I went to the rescue last night to pick up some meds for Carl's cold. Tamara (the woman who runs the rescue) met me there after hours, and told me to just wait for her (she was at the vet with a few dogs) and that a guy was going to be coming by with a puppy he was giving up, and to let him into the lobby and ask him to wait.
Anyway, I am sitting the lobby, playing with the loose dogs (the well behaved pooches get to wander around), when this guy comes in with his puppy. He is the typical ignorant non-owner who talked nonstop about how he was so pissed that his son pawned the puppy off on him, and how much of a PITA having a dog was, blah blah blah. The puppy (black lab mix) was obviously really sick. He was lethargic, cold to the touch, covered in ticks and his gums were white. The guy was complaining that he had had bloody diarhea for the past week!
(AND YOU ARE JUST NOW TAKING HIM TO A RECUE/VET)!!!!!! I put the other dogs in the back (just in case what the puppy had was contagous-I was thinking Parvo in the back of my mind) and we waited for Tamara.
Of course the puppy had had no vaccinations, no shots, nothing. The guy says that his other puppy had died the other day after the same symptoms. It was fairly obvious the dog had Parvo. She asked whether he owned the parent dogs, and he said no, his neighbor let his un-fixed dog run around and she had gotten pregnant and they took two of the puppies.
So of course, the guy isn't going to put up the money for Parvo meds (a prescription human anti-flu drug-it's like $100), and the rescue doesn't have the money.
After the guy left, I pulled out my checkbook and wrote her a check for $100. I told her that if the vet thought the puppy had a good chance to survive, to use the $ for his Parvo meds, and if not, then just put it towards whatever they need most. She called my cell last night to tell me that the puppy had been put to sleep at the vet, b/c he was too weak to overcome the Parvo (he was massively dehydrated and malnurished on top of everything else). She asked if I wanted her to not cash the check, and I told her to use it for something else, especially since I (who can afford to take my animal to the vet) had used two weeks worth of meds from them.
I don't think I will ever understand why people get a pet when they have no desire to take care of it! I just don't get it. If you can't afford to feed and water something, don't bring it home! Not like there is someone with a gun to your head telling you to get a puppy, cat, horse, etc. It is so depressing to know that this happens all the time.
The really sad part is that the puppy (had it been in reasonable health) would have been a great adoption candidate. He was a lab mix and he was a puppy. If the guy had brought the dog in when he had first gotten sick, they could have done something and he probably would have found a home. The only good thing is that at least he was euthanized instead of starving to death or slowly dying of Parvo in this guy's back yard. At least he had someone holding him and he just went to sleep.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Anyway, I am sitting the lobby, playing with the loose dogs (the well behaved pooches get to wander around), when this guy comes in with his puppy. He is the typical ignorant non-owner who talked nonstop about how he was so pissed that his son pawned the puppy off on him, and how much of a PITA having a dog was, blah blah blah. The puppy (black lab mix) was obviously really sick. He was lethargic, cold to the touch, covered in ticks and his gums were white. The guy was complaining that he had had bloody diarhea for the past week!
Of course the puppy had had no vaccinations, no shots, nothing. The guy says that his other puppy had died the other day after the same symptoms. It was fairly obvious the dog had Parvo. She asked whether he owned the parent dogs, and he said no, his neighbor let his un-fixed dog run around and she had gotten pregnant and they took two of the puppies.
After the guy left, I pulled out my checkbook and wrote her a check for $100. I told her that if the vet thought the puppy had a good chance to survive, to use the $ for his Parvo meds, and if not, then just put it towards whatever they need most. She called my cell last night to tell me that the puppy had been put to sleep at the vet, b/c he was too weak to overcome the Parvo (he was massively dehydrated and malnurished on top of everything else). She asked if I wanted her to not cash the check, and I told her to use it for something else, especially since I (who can afford to take my animal to the vet) had used two weeks worth of meds from them.
I don't think I will ever understand why people get a pet when they have no desire to take care of it! I just don't get it. If you can't afford to feed and water something, don't bring it home! Not like there is someone with a gun to your head telling you to get a puppy, cat, horse, etc. It is so depressing to know that this happens all the time.
The really sad part is that the puppy (had it been in reasonable health) would have been a great adoption candidate. He was a lab mix and he was a puppy. If the guy had brought the dog in when he had first gotten sick, they could have done something and he probably would have found a home. The only good thing is that at least he was euthanized instead of starving to death or slowly dying of Parvo in this guy's back yard. At least he had someone holding him and he just went to sleep.
Thanks for letting me vent.
