humane society was not helpful

I just wanted to let you guys know that my neighbor never did respond to my email about her cat getting killed. She did, however, finally come and dispose of the cat yesterday. She didn't even have the decency to bury it, they just tossed it in the trash barrel like it was just old trash. She's been trying to call me for several days now and I just avoid her phone calls. I think she MAY be calling to gravel or perhaps apologize... but there's no apology on this planet that would make this situation better. I just don't think I could even accept an apology from her. I don't want to have anything to do with her anymore.

I contacted the local humane society in our area and the lady was nice, but absolutely no help at all. She said they don't keep records of people who come and adopt pets. And when I asked about a "bad" pet owner list she informed me they have no such thing. So, I was quite disappointed that she could walk into that shelter tomorrow and adopt another pet. I did at least get the lady to take down this person's name and put it on a post it note in their office so that if she happened to come again they would see her name and a red flag would go up.

i am suprised at their screening! i had to fill out lengthy forms when i started looking for a dog before Victor. hadn't even found one yet,,just let them know i was looking for a male pointer..pages asking what kind of home and fence..etc. Does this place have a high rate of animals coming in?

I'm not sure.... I've never been to the local shelters cuz I'd come home with a house full of pets if I did. I was real shocked myself to find out they didn't have much of a screening process at all. I know when I used to breed one of my rotties I had a very lengthy screening process and contracts everyone had to sign. And I followed up for the first year to make sure the pup was okay.

I live out in the country and I don't know if these are just layed back country folks that operate these shelters or what. I just opened the phone book and looked up humane society and there was only one listed... so they're the one's I called. I think I may call her back and get a list of numbers for ALL the shelters in a 30 mile radius if she has it. And call each and every one of them and at the very least get them to take her name down. I'm sure it won't be long and she'll be looking for another cat to adopt. I know she could still get them from private owners... but from her history ... she tends to go to the shelters to get them cuz they pay for their first shots.

:O

i live in the country to but the humane society around here is so strict. they do home visits and ask a ton of questions... and if you do that it's not a guarantee.

then i'm not sure why our's is so backwards.... that just doesn't make any sense.

maybe you can talk to them about their adoption policies. i know that you can give ideas to some of the shelters around here.

it's worth a try. I just can't stand the thought that this person could easily go in and adopt another pet... it's absolutely absurd.

I just called a larger human society one county over and left a message with their department. They will be calling me back within 24 hours it said. Maybe that one has a better screening process and can be more helpful in keeping this person from adopting another animal from any local shelter. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what they tell me. Aside from that... I don't know what else I could do.

thats good maybe they'll have a better screening process. i know if i ever had to get rid of yoshi i'd be visiting the persons house and talking to neighboors and getting a vet telling me they take care of their pets and i'd be looking around their house to see signs of pets... i know pet owners can have some clean houses but if you look close enough there's always signs of a pet being there... i wouldn't want her banished outside by herself

They have that down here, its called the "Black list" anyone who has ever gotten their pets taken away from them, if they have given that pet up or anything to do with in that nature, their name goes on the "Black list" and its distributed to every humane society in the area, PLUS the pet stores that you can adopt humane society animals from.

We've got a black list around here as well, and we put names and known aliases of labratory research people on them as well. The screening processes are so strict, which is good, but can be a hassle sometimes. However, I don't think you should get blacklisted for having to rehome a dog. There are a bunch of members on here who had to rehome a dog because it became more than their abilities or time would allow and did the best thing in the dog's interest. Some of them have gotten new dogs by now and they're doing great. There is a learning curve associated with pet ownership. Personally, I think that speaks more highly of a good pet owner than one who simply runs off and dumps it back in the shelter or ties it up outside.

well, i wish they did that kind of thing here..... I figured ALL human societies would act in the same fashion in regard to the animals.

If I remember correctly, it specifically says in the Austin humane society adoption contract, that giving up a dog does not count against a person's chance of adopting again. I agree. Giving up a dog doesn't mean you're a bad owner. There can be circumstances where it's necessary.

I hope that horrid woman won't be allowed to get anymore pets...they don't deserve to die because of her stupidity.

Here's the "thread behind it all" Gempress
http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11458&page=1&pp=10

We have a humane society here that is as bad or worse. This one wont accept old dogs because they say no one wants to adopt a old dog. We tried to get them to help us with a stray cat that needed help and a home, nope. So we ended up with a cat we didnt want until at some point we can find a good home for her. I really doubt that they do any screening here. Dont think they care. To me they arent really a humane society, they are just a name, thats it.

We got Geo from our Humane Society, and they were nothing of the sort! We walked in, on our 3rd trip there, cuz the sign said they were "at lunch." After looking around, we asked to see her, outside of her cage. The womans reply was "well, I guessssse, but we haven't had lunch yet!" in her best hurry the heck up and get this over with voice. After we saw her, outside, without any supervision from the staff, we walked in, said we wanted her, and asked what we had to do. The lady simply said, "well, give us $10.00." We did, and walked out with the dog! I know that one county south of us makes you watch a 2 hour video, and get a psych evaluation before you can even adopt...NOT SO HERE!!!

The humane society by us is the EXACT same way. They refused to take our cats because they were too "unpredictable". Which we took the cats to another shelter and they were adopted in two weeks. They will basically only take perfectly well behaved, completely housebroken, and fixed animals with no health problems and perfect temperments (and EVERYBODY is giving up their dogs and cats that match that description aren't they ).

Well, the humane society never called me back today... that figures. They'll probably call tomorrow when I'll be asleep because I work night shift tomorrow night.

Cassie hasn't gotten the picture yet that I don't want her as a friend anymore. She keeps trying to call me. I'll bet she's called at least a half a dozen times in the past 3 days. I've not answered her call not even once. It's quite obvious I am avoiding her... and I know she must have read the email... you'd think she'd get the hint.

I think this situation has been hard for me because this was someone who I became friends with and became very close with her and her family. We lived next door to each other and spent many nights together... even if it was just cooking out together or sitting around chatting or playing cards. I even saw the birth of her last baby in January.

She didn't start getting all the pets until after our friendship had been established. And I wouldn't have cared how many pets she got if she took proper care of them. Sure she provided the basic needs like food, water, vet care and she did love them and give them attention... but she failed in the safety aspect of caring for them. I thought I could honestly make her a better pet owner with the frequent lectures I'd give her about keeping her dog tied up when outside etc....

When Cassie moved out recently she assured me she was coming back for the cat. I guess it was my friendship with her that clouded my thoughts at that time. If it had been a stanger or just a neighbor .... I would have taken the cat to the shelter the first time I caught it. I think it was because she was my friend and I knew how much her son loved this cat... I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it would be better to keep the cat with it's family even if it meant it was being cared for outside for a few weeks.

It was only in the past week or so when we saw the cat getting up into the truck and I immediately told her about it. It was at that time I really felt as though she was abandoning the cat. And from that point on we could no longer catch the cat. We made several attempts to catch him. We had baited traps and he was just too smart for his own good. We got close a few times and thought we had him... but he bolted away quicker than lightning. We actually even thought she came out and got the cat 2 days after my phone call to her about it because we hadn't seen the cat at all. I guess I should have followed up and called h er to see if she got the cat rather than assume she did just because we hadn't seen him in a few days.

Anyway... you guys know the rest of the story and I'm not going to go into it again. I'm just trying to get peace about this so I can put it to rest. I think the reason I can't have peace about it is because I know there are some that still hold me responsible for the cat's death. All I can say is that at the time I really really thought I was doing the right thing. Of course in retrospect I wish I had seen through the smoke she was blowing up my ass. I will forever have guilt about this. But I think it was ultimately Cassie's doings or should I say lack of... that led to this poor cat's horrible fate. But everyone is entitled to their opinion and I can't change that.

I guess it wasn't meant for me to talk to the humane society yesterday. I purposely woke up early to try and get a hold of them and found out my electricity was out. And it remained out for the entire day.... grrrr. They didn't get it back on until I was on my way out the door to work. I guess I'll just have to try again on Monday.