Friday, March 25, 2011

OK then...


So.. I checked my email last night..

Ok, I admit, I was chicken, I had my husband read it and tell me if I had been yelled at or not.

See my first instinct is to yell and scream and try to force the shelter into doing what I want, and I know that is a bad idea on many levels, so I tried to be as diplomatic as possible and convey what I knew and what I wanted and left what I felt out of it.  not sure if I succeeded..

and I can never tell how things will be perceived.  If the manager reading it had a bad day, no matter what I said it could easily be taken as my trying to force things.

The reply was also very diplomatic.  Reminded me a LOT of my mother (and no, that is not a good thing)  It said my input was valuable and appreciated, and that I am very valued and appreciated, but decisions about adoption are the discretion of the shelter.

In my previous email I ended with what I would like, and that would be for Peter to have some info on his adoption that he should be an indoor only kitty (because of his nature to run and hide when facing new things) and that he would be better suited to living with another friendly outgoing cat.  (and that he had the vaccine reaction) I mentioned that I could have sent along a write up and photos for the website, that I would be as proactive as possible finding him a home.  Well she said getting the write up would be a good thing, so I culled a few photos of Peter (was hard to find some with out Tinsel somewhere in the shot) and I did another write up (which I don't think was my best because I was so emotional) and sent that back as my reply.

I do really appreciate and respect the manager I'm dealing with.  She has been with the shelter for years, and has really grown into the position and brings a lot to it.  Unfortunately being an open admission shelter they deal with a small budget and do not pay what (I think) they should for staff.  As a result most of the staff is in their young 20s and while they do care, and they do a good job, I think the fact that the median age of the staff is so young does effect things.  I think (I have no idea) that the decision was made (to separate) with out talking to anyone with out knowing the facts of Peter simply because they were doing so well where they were at the time.  They didn't know that Peter has issues with change, they didn't know how he hid from me when he returned here.  They didn't know.. and they didn't ask.  Which is an absolute shame.  I don't think they did it out of malice or to tick me off.  I think they thought they knew best, that it would get them adopted faster - which for the most part would be better for most cats.

So, now I'm back to what do *I* want out of this. I am hoping with time I'll forgive the arrogance, and move past this.  (I don't like the word arrogance, but I can't think of a better one.  Arrogance is very harsh, and as I said, I don't think the decision was intended to be harsh or rude)  I'm not happy that the fact that the woman I called asking for information never called me back - especially since this woman is the one I have previously trusted to stay in my home and care for my own cats. 

One thing I do know for certain, if I do continue to foster (and chances are good that I will), I am going to HAVE to stick to my previous rule of no more single kitten fosters!!

(for those new to this blog, the last two to the crew were single kitten fosters, and the two before that were kittens that were left behind after the rest of their families went up for adoption - Twee because she had a severe reaction to the sedation when she was neutered and Kit because she was painfully small and I had kept the rest of the two families (a pair of sibling cats who gave birth to four kittens each with in a day of each other) for way too long.)

So this is basically over.

I'll be focusing on Tweedle and Eli for the next few days because they are going on Tuesday to have their teeth cleaned.  As previously mentioned, Tweedle had severe reactions to anesthesia (clinically died both times they tried to spay her.  The second time the vet finished the spay while the tech started to resuscitate her)   My vet is the vet who spayed her, and he swears that he has a new sedation that is much safer, and she should be fine.  I trust him.  I trust that they will watch her like a hawk and if there is any trouble do absolutely everything for her. I'm thinking Wednesday night we'll have a nice nip party and a nice yummy treat for dinner..

1 comment:

  1. There is no easy answer and sometimes you have to make the right decision for YOU! The previous shelter where I volunteered was the same issue - young staff due to the budget. And unfortunately, as much as they tried, their hands were tied by management that was clueless.

    There is no easy answer....but I hope you keep fostering cause there are groups out there that will appreciate your hard work!

    ReplyDelete

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