these dogs. There are no lost ads on phone poles, no lost ad on Craig's list, no lost ad in the paper. We put signs up all over, put a found notice in at the local pounds and if you were looking for these filthy little ragamuffins, you would have found them. We are afraid to take them to the pound because under stress, your dogs were snappy and horribly afraid and dogs are judged by temperament for adoption placement. They would not have passed that test. However.....

They are, under their filth, mats and horrible habits, adorable. They have learned "Quiet," "Come," "Sit." They have stopped being so neurotic and we have broken most of their bad habits in just a few days. They are smart and sweet and are looking for guidance and WANT to be good little dogs. One is a purebred little white and buff guy with an under bite, the other is a brown little dog that looks almost exactly like a miniature version of a larger breed dog. They know each other and were obviously (by the same bad habits) raised (poorly) together. We will get them neutered, train them and get them into a good, loving home with people who use the brains God gave them.

If these are your dogs, come on by, I'd like to kick your ass.

</H2>

 

[Babymine]

well, I didn't see : You are hearbroken, as you have done everything you can to arrange your finances, living arrangements and moves to accomodate you dog since losing your job.. You have no other option and hope we can find it a good home. It is friendly,well trained, healthy, and has all shots. clean and bathed.

I am so sorry. That reason doesn't belong because it was through no fault of your own. The list is for people that don't do their research and feel that dog's lives aren't that important.

 

[Newfs Forever]

We cannot paint a broad brush for the reasons animals go into rescue. There are some very reasonable, if not dire situations. My Sammie is a rehome. His owner was losing his job and his house. I am just glad I had my app into rescue at that time and I was connected directly with him (owner).

And yes, there are some stupid "castaway" people. I have no use for people of this ilk.
Because, sometimes you just can't fix "stupid"!

 

[Babymine]

We cannot paint a broad brush for the reasons animals go into rescue. There are some very reasonable, if not dire situations. My Sammie is a rehome. His owner was losing his job and his house. I am just glad I had my app into rescue at that time and I was connected directly with him (owner).

And yes, there are some stupid "castaway" people. I have no use for people of this ilk.
Because, sometimes you just can't fix "stupid"!

Thank you for adopting him.

 

[Brody the Newf]

well, I didn't see : You are hearbroken, as you have done everything you can to arrange your finances, living arrangements and moves to accomodate you dog since losing your job.. You have no other option and hope we can find it a good home. It is friendly,well trained, healthy, and has all shots. clean and bathed.

ITA

Or sometimes a dog just doesn't work out for your family. Through the years with Brody, I've often wondered if he would have done better with another family. Sometimes I've felt that he requires more than I'm able to give but at no point in his life has he been neglected, abused OR unloved.

 

[KCoppenrath]

Rescue Excuses

well, I didn't see : You are hearbroken, as you have done everything you can to arrange your finances, living arrangements and moves to accomodate you dog since losing your job.. You have no other option and hope we can find it a good home. It is friendly,well trained, healthy, and has all shots. clean and bathed.

I wish this happened more than it actually does. This is a small minority of the folks turning their dogs over to rescue -- more often, people wait entirely too long before they surrender their dogs. We see a lot of dogs that were well cared for once, but as the money became more scarce they started to feed Ol' Roy, skipped vet visits and vaccinations, decided not to spay, stopped taking the dogs to be groomed and when they finally decide that they can't keep the dog it comes to Rescue a complete mess. I understand that these folks love their dogs and don't want to admit that they can't keep them. I get that. I really do. But, as a pet owner, you need to act in the best interest of your pets.

My advice to Newf owners everywhere: The FIRST time you decide to forgo routine veterinary care because you can't afford it and don't see when you will be able to... PLEASE, call rescue and talk to them about surrendering your dog. We are generally nice people who really don't want to re-home your dog unless we have to and we might be able to advise you on how you can keep your Newf and get the care they need.

That said.... Not being able to afford to send your dog to the groomer is NOT an excuse to have a dog that smells like dead fish and sauerkraut (rescue folks know the smell I'm talking about) and is matted so badly it has to be shaved to the skin. Grooming a newf can be as cheap as a bottle of baby shampoo (while not ideal but better than the alternative and will last forever), a cheap rake, nail clippers and a pair of scissors. And if the grooming gets away from you, call rescue and ask for help. Rescue can often hook you up with a volunteer who can help get you back on the right path.

See a pattern... PLEASE... Call rescue before there's an emergency. We might be able to help you keep your dog.

Kimberly
NCNE Rescue Co-chair
888-831-4873