Some people are too stupid to own animals..

I tell ya just give my last day at my job.

First thing in the morning, first phone call of the day. Me "Good morning Humane Society"

Woman "My cat is dying, what should I do? "

I ask "Well what are you looking to do? Do you need to take your cat to the vet?"

She asks "Is that what I do?" ( )
I say "Yes, if your cat is ill you need to take it to the vet."
She says "Okay thank you bye."

I am convinced that all the stupid people in the world come to my city to die.

Then I get another phone call..and oh boy does this one get me riled up.

"Good afternoon Humane Society"

A woman "Yes..I live across the street from a Wildlife preserve and the beavers there are doing their thing and cutting the trees down. The trees are landing in the road. Can I trap them and bring them to you?"

I say "Here's the number to the wildlife department, they will be the ones to answer that question for you."

Then there was the person who wanted to trade their black lab for a smaller breed dog. Because that's what animal shelters do..Trade in's.

I tell ya, cats/dogs are not the only ones who need to be neutered.

I agree that there are alot of stupidos out there who should not be allowed to leave their homes or own pets.

Somtimes at my job I feel like a rolodex. Like the only thing I have to do all day is to give them numbers to other organizations.

ALOT of people shouldn't own animals. I mean if an animal is bleeding, ya think you might want to take it to the vet? Bandaids don't work on fur.

I can't believe somone wanted to trade in their pet.... that is crazy!

I agree totally, also just think, a lot of these people have kids too

Oh god..no words. If i ever come across someone like that irl i will scream

I don't know how people like that survive in day to day life

Hrm i just chopped my big toe off with a pick...should i call for help...or just lay here and bleed??


Dumb..

Well... I sort of see myself as the ignorant people you describe. Not about cats, but I've called all sorts of places trying to get information, especially when I've moved to a new city (or country).

It sounds like you've dealt with some pretty over-the-top comments, though. The beaver story's pretty funny!

Cheers, from
SwampWitch

Originally Posted by Breal76

I tell ya, cats/dogs are not the only ones who need to be neutered.

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i been saying that for 20 years

A good friend of mine used to work for our local Humane Society, and she had similar "stupid people" stories. At one time, a woman called in about a stray cat that she had found and trapped; my friend sent over someone to pick the cat up and they brought it in to the shelter. During their routine investigation of the cat (who was in excellent health), they discovered that the kitty was wearing a collar, and it had a phone number to call if the cat were lost. Excited and happy to be reuniting a lost kitty with its no-doubt distraught owners, my friend called the number ... only to wind up speaking with the woman who had called in the "stray" in the first place. It turned out that she no longer wanted the cat and didn't want to have to pay the $50 surrender fee that the Humane Society charges, so she called the cat in as a stray but was too stupid to take off the collar that identified her as the owner.

Then there was the guy whose dog was repeatedly found wandering loose on the nearby highway. Every time it happened the dog was brought in to the Humane Society, the owner was called (the dog had a collar with tags that had the owner's phone number on them), and every single time he came in, the owner was PO'd because he had to pay money to get his dog back. Every. Single. Time. He knew the dog was getting out of the yard, knew how the dog was getting out, and couldn't be bothered with fixing the problem -- he thought it was perfectly acceptable that his dog should be allowed to roam free, and thought the Humane Society was in the wrong for A) rescuing the dog (and preventing it from being struck by cars on the extremely busy highway) and B) charging him money to retrieve the poor animal. Then he got slapped with a fine for violating the leash laws, the dog got out again, and this time he refused to come in and pay the release fee, so the Humane Society adopted the dog out to a family that would actually care for it. The man got PO'd about that, too, saying it was still his dog and shouldn't have been adopted out, but since he'd been called to retrieve the dog yet again and had refused to do so, there wasn't much he could do about it.

Originally Posted by Mirinae

A good friend of mine used to work for our local Humane Society, and she had similar "stupid people" stories. At one time, a woman called in about a stray cat that she had found and trapped; my friend sent over someone to pick the cat up and they brought it in to the shelter. During their routine investigation of the cat (who was in excellent health), they discovered that the kitty was wearing a collar, and it had a phone number to call if the cat were lost. Excited and happy to be reuniting a lost kitty with its no-doubt distraught owners, my friend called the number ... only to wind up speaking with the woman who had called in the "stray" in the first place. It turned out that she no longer wanted the cat and didn't want to have to pay the $50 surrender fee that the Humane Society charges, so she called the cat in as a stray but was too stupid to take off the collar that identified her as the owner.

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That is a sad situation, but I admit I am killing myself laughing at the sheer stupidity of it

This is hilarious! I want more Stupid HS stories!!!

I work in directory assistance. I could write a book on stupid people. My favorite, but perhaps the most irritating are the people who when the number they want isn't listed (usually for a business) they say "Well I'm standing right in front of it!" or "I can see it across the street!"

Then go in/over there! *slap*

Saying goes :STUPID PEOPLE SHOULDNT BREED!

I am usually quite sympathetic to the people who call who obviously don't actually want us but can't think who to call, so start with us - but sometimes I honestly want to reach down the phone and slap them. Usually because I am trying to give them the number they need and they are arguing with me over why my company can't / won't do it.

Originally Posted by Breal76

I tell ya just give my last day at my job.

First thing in the morning, first phone call of the day. Me "Good morning Humane Society"

Woman "My cat is dying, what should I do? "

I ask "Well what are you looking to do? Do you need to take your cat to the vet?"

She asks "Is that what I do?" (

)
I say "Yes, if your cat is ill you need to take it to the vet."
She says "Okay thank you bye."

I am convinced that all the stupid people in the world come to my city to die.

Then I get another phone call..and oh boy does this one get me riled up.

"Good afternoon Humane Society"

A woman "Yes..I live across the street from a Wildlife preserve and the beavers there are doing their thing and cutting the trees down. The trees are landing in the road. Can I trap them and bring them to you?"

I say "Here's the number to the wildlife department, they will be the ones to answer that question for you."

Then there was the person who wanted to trade their black lab for a smaller breed dog. Because that's what animal shelters do..Trade in's.

I tell ya, cats/dogs are not the only ones who need to be neutered.

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I get calls like that all the time at work (I work at a no-kill rescue/sanctuary for sick and injured strays). And I'd have to agree with your s/n comment...

The best one last week was the lady who wanted to return her adopted cat to us because it kept vomitting. She told us that because of the vomit issues, the cat shouldn't be adopted back out. When asked for a vet reference, she was unable to provide one This cat was adopted in '98...and people wonder why we basically give people the third degree these days when they want to adopt. FYI, the cat is fine...it just needed Rx food.

And yeah, I've actually heard the "my pet doesn't match my new decor" line before. Disgusting. Who exactly is letting people adopt these animals?

Originally Posted by Mirinae

A good friend of mine used to work for our local Humane Society, and she had similar "stupid people" stories. At one time, a woman called in about a stray cat that she had found and trapped; my friend sent over someone to pick the cat up and they brought it in to the shelter. During their routine investigation of the cat (who was in excellent health), they discovered that the kitty was wearing a collar, and it had a phone number to call if the cat were lost. Excited and happy to be reuniting a lost kitty with its no-doubt distraught owners, my friend called the number ... only to wind up speaking with the woman who had called in the "stray" in the first place. It turned out that she no longer wanted the cat and didn't want to have to pay the $50 surrender fee that the Humane Society charges, so she called the cat in as a stray but was too stupid to take off the collar that identified her as the owner.

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We have people try to surrender "strays" to us all the time...that are microchipped with their contact info. Do these people really not think we're going to check for a chip? It's the first thing we do!

I also love it when people call me asking me to take a bunch of kittens that their cat just had and then I suggest our FREE spay and neuter services and they hang up on me in disgust.

O.K., I feel I need to say this. I don't see anything wrong with telling stories about ignorant things people do and say (and laughing about them), but I'm surprised at the mean-sounding judgements made!

If people are reaching out for help, however misguided or ignorant or not completely honest, shouldn't we try to give them that help and information? There was another thread about doing just that on this site!

Granted, there are lots of people who are not responsible enough to take care of pets, or children, but they have them anyway. My parents never reached out for parenting help, and I could tell you stories about my childhood that would leave you very sad. If my parents HAD reached out, I would have hoped someone would have genuinely cared and tried to help!

Let's remember that people are doing the best they can, in their lives and their situations (even my parents). If they are trying to give animals back to the shelter, they are saying that the animal is better off with someone else. I'm done... flame away if you'd like!

Cheers, from
SwampWitch

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

O.K., I feel I need to say this. I don't see anything wrong with telling stories about ignorant things people do and say (and laughing about them), but I'm surprised at the mean-sounding judgements made!

If people are calling for help, however misguided or ignorant or not completely honest, shouldn't we try to give them that help and information? There was another thread about doing just that on this site!

Granted, there are lots of people who are not responsible enough to take care of pets, or children, but they have them anyway. My parents never reached out for parenting help, and I could tell you stories about my childhood that would leave you very sad. If my parents HAD reached out, I would have hoped someone would have genuinely cared and tried to help!

Let's remember that people are doing the best they can, in their lives and their situations (even my parents). If they are trying to give animals back to the shelter, they are saying that the animal is better off with someone else. I'm done... flame away if you'd like!

Cheers, from
SwampWitch

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You know, the vast majority of people who do call the counseling line at the shelter really are honestly looking for help. And we kindly and professionally give them the help they need.

BUT

There are also a lot of people who are simply unwilling to take the time to seek ANY kind of assistance at all and are really just calling to be told what they want to hear. The people who won't listen to any protocol for rehoming cats privately, for example. THe people who just WILL NOT believe me when I tell them that inappropriate elimination is a common side-effect of declawing, the people who think s/n is robbing something from their animals, the people who just want a no-kill place to dump their cats so they can feel slightly less guilty about abandoning it.....THESE are the people I think most of us are talking about. And I agree...some people are well-intentioned but ignorant, and we can't assume any prioro knowledge when dealing with these people, but there are also a ton of people out there who are nothing but close-minded and, well, stupid.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

There are also a lot of people who are simply unwilling to take the time to seek ANY kind of assistance at all and are really just calling to be told what they want to hear. The people who won't listen to any protocol for rehoming cats privately, for example. THe people who just WILL NOT believe me when I tell them that inappropriate elimination is a common side-effect of declawing, the people who think s/n is robbing something from their animals, the people who just want a no-kill place to dump their cats so they can feel slightly less guilty about abandoning it.....THESE are the people I think most of us are talking about. And I agree...some people are well-intentioned but ignorant, and we can't assume any prioro knowledge when dealing with these people, but there are also a ton of people out there who are nothing but close-minded and, well, stupid.

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I am not picking on you in anyway, but from previous posts you have made about your shelter's adoption policies, which are quite strict compared to many other places, I can see where you would run into these problems. Many shelters and vets would tell them quite the opposite that you would and problems can arise in that way. My (now ex) vet still asks if you want a declaw done with a s/n... when vets who people think are knowledgeable and trustworthy are saying it is the right thing to do why would they believe (in their minds) that it isn't and it can cause problems?

Another thing that annoys me about shelters is the idea that if there is a problem, chalk it up to the declawing - because sometimes there may be something else medically wrong that isn't looked into because of this argument, and once it is done (which I assuming it is if they are complaining about the inappropriate elimination, there is nothing they can do to reverse it, so why make it seem like the case for rehoming their cat is more hopeless - it isn't going to make them think they can do it alone without dropping the cat off at a shelter

Despite the fact that they seem close minded, the fact that they bothered to call at all instead of just throwing the animal out on the streets, or leaving it to die in a house after they move etc says something for them in my mind, even if they argue with you, maybe some of it (after they get off the phone) actually makes sense to them.