And that's pretty much the only way to keep things in any kind of a perspective in the rescue/TNR biz.
Last Saturday we had our regular spay/neuter clinic and I was supposed to receive a cat from a coworker. She could no longer keep her, so I volunteered to cover the cost for spaying, vaccinating and testing her; I would then foster her for adoption.
Our clinics are held on the facilities of Philadelphia Animal Control; our intake and recovery area is in the loading dock. I gave instructions to deliver the cat to that area, and there I would take possession of her. But apparently my instructions weren't clear enough. My coworker went to the wrong entrance and instead of surrendering the cat to me surrendered it to the shelter. To make matters worse, because of Easter Sunday (our clinics are usually on the second Sunday of the month; we had to do it on Saturday last week), the usual staff wasn't present. The clinic coordinator was on vacation. Bottom line, the cat was surrendered to the regular shelter system.
She had never had veterinary treatment nor been confined before, so when the staff tried to innoculate her on Monday she fought back; she was consequently designated as unsocialized and was put down (the technical term is "euthanized", but that doesn't fit in this context). I found out that she had been so surrendered this evening and called immediately, but by then it was too late. The wrong door, the wrong ending. He Taketh.
While the cat was being inducted into the shelter, I was busy setting up and working in the clinic recovery area. We processed about 50 cats in a manner that would be very familiar to a MASH veteran; four didn't make it.
But this was a spay/neuter clinic, and most of us know what that means. The simple bottom line is this--a pregnant feral cat will undergo an abortion as well as being spayed. I've seen the fetal sacs on the OR tables, and I know what they are. But a miracle happened on Saturday.
One of the pregnant cats was so far along that she delivered in the OR. She was spayed and brought out with four tiny kittens who had been rescusitated in the OR; we monitored them in recovery and the responsible vet took all five home with her--I'll give you an update in May. He giveth--sometimes.
Ennyhoo, I suppose that's the best philosophy to adopt to handle this. On one hand we're dealing with nature and bureaucracy, which are not always swift but are invariably merciless and final; on the other hand we're dealing with God and people who will go the extra mile. Luck of the draw, who you'll get, and even then it doesn't always work. Or not work.
This is the kinda crap that knocks people outta this business. Ain't happenin' with me. I'm in for the duration....
Last Saturday we had our regular spay/neuter clinic and I was supposed to receive a cat from a coworker. She could no longer keep her, so I volunteered to cover the cost for spaying, vaccinating and testing her; I would then foster her for adoption.
Our clinics are held on the facilities of Philadelphia Animal Control; our intake and recovery area is in the loading dock. I gave instructions to deliver the cat to that area, and there I would take possession of her. But apparently my instructions weren't clear enough. My coworker went to the wrong entrance and instead of surrendering the cat to me surrendered it to the shelter. To make matters worse, because of Easter Sunday (our clinics are usually on the second Sunday of the month; we had to do it on Saturday last week), the usual staff wasn't present. The clinic coordinator was on vacation. Bottom line, the cat was surrendered to the regular shelter system.
She had never had veterinary treatment nor been confined before, so when the staff tried to innoculate her on Monday she fought back; she was consequently designated as unsocialized and was put down (the technical term is "euthanized", but that doesn't fit in this context). I found out that she had been so surrendered this evening and called immediately, but by then it was too late. The wrong door, the wrong ending. He Taketh.
While the cat was being inducted into the shelter, I was busy setting up and working in the clinic recovery area. We processed about 50 cats in a manner that would be very familiar to a MASH veteran; four didn't make it.
But this was a spay/neuter clinic, and most of us know what that means. The simple bottom line is this--a pregnant feral cat will undergo an abortion as well as being spayed. I've seen the fetal sacs on the OR tables, and I know what they are. But a miracle happened on Saturday.
One of the pregnant cats was so far along that she delivered in the OR. She was spayed and brought out with four tiny kittens who had been rescusitated in the OR; we monitored them in recovery and the responsible vet took all five home with her--I'll give you an update in May. He giveth--sometimes.
Ennyhoo, I suppose that's the best philosophy to adopt to handle this. On one hand we're dealing with nature and bureaucracy, which are not always swift but are invariably merciless and final; on the other hand we're dealing with God and people who will go the extra mile. Luck of the draw, who you'll get, and even then it doesn't always work. Or not work.
This is the kinda crap that knocks people outta this business. Ain't happenin' with me. I'm in for the duration....
