Scare stories of evil scientists taking cats from rescue shelters are categorically untrue.I fear there are exceptions in that category.
In FY 2009, there were nine Class B dealers selling dogs and cats to research facilities.posted by muddgirl at 8:32 AM on January 30 [1 favorite]
Won't adopt to someone who has a yard but no fence (even if they promise to always keep the dog on a leash...)There is no difference here.
One of the most enduring of these traditional dogmas is that animal shelters must kill because the public cannot be trusted with animals.posted by muddgirl at 9:25 AM on January 30 [15 favorites]
They filled out the application: Do they consider the adoption a lifetime commitment? Yes. Do they have a veterinarian? Yes. What happened to their other cat? Died of cancer. “In my arms,” the old man said. But one thing caught the adoption counselor’s eye. When they came to the question asking about where the cat would live, they had checked the box: “Mostly indoors, some outdoors.”No one is denying that accommodating, responsible groups exist - I adopted a retired greyhound from an amazing group that exhibited none of these behaviors. But the fact is that irresponsible groups do exist. They are public-facing, and they do harm.
“Sorry,” the adoption counselor said. “We have a strict indoor-only rule.” She denied the adoption. They were stunned. I was stunned.
What happened to “15 years,” “in my arms,” “wanted to mourn her appropriately,” “lifetime commitment”?
I looked at the adoption counselor and told her: “We’ve got to take a more thoughtful approach to adoptions.”posted by muddgirl at 9:41 AM on January 30 [5 favorites]
She stared at me blankly.
“Ok,” I said, “Let me put it this way. Outdoor cats may face risks, but it largely depends on circumstances. We need to use common sense. This isn’t downtown Manhattan. This is a rural community. I only saw one car on my way to work this morning. In fact, given how safe it is, people should be required to let the cat go outside.” I smiled.
Nothing.
Increasing adoptions means offsite adoption events, public access hours, marketing and greater visibility in the community, working with rescue groups, competing with pet stores and puppy mills, adoption incentives, a good public image, and thoughtful but not bureaucratic screening. It has nothing to do with lowering quality. It has absolutely nothing to do with putting animals in harm’s way. Indeed, shelter killing is the leading cause of death for healthy dogs and cats in the United States. Adoptions take animals out of harm’s way.Again, this applies to rescue organizations and no-kill shelters as much as kill-shelters, especially in areas with kill/no-kill partnerships (like my town, San Antonio).
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Having adopted many animals over my life from shelters and rescue groups, I've never found this "treatment" to be "hostile." But if it deters people who are ambivalent about owning pets, all the better.
People who aren't sure they want pets should not have pets. People who haven't thought having pets through should not have pets. These are important considerations, and shelters and rescue groups are doing a great service by weeding out the people who aren't really sure about the whole pet thing.
posted by koeselitz at 7:19 AM on January 30 [58 favorites]