An Animal Rescuer's VoiceMail Message

alleygirl

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I got this in an email and wanted to share... (


Hello, You have reached 123-4567, 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 think we are veterinarians and want free medical
advice.

Press 2 if you know we are a rescue organization but want to save
money and have us give you free, untrained medical advice anyway.

Press 3 if you make $200,000 a year but still want us to pay to spay
the "stray" in your yard (house).

Press 4 if you have a 10-year-old cat and your 15-year-old son has
suddenly become allergic and you need to find the cat a new home
right away.

Press 5 if you have three cats, had a baby and want to get rid of
your cats because you are the only person in the world to have a baby
and cats at the same time.

Press 6 if your cat is sick and needs a vet but you need the money
for your vacation.

Press 7 if you just got a brand new kitten and your old cat is having
problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.

Press 8 if your little kitten has grown up and is no longer small and
cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.

Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute kitten 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 cats because they don't fit your lifestyle.

Press 11 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your
150 pound, 8-year-old, unaltered, aggressive dog.

Press 12 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home today
and pick up the animal you no longer want.

Press 13 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the
last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your
pet.

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 pet off on your way to
work.

Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know
you have left an animal in our yard in the middle of January, which
is in fact, better than just leaving the animal with no message.

Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to
take your pet 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 cat
to be euthanized because we can't get to your house in the next hour.

Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the volunteer had the
audacity to go on vacation and leave the animals in care of another
trusted volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.

Press 19 if you want one of the perfectly trained, housebroken, kid
and cat friendly purebred tiny 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 pet 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/cat 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 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 cat 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 cat 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 pet'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 pet and you are too
stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next
month anyway) instead of the pet.

Press 35 if you went through all these 'presses' 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.
 
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alleygirl

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We had a guy come in saturday wanting to "get rid of" his cat because he was moving. We asked why he couldn't take the cat with him and he said he just didn't want to.



I'm sure it will end up being tossed on the street or taken to the pound and euthanized, but we just had no room.
 

white cat lover

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You see, this is why I hate answering the phone at the shelter, I've heard all of those!
 

dauntingfire

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Ugh, things like this depress me so much. This is exactly why I can't work at a shelter. I volunteer at Good Mews and I'm on the communication board and the fund raising board but I just couldn't bear to work that closely with the kitties & with those who try to abandon them.

I want SO BADLY to educate all of these people who don't understand. People take the lives as animals so casually. It just breaks my heart to know that these same people are raising their children the same way.
I can only pray that through education programs we can eradicate this callousness towards our animal companions.

There has got to be hope that we can overcome this someday...
 

catsknowme

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Creative, cute way to address some all too real issues
Those should be made into a poster
Some of those were so sad and too true, and not only Heaven cries
 

roxie225

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That is so sad but a very strong message. I agree that they should totally make a poster out of it!
 

sadieandziggy

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I don't work at a rescue but I can imagine the excuses people give for free treatment or why they nolonger want the pet.

I remember when the 101 Dalmations film came out and everyone was buying puppies for Christmas and Birthdays. The shelters here became really full. In the end, billboards and T.V Ads around Christmas would say 'A dog isn't just for christmas, its for life' Same applies to all animals.

That should be made into a poster titled: DON'T COME OR PHONE THIS SHELTER IF:
 

goldenkitty45

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That should be the POSTER sticky for ALL of the cities with a craigslist!

So sad. I started to chuckle a little at first but have tears by the end!
 

rang_27

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Unfortunatley I think I've heard all these excuses (including #33). It's sad, but thanks for sharing because I think people don't realize how hard it can be to volunteer at an animal shelter.
 

babyharley

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Thats so sad


I appluad all of you who listen to these excuses everyday working at a shelter... I sure couldn't do it
 

rang_27

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For me I think what makes me the most mad is when I think about how Jordan is sick. I'd give every penny I have to make him better but people with perfectly healthy animals just throw them away. I'll stop before I really get off on a rant.
 

lookingglass

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Originally Posted by Rang_27

Unfortunatley I think I've heard all these excuses (including #33). It's sad, but thanks for sharing because I think people don't realize how hard it can be to volunteer at an animal shelter.
That's how I got Dr. Claw!

That list made me laugh and cry at the same time.
 

icklemiss21

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We had one come into the shelter looking for a kitten that matches her carpet, when asked why the carpet, she said because it is the only thing it will be allowed on - the basement carpet, it wasn't to be the kind of cat that jumps on furniture, that is just not allowed. She even brought a sample of the carpet with her!
 
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alleygirl

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

We had one come into the shelter looking for a kitten that matches her carpet, when asked why the carpet, she said because it is the only thing it will be allowed on - the basement carpet, it wasn't to be the kind of cat that jumps on furniture, that is just not allowed. She even brought a sample of the carpet with her!
Amazing. Just amazing. Why do these people even want a cat!



We had a woman come in wanting to adopt because she thinks her bf let her Persian loose when they went to a cabin in the mountains for vacation because he hated the cat. She is still with the boyfriend.

Needless to say, she did not get one of our cats.
 

margecat

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All so sadly true...the last one made ME start shedding tears...
 
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